Roger Ebert wrote that Mamet seemed to be discussing the difference in
male and female points of view, or possibly just how differently the same
event may be perceived by different people. I mention this because it may
be relevant to a discussion of legal issues in the play (witness
reliability, etc.)
Other cinematic ventures on that theme would include "What Happened Was.."
and Kurosawa's Rashomon, which tells the story of a rape from different
perspectives.
One of my favorites in the category of novels would be The Caine Mutiny.
The mutiny seems almost the only possible thing to do in the first part of
the book, but when you get to the trial...!
> My wife Joan and I saw the play on Broadway. I believe the female
> student was played by Rebecca Pidgeon, Mamet's former wife. Joan
> concluded that Mamet was a misogynist, so didn't care for the play (it
> kept her up nights). I thought the play entertaining and felt the
> principal theme was, "no good deed goes unpunished." The idea that
> women can get up off the floor and kick butt seems to strike a
> responsive note in audiences. Witness work on the theme by Harold
> Pinter, Neal Labutte, and George Bernard Shaw.
>
> Incidentally, there is no mention or reference to "Oleanna" in the play.
> A couple of reviewers attribute the title to a folk tale about Ole and
> Anna who sold swampland as farmland then fled with the proceeds leaving
> the term "an Oleanna swindle" to be coined. One reviewer thinks Mamet
> may be asking whether higher education is an Oleanna swindle.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk on behalf of
> Susan Rogers
Sent: Thu 7/28/2005 12:14 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Cc:
> Subject: Re: Oleanna
>
>
>
> you're right, and Macy also in the play.
>
> the movie didn't get very good reviews, but still, if you haven't seen
> the
play and want to see what Mamet was doing with the topic, it's out
> there
on video. So not really off topic!
>
>
>
> It was William Macy (or Guillaume Macee, as the French crowd
> here
> > would insist). Which is a little more plausible casting, if perhaps
> a
little too close to the bone.
> > Sorry to have veered further off topic.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan Rogers
> Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 4:17 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Oleanna
> >
> > There's a movie version, as well - I think Kenneth Branagh
> was
> > the prof.
> >
> > > I have seen the play twice in London--once about 10 years
> ago
> > with David
> > > Souchet miscast as the professor (recall he played
> Inspector
> > Clousseau
> > > (sp) in public TV Mystery series) and was far too "mousey"
> to
> > play the
> > > prof.)and a second time with a better, more plausible man
> cast
> > as the
> > > prof--about a year or so ago, again in London. The play is
> a
> > study in
> > > power
> > > relationships with a distinct reversal of power from
> dominant
> > prof. over
> > > student to dominant student over prof during the course of
> the
> > > play. Whether Mamet's depiction is accurate across the
> board
> > is
> > > questionable because the way he treats legal rights
> conferred
> > on women
> > > is to implicitly say they can be perverted by
> opportunistic
> > women. In
> > > so doing he seems to say a well intentioned
> law--protecting
> > women from
> > > sexual harassment--can, in a given situation, lead to
> > unintended
> > > results. I have NEVER seen this play in the U.S. Possibly
> a
> > reason
> > > for this is the skeptical view Europeans have in "naive
> > Americans'
> > > attempt to rectify every wrong by passing a law.
> > > In terms of cases dealing with this topic,
> you
> > might
> > > want
> > > to consider CJ Rehnquist's opinion in Meritor v. Vinson
> (1986)
> > in which
> > > one of the most conservative SCt justices writes strongly
> in
> > favor of
> > > women who raise sexual harassment claims. Clearly,
> Rehnquist
> > does NOT
> > > agree with Mamet's "take" on the evils of conferring such
> > rights on
> > > women.
> > > A provocative play, though.
> > > Bruce D. Fisher
> > > At 11:46 AM 7/27/2005, you wrote:
> > >>Hello everyone,
> > >>I have been asked to participate on a panel to discuss the
> > David Mamet
> > >> play "Oleanna" as it relates to student faculty
> interaction.
> > Do you
> > >> know of any specific materials that deal with that play in
> > terms of
> > >> sexual harassment law?
> > >>Thanks. See you in San Fran.
> > >>rc
> > >>
> > >>--
> > >>Ronnie Cohen, J.D., LL.M.
> > >>Professor of Business Law
> > >>Christopher Newport University
> > >>1 University Place
> > >>Newport News, VA 23606
> > >>757-594-7075
>
>
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