Review of the Play "What I Meant Was.."

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews two plays that portray the ideal way in which families should communicate. This satirical presentation is made from a psychological perspective. The families that are described are dysfunctional families that are behaving correctly.

From the Paper:

"In his play "What I Meant Was," playwright Craig Lucas depicts in a satiric way what members of a dysfunctional family might say if they were really as open and communicative as a therapist might want. The sorts of confessions offered at this dinner table are offered quite matter-of-factly, without the anger and recriminations one might expect for accompaniment. Underlying this sort of conversational series of revelations are the expectations of the audience based on years of theater, television, and films showing the interplay of the generations and specifically conflicts in American society over many of the non-majority populations and communities mentioned in this conversation, references that could usually be counted on to start a fight between parent and child, but here serving only to produce apparent understanding and acceptance. The fact that the son is gay would be a source of embarrassment and shame for the conservative parents of the 1970s, but in the play, they"

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