Community, History and Transformation

Abstract

Tony Kushner, award-winning playwright and political activist, tells us in the documentary Wrestling with Angels (Freida Lee Mock, 2006, US): ‘As far as I am concerned it’s an ethical obligation to look for hope, it’s an ethical obligation not to despair. If you look there is always a possibility of finding where action can change the course of things.’ Evoking the spirit of his groundbreaking play Angels in America (HBO, 2003, US) (discussed below), Kushner affirms his positive stance in suggesting the agency that ordinary people may possess to influence their social environments (see Figure 3.1). In Angels Kushner worked towards changing the course of life through exploring the significance of AIDS in relation to the connectedness of minority identities, negated within President Ronald Reagan’s America. Such a focus on community ideals and historical settings renders Angels in America a central site of investigation, which evokes not only the agency of producers such as Kushner, but also stimulates audiences’ engagement to political arenas. Whilst this book explores fictional and factual forms, a consistent point within this is the social agency of the producer, the performer and the audience. This foregrounds transgressive scenarios where dominant and oppressive identity is challenged. As Kushner affirms, these are opportunities for action and change, grounding the self in the political.