Truly An Awesome Spectacle: Gender Performativity And The Alienation Effect In Angels In America

Tony Kushner's two-part play Angels in America uses stereotypical depictions of gay men to deconstruct traditional gender dichotomies. In this thesis, I argue that Kushner has created a continuum of gender performativity to deconstruct these traditional gender dichotomies, thereby empowering the effeminate and disempowering the masculine. I closely examine Kushner's use of Brechtian and Aristotelian tenets in the first Broadway production of the play to demonstrate that Kushner sought to induce social awareness of gay male oppression, contingent on the audience's perception of Kushner's deconstruction of the traditional gender dichotomy. I also scrutinize the role of the closet and its implications in the play, primarily analyzed with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's theoretical framework, suggesting Kushner's partiality to openly gay men who can actively participate in the cessation of gay male oppression.

Author dc:creator

• Gorney, Allen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Campbell, James

• gender studies
• queer theory
• modern drama
• american literature
• dramatic criticism
• Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory
• Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

CFE0000901

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-1557