Breath: Interpretation: Shooting a video Challenge

 Welcome to my new attempt. This blog is a response to the Video challenge by Dr. Dilip Barad sir. We are assigned to make a video of a self- interpretation on Samuel Beckett’s shortest play ‘BREATH’. Visit sir blog to read in detail and the picturization of the play by other students. [CLICK HERE]

Video Challenge/ picturization 

BRAETH

If essence precedes existence, are we doing the task which is decided for us?  If existence precedes essence, then is  it necessary to find essence?

Samuel Beckett:

Samuel Barclay Beckett (13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, theater director, poet, and literary translator. A resident of Paris for most of his adult life, he wrote in both French and English. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esllin called the Theater of the Absurd. Beckett was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize of Literature "for his writing, which—in new forms for the novel and drama—in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation"

Play ‘Breath’:

Beckett’s plays are always short but Breath is an unusual brief work. Detailed instructions of the play in the script to be about 35 seconds. The play has no characters, only sound. It was surprising to know that there would be a play of only 30 to 35 secs, which is interpreted in various ways. 

My understanding about the original script is how absurd our life is. Life is only in one breath, we are born with close eyes (darkness) and die with close eyes (darkness). Whatever we do in between is just working illogically to gain and achieve something which is absurd at the end of life. 

The script of the play:

CURTAIN Up

1. Faint light on stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish. Hold about five seconds.

2. Faint brief cry and immediate inspiration and slow increase of light together reaching maximum - together in about ten seconds. Silence and hold for about five seconds.

3. Expiration and slow decrease of light together reaching minimum together (light as in 1) in about ten seconds and immediately cry as before. Silence and hold about five seconds. 

CURTAIN Down

There have been many Adaptations of this play. Click to view filmed version of the play ‘Breath’ on You Tube:

1.  Breath by Damien Hirst

2.  Breath - Samuel Beckett by Liana De Jourdan

3.  National Theater School First Year Technical Production Class project, production of Samuel Beckett's play Breath.

4.  Samuel Beckett Breath (Modern Interpretation)

In Martin Esllin’s introduction to the book Absurd Drama (1965), Esslin wrote:

The Theatre of the Absurd attacks the comfortable certainties of religious or political orthodoxy. It aims to shock its audience out of complacency, to bring it face to face with the harsh facts of the human situation as these writers see it. But the challenge behind this message is anything but one of despair. It is a challenge to accept the human condition as it is, in all its mystery and absurdity, and to bear it with dignity, nobility, and responsibility; precisely because there are no easy solutions to the mysteries of existence, because ultimately man is alone in a meaningless world. The shedding of easy solutions, of comforting illusions, may be painful, but it leaves behind it a sense of freedom and relief. And that is why, in the last resort, the Theater of the Absurd does not provoke tears of despair but the laughter of liberation. READ MORE ABOUT THEATER OF ABSURD. 

My interpretation of the play is:

Absurd theater is A form of drama that emphasizes the absurdity of human existence by employing disjointed, repetitious, and meaningless dialogue, purposeless and confusing situations, and plots that lack realistic or logical development. And I have tried to keep my picturization showing the absurdity of life.  

I have tried to be more faithful to the script of the play. Since an accidental birth on this planet we keep on running to achieve something. We all work with the sense of establishment, name and fame. In my picturization, trophies and medals symbolize the achievements of my whole life. No one remembers one lifetime for their achievements. Neither achievements give satisfaction, it grows greed of achieving more and if we can't achieve a grief in heart. In the end of life all these achievements will turn into just a shoe piece. Still we all run for name, fame and achievement. It seems an absurd idea. The cry in the beginning and in the end have been interpreted as cry for achieving and cry of realizing, the happiness of achievements are temporary, respectively.

For the first time I edited a video on the computer. It took around 2 hours and numerous takes for making and selecting the audios for this video. It was a new activity to learn and realize the difficulties a cinematographer, an editor and also a YouTube influencer must be facing in various movies, documentaries, videos etc. 

Thank you for visiting. I hope you liked my picturization of play.

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