Friday, February 23, 2018

Not Exactly Real

Just back from watching Haresh Sharma's Those Who Can't Teach as performed by a very young, very enthusiastic cast. Highly enjoyable and unexpectedly thought-provoking, for this member of the audience, that is. I suppose it was watching a play about something I've actually done for a lot of my life that made me think about the nature of dramatic mimesis. Why is it that I can't think of any play or tv series or film that has come anywhere close to conveying the reality of being a teacher? This isn't to say that there aren't fine dramas and films dealing with the idea (including the play I watched tonight) but these can only point in the direction of what it means to teach; they never capture the texture of the experience. 

Could it be that any drama dealing with any form of work can only gesture towards what that work is really like as a lived experience?

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