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Lost in Yonkers

Aristotle has argued that there are six main elements to the theatre, or drama as a genre. These are character, plot, thought, music, spectacle, and diction. By looking at one particular work of drama, we can more fully comprehend these elements of the theatre as they pertain to the genre as a whole. Each of these six elements are in fact, evident in the movie "Lost in Yonkers". Thus, by looking at this film, we will generate a firmer grasp of Aristotle's elements of theatre.

The movie was produced in 1993, and written by the playwright of the theatrical production of the same name (produced in 1991), Neil Simon. Thus, the flow of the movie is resoundingly similar to that of the play, in some cases containing the same actors in the roles they played in the original Broadway production.

Characterization is important in a work so obviously focused on the characters. Essentially, the idea of "character", as Aristotle would see it, is the goals and motivations of each of the characters. In this movie, there is the zany, childlike Aunt Bella, played by Mercedes Ruehl, and the unlikeable Grandma Kurnitz, played by Irene Worth·both of which reprise their roles from the Broadway production. New to the cast is Richard Dreyfuss, playing the very slick gangster-type, Uncle Louie. We meet them through their encounters with Jay and Arty, the protagonists of the story. It is important to the story that each of the characters be extremely different, or else the audience would get bored with watching the production, and Jay and Arty wouldn't learn so much about life in the end.

These characters enhance the thought, or theme of the movie, which is quite simple. The theme is the importance of family, which plays a large role throughout the movie. The audience is also forced to think about what the character's lives would be like without family, further enhancing the movie's theme.

This is of course, driven through the plot

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Lost in Yonkers. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:46, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1695339.html