Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time

Year 2020, Volume: 37 Issue: 2, 330 - 340, 31.12.2020

Özlem Özmen

https://doi.org/10.32600/huefd.683007

Abstract

This article discusses two of Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time as examples of dystopian drama which criticise the contextual background of 1980s Turkey and 1990s Britain respectively. This reading illustrates that dystopian images observed in Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time are used as responses to certain socio-historical problems of two different locations. While the panorama of a military state in One for the Road provides a criticism of the political atmosphere of Turkey following the 1980 coup, the economically unbalanced and depoliticised society presented in Party Time resonates with the socio-economic inequality of Britain during the Thatcher and Major periods. Unspecified settings of the plays, ambiguous characterisation, and hierarchical social structures presented in these works are viewed among the dystopian elements which help Pinter criticise the political atmosphere of Turkey following the 1980 coup and the unbalanced socio-economic background of contemporary Britain. Discussing dystopian narrative elements – that are commonly studied in relation to the novel genre – in relation to dramatic texts offers the idea that although there is no reference to particular states or political figures in these plays, dystopian elements such as totalitarian regime and state violence derive their material from the real events of the two countries. By way of this dystopian perspective, it is aimed to discuss the necessity of observing the close relationship between Pinter’s plays and their historical background despite their seeming distance from their political milieux. A reading of Pinter’s works with an emphasis on their dystopian images also helps to interpret Pinter’s detached attitude to the politics of his plays from an alternative perspective.

Keywords

Harold Pinter, One for the Road, Party Time, dystopian, politics, Turkey, Britain

Harold Pinter'ın One for the Road ve Party Time Oyunlarındaki Distopik Siyaset

Abstract

Bu makale, Harold Pinter’ın sırasıyla 1980’ler Türkiyesi ve 1990’lar İngiltere’sinin bağlamsal arka planını eleştiren One for the Road ve Party Time başlıklı iki politik oyununu distopik tiyatro örnekleri olarak tartışmaktadır. Bu okuma, Harold Pinter’ın siyasî oyunlarında gözlemlenen distopik imgelerin iki farklı ülkenin belirli sosyal ve tarihî sorunlarına birer tepki/yorum niteliğinde olduğunu göstermektedir. One for the Road’daki polis devlet temsili 1980 darbesi sonrası Türkiye’sinin siyasî atmosferinin bir eleştirisi olarak görülürken Party Time’da gözlemlenen ekonomik dengesizlik ve apolitik toplumsal düzen Thatcher ve Major dönemleri İngiltere’sinin sosyo-ekonomik dengesizliğine ışık tutar. Oyunların belirtilmemiş mekânları, muğlak karakter temsilleri ve hiyerarşik toplumsal yapılar, Pinter’ın 1980 darbesi sonrası Türkiye’si ve 1990’lar İngiltere’sini eleştirmek için kullandığı biçemsel öğeler olarak incelenmektedir. Daha çok roman türünde incelenen distopik anlatı öğlelerini tiyatro türünde tartışmak, bu oyunlarda gerçek bir devlet veya gerçek siyasî kişilerden bahsedilmemesine rağmen totaliter rejim ve devlet destekli şiddet gibi distopik öğelerin kaynağını bu iki ülkede yaşanan gerçek olaylardan aldığını göstermektedir. Bu distopik bakış açısı yoluyla - görünüşte uzak gibi dursalar da - Pinter’ın oyunları ve tarihsel arka planları arasındaki yakın ilişkiyi incelemenin gerekliliği vurgulanmaktadır. Pinter’ın eserlerini barındırdıkları distopik öğelere dikkat ederek okumak aynı zamanda yazarın eserlerinin siyasî içeriğine olan mesafeli tutumunu inceleme konusunda da alternatif bir yorum getirmektedir.

Keywords

Harold Pinter, One for the Road, Party Time, distopik, siyaset, Türkiye, İngiltere

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