List of Jews in literature and journalism Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Edward R. Isser

Critical Essay by Edward R. Isser

SOURCE: Isser, Edward R. “The Antecedents of American Holocaust Drama.” In Stages of Annihilation: Theatrical Representations of the Holocaust, pp. 32-43. Madison, WI: Associated University Presses, Inc., 1997.

In the following excerpt, Isser discusses American drama written about the Holocaust, noting that themes and imagery were often softened and diluted to make them more acceptable to theatergoers.

The Holocaust is an ineffable occurrence that defies the capabilities of the human imagination. Dramatic representations of the historical catastrophe must transform, or as Adorno has said, transfigure, the terror so that it can be endured by an audience. In the American theater this is accomplished usually by the imposition of melodramatic modes upon the historical model. Sententious messages, moral exemplars, uplifting endings, and heroic sacrifices are used to bring order out of the chaos; to make the unimaginable approachable and the unbearable manageable. Lawrence Langer refers to this as the Americanization of...
(read more)