Plastic theatre Flashcards
Ways to describe plastic theatre
Ever-present motif
Unspoken catalyst
Lurking Symbol
Inevitable force
Polka Music
Emphasises and highlights Blanche’s thoughts and adds to memories of dead lover.
How does the polka music normally end?
With a gunshot
Effect of music ending with a gun shot
Represents Blanche’s innocence enhances the tension.
Blue piano music
Upbeat music for the play.
Why is the blue piano music upbeat?
Provides Blanche from temporal relief but can’t shield her forever.
Blue piano music deeper meaning
Blue typically connotes melancholy echoes inner emotional struggle.
Paper dolls
Portrays Blanche’s bitter sweet upbeat attitude and Stanley’s vehement anger as he tells her to ‘Get out of the bathroom.
Locomotive
Highlights poor area Stanley and Stella live in contrasting the Dubois aristocratic home in Bella Reeve.
Domestic violence ‘Slaps her thigh’
Shows normalisation of abuse endured by women at the time.
Motif of cat screeching
Reinforces Blanche’s fragile and vulnerable state.
Varourviana polka
Auditory symbol of guilt
Diegetic sound shows mental health crumbling
Auditory bridge linking the past to the present illusion and nostalgia.
Particularly tender blue
Accentuates the atmosphere of decay. Theme of deceit evident.
Electric bulb with vivid green shade
Conveys Masculinity and assertive strength of men.
Van Gough Billard Parlour at night
Symbol of disarray, Clash of worlds, decay
