After watching the Builder’s Association’s production of “House/Divided,” I feel like I have a new prospective on media in performance. The performance was filled with media, using it as the set, but also as a featured character. The presence of media in the mortgage crisis was a pivotal difference from the Depression era, to which this financial era was compared. The Depression era was brought into the story using the classic novel “Grapes of Wrath,” by John Steinbeck. While in that time the story of financial wo was spread by this novel, something everyone in that time period read and felt deep in their core to ring true with themselves and their surroundings, this era uses media to explain their troubles. All over the news, media announces the very personal struggles of the millions. Whether on the televised news, the papers, blogs (another revolution that is only used very lately), or radio, the pain is everywhere in the media, while in the Depression era there was less ability to spread news, as there were fewer media through which the news could travel.

The play compared this financial crisis to the Depression, which is not a far leap. But an additional difference that was made is the presence of corporations. These are businesses which often employ thousands of workers – workers who rarely have any choice to do anything but their job. There is no opportunity for kindness. As mentioned in the after-show discussion, the scene in which the cruel man from the Depression times lends the poor mother a nickel for sugar would be impossible in this era. The workers at big corporations could not offer assistance unless there are commands from higher up. It is much like soldiers often have no idea what they are doing when they work in an operation, they merely listen to their commander for orders, hoping that those above them know what they are doing. 

This play reinforced my support of Auslander, that is, media can enhance performance. I think that the idea this play was using, bringing in media to show the difference between the individual story and the massive companies, was brilliant and stark. On the other hand, much like the woman who fervently argued against the play’s ability to reach the audience, I think that the production could have been pared down quite a bit to emotionally connect with the audience. This follows the Phelan view, and though the play utilized media well, I think there needs to be a balance so that the audience is not over-stimulated.

Meira