so i'm a light designer for my high school play (a series of three one acts). i love the theater but i'm starting to see that nearly every character i see now and these days has a fucking existential crisis. "Do i exist!", "What's the point!", "Is there such thing as existing!" i'm starting to get pissed off and wondering if i'm the only one. any thoughts?
Not to detract from or argue against your point, but perhaps this recurrent theme highlights a poignant aspect of our modern zeitgeist, that some feel is worth exploring..? I agree that existential contrivances for the sake of it get irritating and uncreative, but in general, delving into the most fundamental fabric of being and meaning isn't something I mind. Then again, I am an existentialist. Of course, it all depends on how well done it is, and what audience it's targeted to. Perhaps it is either not well done, &/or you are not the intended audience? Just my 2 cents.
see where?... what are you referring to?... just in stage plays, or also in tv, movies, or real life? if stage plays, how many contemporary ones have you actually read/seen?
I suppose it can be irritating if it is pretentious, which it is in a lot of cases... if you read really deep existentialism such as Dostoyevsky then you will feel more rewarded
thanks for the change. 1st: i find that people are lazy exploring this theme. that's why it's annoying. people do it thinking they're the next Decart, and then fail to explore the theme. 2nd: i'm mainly doing this to get different perspectives. i don't get enough.
I'm currently experiencing an existential crisis, so novels, plays, et cetera dealing with this topic are of interest to me. However I could see a well-grounded, well established person finding this topic rather boring. Like the first respondent said, "delving into the most fundamental fabric of being and meaning" - I think there is a massive audience seeking such subject matter. In my humble opinion, people in general don't often think about the bigger picture, they're usually too concerned with everyday tasks; I think "they" would appreciate such works...
