Nov. 16: American Buffalo
David Mamet won the Pulitzer for Glengarry Glen Ross but he's on
record somewhere as saying that American Buffalo may be a better play.
Yes, and it is now 2015 and American Buffalo was written in 1975 when Mr. Mamet was in his late 20s. He was, by his own description, a "brain dead Liberal." He now considers himself a Conservative and I wonder how he views his old work through the lens of his new right wing ideology.
I've said before that Glengarry Glen Ross is an indictment of the American Dream. Budding capitalists are taught that hard work will be rewarded, but they are seldom taught that ethics will hinder you if you want to become wealthy. Someone once said that it's easy to make a million dollars if all you want to do is make a million dollars. Sell drugs, peddle porn, be a pimp. Your wallet will grow but at what expense?
Glengarry Glen Ross is a play about middle-aged men, most of them real estate agents whose job is to sell worthless land to deadbeats who can't afford it. There's Shelley Levene, who resorts to theft out of sheer desperation. There's Richard Roma, who's on a hot streak because he has no ethics. There's George Aaronow, a straight arrow who is probably going to go bankrupt even though he'll stay out of jail. The audience leaves the theatre and I imagine the young Mamet may have hoped they'd find socialism much more appealing.
But this note is supposed to be about American Buffalo, which is about three men (or two men and one boy, depending on the director's bent) who conspire to steal a coin collection. The play was later made into a movie that starred Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz and a young actor named Sean Nelson. I saw it on opening night at the Globe Theatre in Calgary because I am such a Mamet fan.
I suppose American Buffalo is also an indictment of the American Dream. All the action takes place in a resale shop. The proprietor, Donny, sells an American Buffalo nickle to a client and later suspects that the nickle may be worth five times what the guy paid for it. He conspires to steal the coin back. This sort of theft is illegal but (and here we can imply) that Donnie et al consider it fair game since the buyer manipulated Donnie into thinking the coin wasn't all that valuable in the first place.
Is that theft? Maybe. Is it criminal? I hope not. If negotiation ever carries criminal consequences then our jails will become crowded indeed.
To me, American Buffalo is a statement that a degree of dishonesty is necessary if you want to be a businessman. I hope that isn't true.
Yes, and it is now 2015 and American Buffalo was written in 1975 when Mr. Mamet was in his late 20s. He was, by his own description, a "brain dead Liberal." He now considers himself a Conservative and I wonder how he views his old work through the lens of his new right wing ideology.
I've said before that Glengarry Glen Ross is an indictment of the American Dream. Budding capitalists are taught that hard work will be rewarded, but they are seldom taught that ethics will hinder you if you want to become wealthy. Someone once said that it's easy to make a million dollars if all you want to do is make a million dollars. Sell drugs, peddle porn, be a pimp. Your wallet will grow but at what expense?
Glengarry Glen Ross is a play about middle-aged men, most of them real estate agents whose job is to sell worthless land to deadbeats who can't afford it. There's Shelley Levene, who resorts to theft out of sheer desperation. There's Richard Roma, who's on a hot streak because he has no ethics. There's George Aaronow, a straight arrow who is probably going to go bankrupt even though he'll stay out of jail. The audience leaves the theatre and I imagine the young Mamet may have hoped they'd find socialism much more appealing.
But this note is supposed to be about American Buffalo, which is about three men (or two men and one boy, depending on the director's bent) who conspire to steal a coin collection. The play was later made into a movie that starred Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz and a young actor named Sean Nelson. I saw it on opening night at the Globe Theatre in Calgary because I am such a Mamet fan.
I suppose American Buffalo is also an indictment of the American Dream. All the action takes place in a resale shop. The proprietor, Donny, sells an American Buffalo nickle to a client and later suspects that the nickle may be worth five times what the guy paid for it. He conspires to steal the coin back. This sort of theft is illegal but (and here we can imply) that Donnie et al consider it fair game since the buyer manipulated Donnie into thinking the coin wasn't all that valuable in the first place.
Is that theft? Maybe. Is it criminal? I hope not. If negotiation ever carries criminal consequences then our jails will become crowded indeed.
To me, American Buffalo is a statement that a degree of dishonesty is necessary if you want to be a businessman. I hope that isn't true.
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