Author: bswan2005

It was difficult for me to find a cultural artifact, so I chose to talk about something meaningful to me,  my family and is part of our dynamic. I chose a picture from when we went to see the revival of Into the Woods in 2022.  Theatre and performance has always been meaningful to me and it’s from how I grew up. This show has special meaning as well, but more so it is what it represents. It represents the environment where I feel the most comfortable. My sister and I were always singing together and were always putting on performances. We had large imaginations and lots of feelings so performance and theatre was a productive outlet Even more so, my parents were always encouraging us to go out for auditions and practice. They had respect for the performing arts that stemmed from their experiences as adolescent performers (it’s actually how they met!)

Theatre has been engrained in my life because of the reasons above, but also because it was the first space where I felt I could be completely myself. I have a loud, unapologetic communication style, which is an acquired taste for some. I always have no shame being ‘weird’ in public if it means I’m having fun. When I did my first show, I realized that I wasn’t the only one. In my opinion, a theatre community is one of the most welcoming and accepting communities you can be a part of. I am able to work intimately with individuals I would not typically interact with outside the space.

Furthermore, theatre has traditionally become a space for members of the queer community. Not only is it accepting but because it allows for creative expression differing from other forms of art. I am not queer, but I can imagine the relief of being in a space that is meant to uplift and foster connection. Even though there are a multitude of other spaces that can offer this, I know theatre is meaningful to the queer community through experiences that I cannot relate to. The amazing thing about art is how it can offer every person what they want from it. That can form communities through the similarities, but also leaves space for individual wants and needs to be heard. While we should always strive for community, a welcoming space should be able to offer benefits on an individual level as well.

I know this is a cliché answer, but there are so many claims I could make about this text. But the one I want to focus is the nature of Joe and Louis’s relationship. Even though Louis is obviously the bigger asshole in lots of ways (i.e. leaving Prior when he is literally dying and saying everything to Belize during the democracy monologue in Act 3 Scene 2 (97-100)), I am going to argue that Joe is not that great of a person as well. First of all, it seems like Joe and Harper got married just because they had to and not because they initially loved each other. The nickname ‘buddy’ kind of alludes to this because it makes it seem like they are more friends than lovers or partners (18). Secondly, Joe is not forcing Harper to get help for her Valium; he honestly seems to shut down about it i.e. when they are arguing and he asks how many pills she has taken: “I won’t talk to you when you-” (36). This is not dissimilar to Louis shutting down Prior’s sickness.

Even though these passages above do offer insight on Joe, the main scene that solidified this claim for me was Act 3 Scene 4 in Perestroika. They are talking on the beach in Brooklyn and Louis is trying to grapple with the severity of their actions together: cheating, abandoning their partners, exploring sexuality etc. But Joe just wants to initiate sex with Louis when he is attempting a mature conversation (202). Even more so, Joe is just plainly ignoring his identity as a Republican and a Mormon (203). In my opinion, Joe’s thought process consists of the reasoning of since he is in a sexual relationship with Louis, his entire past cannot have an impact because it is entirely separate. The fact that Louis acknowledges that in this scene and Joe doesn’t is pretty telling.

Even though this statement was kind of tangential, I want to make it clear that I do have more sympathy for Joe than I do for Lewis. No one should have to deal with the internal conflict that comes with this brand of self-discovery. However, Joe needs to do serious internal work in order to come with terms with his religious affiliation, his relationship with his wife and not distract from his problems with sex.

A central theme of this poem revolves around the speaker observing other women like them (lesbians) engaging in “masculine” activities”. Moreover, in this stanza, how similar the women are to them but more specifically how they don’t notice the differences (19-20). The men are referring to the women as one of them and don’t choose to reprimand. It is not just because both groups are attracted to women or share the same dismay for other men. It’s because the men see here a spectacle and choose to “marvel” at it because of how different it is. Even though the speaker might be wary of men for a lot of reasons, the group of men chooses to focus on the similarities in dealing with romantic relationships.

I believe not only this poem, but especially this stanza offers valuable insight into the question of identity and possibly the intersection with someone’s personal as well as their LGTBQ identity. In this stanza, the men don’t seem to acknowledge that the woman in front of them is a lesbian. It is not specified, but it could be that she is not presenting the stereotypical lesbian characteristics.  They can acknowledge that she is like them in a variety of ways, but because she is a woman, she is automatically put on a pedestal, regardless of her sexual orientation. This also makes me think of how this group of men would respond to a gay man. Even though they are both men, there might be a completely different direction because of the innate focus on the sexual orientation.

I think this can connect to a feeling common in the LGBTQ community of having to manage other’s perceptions of them separate from their gender identity. One identity can be focused on more than the other, which might lead to a sense of disconnect. The speaker might have been observing the respect from the men because of the female presenting identity, not necessarily from the lesbian identity. I think it comes back of how multiple ‘things’ can be true at once in the community and that being difficult for others outside to grasp (e.g someone being traditionally “fem” and being attracted to women).

My interpretation of this poem presents a forbidden age-gap homosexual relationship and the ‘woods’ is the only place they could be intimate. It’s a place hidden away from the rest of the outside world, where they can explore their relationship; woods throughout folklore can be seen as a place for transformation; perhaps this speaker engaging in this relationship represents them growing up/maturing in a way separate from their biological age. There was a contradiction from the initial “gasp” and “god damn” to the action of the zipper being pulled or forced up; momentary release but now they literally must put everything away and pretend nothing happened (8).  Additionally, the use of “tongue” instead of teeth suggests a deeper form of intimacy that is present in this relationship (8). Furthermore, the use of “leaves” referring to the lover represents a sense of choice- based on their maturity/age, they have more autonomy in their life and who they present to the outside world (8). The speaker might not have the ability to make that decision yet based on the age difference. There are also descriptions of “pine needles” and “brown leaves” and how they are on/in the speaker’s hair and body (8). These items are only described after the lover leaves the woods, which could be telling how this relationship has resulted in a loss of innocence; these elements of the woods disheveled his appearance that he now has to fix before he reenters the real world. Finally, the repetition of “leaves” could indicate the quick turnaround of the intimate moment; they could not afford to enjoy each other’s company. Overall, the consistent descriptions of the woods could represent the forbidden nature of the relationship.