Mother Courage Film

This film was very interesting. I liked that we got to see the actors at work and was especially cool to see how raw it is. I thought it was very sneaky of the documentary crew but I caught them at it, that they tried to pull a Brecht and remind you that it was a documentary, and not a characterization. In one of the shots when they were going into rehearsal, they filmed the sign on the bulletin board outside that said "documentary crew filming today" so they reminded the audience that they are watching a documentary. Sneaky! I liked that the documentary touched on how the play is significant to multiple time periods, cultures, and countries. Any individual who has ever been touched by war can surely sympathize with Mother Courage. Just because the aren't on the front lines with her doesn't mean that an individual has to sacrifice something to the effort. It could be as simple as an increase in taxes, or as severe as the loss of a loved one or the death of the individual.

In addition, I liked the part when they showed the photo book that Brecht used. I think it is a really good idea to have snapshots, because that can portray the staging in an exact way to someone else who is directing it, rather than leaving it up to their interpretation. Brecht wanted things done his way, and this was a good way to do it.

Finally, I really liked how they talked about how war leads to many political issues getting stripped open. We see this in America today, and have seen this throughout our world's history. It has been amazing to see that time and time again theater has stepped in to give the "helpless" as Meryl Streep puts it, a voice. It gives individuals with little influence otherwise the change to express themselves and their views on the situation at hand.