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Year 2023, Issue: Ö13, 1279 - 1290, 23.10.2023
https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1379348

Abstract

References

  • Ali, A. A. A. M. (2015). The Representation of Muslim-Related International Conflicts in Contemporary Anglo-American Theatre, 1992–2011 [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Royal Holloway, University of London.
  • Blankenship, M. (2005, May 17). The Pull of Negative Gravity. Variety. https://variety.com/2005/legit/reviews/the-pull-of-negative-gravity-1200525701/
  • Boll, J. (2013). The New War Plays: From Kane to Harris. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Cotterell, L. C. N. (2019). Suspect Device: British Subsidised Theatre’s Response to the Iraq War, 2003-2011 (DOI: 10.46289/ARTS5862) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Gloucestershire]. University of Gloucestershire Research Repository.
  • Dotsenko, E. (2010). “New violence” in British drama of the war on terror. Footpath, 1(3), 12-19.
  • Gupta, S. (2011). Imagining Iraq: Literature in English and the Iraq Invasion. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Kalpokas, I. (2019). A Political Theory of Post-Truth. Palgrave Pivot.
  • Keyes, R. (2004). The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life. St. Martin’s Press.
  • Lee, V. (2004, August 8). Families at War. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/families-at-war-7381736.html
  • Lichtenstein, J. (2004). The Pull of Negative Gravity. Nick Hern Books.
  • McIntyre, L. (2018). Post-Truth. MIT Press.
  • Osbeck, L. M., & Antczak, S. L. (2022). Introduction: Revisiting “truth” in an era of “post-truth”. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 35(2), 423-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2020.1723146
  • Ramsden, T. (2004, September 1). The Pull of Negative Gravity. To 11 September. ReviewsGate. https://reviewsgate.com/the-pull-of-negative-gravity-to-11-september/
  • Roca, O. (2005, May 26). The War at Home. Miami New Times. https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/the-war-at-home-6340385
  • Starck, K. (2006). Current Global Conflict and the Invasion of the Private in The Pull of Negative Gravity and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing. In T. Rommel & M. Schreiber (Eds.), Mapping Uncertain Territories: Space and Place in Contemporary Theatre and Drama (pp. 61-72). Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.
  • Walker, L. (2004, August 9). The Pull of Negative Gravity, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/the-pull-of-negative-gravity-traverse-theatre-edinburgh-50772.html
  • Wierzoch, J. (2020). Home/Fronts: Contemporary War in British Literature, Drama, and Film. Transcript.
  • Word of the Year 2016. (n.d.). Oxford Languages. https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2016/
  • Zink, J. (2005, May 25). Mosaic’s Unblinking Look at Gravity of War. The South Florida Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2005-05-25-0505230185-story.html

Shifting from Post-Truth to Truth in Jonathan Lichtenstein’s The Pull of Negative Gravity

Year 2023, Issue: Ö13, 1279 - 1290, 23.10.2023
https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1379348

Abstract

The concept of post-truth, popularised especially in 2016, exerts its influence across various areas from everyday life to diplomatic relations. Although its use and examination have notably increased in the last decade, the concept was used in the early years of the twenty-first century. For instance, during the 2003 Iraq War, both politicians and the ordinary public as well used this concept and produced both pro-war and anti-war post-truth discourses. Additionally, playwrights have represented post-truth discourses in their plays, both challenging prevailing political discourses and conveying their own messages through theatrical productions. One of these works, which scrutinise the post-truth discourses regarding the Iraq War, is Jonathan Lichtenstein’s play The Pull of Negative Gravity staged at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh in 2004 and published by Nick Hern Books in the same year. The play deals with the financial, familial and psychological difficulties of a Welsh farming family who sends one of their members to the Iraq War. The soldier’s experience of war and military service is glorified through post-truth narratives prior to his return from Iraq. However, upon his paralysed return from the war, the family members are compelled to face the undeniable realities, and all those positive discourses are replaced by factual truths. Thus, the play conveys to its audience/reader the message that emotionally-charged post- truth imaginations can be challenged through visible and objective realities. Considering such. Considering such viewpoints, the objective of this article is to examine both how Lichtenstein’s play unveils the post-truth discourses in the society concerning the Iraq War, and the strategy it follows to contend with such discourses.

References

  • Ali, A. A. A. M. (2015). The Representation of Muslim-Related International Conflicts in Contemporary Anglo-American Theatre, 1992–2011 [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Royal Holloway, University of London.
  • Blankenship, M. (2005, May 17). The Pull of Negative Gravity. Variety. https://variety.com/2005/legit/reviews/the-pull-of-negative-gravity-1200525701/
  • Boll, J. (2013). The New War Plays: From Kane to Harris. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Cotterell, L. C. N. (2019). Suspect Device: British Subsidised Theatre’s Response to the Iraq War, 2003-2011 (DOI: 10.46289/ARTS5862) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Gloucestershire]. University of Gloucestershire Research Repository.
  • Dotsenko, E. (2010). “New violence” in British drama of the war on terror. Footpath, 1(3), 12-19.
  • Gupta, S. (2011). Imagining Iraq: Literature in English and the Iraq Invasion. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Kalpokas, I. (2019). A Political Theory of Post-Truth. Palgrave Pivot.
  • Keyes, R. (2004). The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life. St. Martin’s Press.
  • Lee, V. (2004, August 8). Families at War. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/families-at-war-7381736.html
  • Lichtenstein, J. (2004). The Pull of Negative Gravity. Nick Hern Books.
  • McIntyre, L. (2018). Post-Truth. MIT Press.
  • Osbeck, L. M., & Antczak, S. L. (2022). Introduction: Revisiting “truth” in an era of “post-truth”. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 35(2), 423-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2020.1723146
  • Ramsden, T. (2004, September 1). The Pull of Negative Gravity. To 11 September. ReviewsGate. https://reviewsgate.com/the-pull-of-negative-gravity-to-11-september/
  • Roca, O. (2005, May 26). The War at Home. Miami New Times. https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/the-war-at-home-6340385
  • Starck, K. (2006). Current Global Conflict and the Invasion of the Private in The Pull of Negative Gravity and When the Bulbul Stopped Singing. In T. Rommel & M. Schreiber (Eds.), Mapping Uncertain Territories: Space and Place in Contemporary Theatre and Drama (pp. 61-72). Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.
  • Walker, L. (2004, August 9). The Pull of Negative Gravity, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/the-pull-of-negative-gravity-traverse-theatre-edinburgh-50772.html
  • Wierzoch, J. (2020). Home/Fronts: Contemporary War in British Literature, Drama, and Film. Transcript.
  • Word of the Year 2016. (n.d.). Oxford Languages. https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2016/
  • Zink, J. (2005, May 25). Mosaic’s Unblinking Look at Gravity of War. The South Florida Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2005-05-25-0505230185-story.html
There are 19 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section World languages, cultures and litertures
Authors

Güven Çağan 0000-0001-8268-3041

Publication Date October 23, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Issue: Ö13

Cite

APA Çağan, G. (2023). Shifting from Post-Truth to Truth in Jonathan Lichtenstein’s The Pull of Negative Gravity. RumeliDE Dil Ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi(Ö13), 1279-1290. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.1379348

RumeliDE Journal of Language and Literature Studies is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY NC).