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Psychology of Belonging and Traumatised Soldiers in In-Yer-Face Theatre: Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator and Sarah Kane’s Blasted

Year 2021, , 516 - 536, 01.09.2021
https://doi.org/10.18691/kulturveiletisim.894880

Abstract

The psychological concept of belonging (or belongingness) is a strong motive found in human nature. When not satisfied or is lost, it causes highly problematic behaviors and relationships, leading sufferers to try to satisfy their need to belong. This article studies how belongingness finds reflections in the isolated and traumatized soldier characters of the two significant plays, namely Penetrator (1993) by Anthony Neilson and Blasted (1995) by Sarah Kane, of the 1990s British drama, known also as the In-Yer-Face theatre. In order to achieve this, this article analyzes the soldier characters – Tadge from Penetrator and Soldier from Blasted – found in these plays by means of the theories and related studies on the concept of belonging such as those put forth by Roy Baumeister, Mark Leary, Abraham Maslow, Sigmund Freud, and Jacques Lacan. The study expands the analyses on the soldier characters of the plays by juxtaposing the theories on belonging and sense of belonging with the related studies on several other psychological concepts such as recognition, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and transference.

References

  • Ablett, Sarah (2014). “Approaching Abjection in Sarah Kane's Blasted”. Performance Research, (19)1: 63-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2014.908085
  • American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
  • APA Dictionary of Psychology (n.d.). “Belonging.” Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/belonging.
  • Aston, Elaine (2010). “Feeling the Loss of Feminism: Sarah Kane's "Blasted" and an Experiential Genealogy of Contemporary Women's Playwriting.” Theatre Journal, 62(4): 575-591.
  • Bal, Mustafa (2021). “Memory Plays: Harold Pinter’s Old Times and Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator.” Pamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute, (42): 155-167. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.697184
  • Baumeister, Roy and Mark Leary (1995). “The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation.” Psychological Bulletin, 117(3): 497-529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033 2909.117.3.497
  • Baumeister, Roy (1991). Meanings of Life. New York: The Guilford Press.
  • Bryan, Rich (2006). “Boys will Be Boys: Public Language and ‘Subcultures of Violence’ in Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator.” In The Wicked Heart: Studies in the Phenomena of Evil. Sorcha Ní Fhlainn and William Andrew Myers (Eds.). Oxford, the UK: Inter Disciplinary Press. 91-99.
  • DeWall, C. Nathan, Timothy Deckman, Richard Pond, Jr., and Ian Bonser (2011). “Belongingness as a Core Personality Trait: How Social Exclusion Influences Social Functioning and Personality Expression.” Journal of Personality, 79(6): 979–1012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00695.x
  • Elbogen, Eric, Sally Johnson, Virginia Newton, Kristy Straits-Troster, Jennifer Vasterling, Ryan Wagner and Jean Beckham (2012). “Criminal Justice Involvement, Trauma, and Negative Affect in Iraq and Afghanistan War Era Veterans.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(6): 1097-1102. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029967
  • Freud, Sigmund (1959). Collected Papers. Vol.4. Trans. Joan Riviere, et al. New York: Basic Books. (Original work published in 1908.)
  • Freud, Sigmund (1961). The Future of an Illusion. Trans. James Strachey. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published in 1927).
  • Herman, Judith (2015). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. New York: Basic Books.
  • Kane, Sarah (2001). Complete Plays: Blasted, Phaedra's Love, Cleansed, Crave, 4,48 Psychosis, Skin. London: Methuen Drama.
  • Kielawski, Robert (2016). “Between Paranoid Men: Masculinity and Violent Homosocialities in Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator.” In War and Words: Representations of Military Conflict in Literature and the Media. Wojciech Drag, Jakub Krogulec, Mateusz Marecki (Eds.). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 103-118.
  • Lacan, Jacques (2006). Écrits. Trans. Bruce Fink. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
  • Larsson, IngBeth and Carl-Göran Svedin (2002). “Sexual Experiences in Childhood: Young Adults' Recollections.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31(3): 263-73. https://doi.org/doi:10.1023/a:1015252903931
  • Maslow, Abraham (1943). “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, 50(4): 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
  • Neilson, Anthony (1998). Neilson Plays, 1. London: Methuen Drama.
  • Sierz, Aleks (2000). In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today. London: Faber and Faber.
  • Solomon, Zahava, Mark Waysman, Mario Mikulincer (1990). “Family Functioning, Perceived Societal Support, and Combat-related Psychopathology: The Moderating Role of Loneliness.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(4): 456-472. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1990.9.4.456.
  • Stillman, Tyler and Roy Baumeister (2009). “Uncertainty, Belongingness, and Four Needs for Meaning.” Psychological Inquiry, 20(4): 249-251. Retrieved February 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40646442
  • Stolorow, Robert, Bernard Brandchaft, George Atwood (2013). Psychoanalytic Treatment: An Intersubjective Approach. New York: Routledge.
  • Stratford, Aoise (2019). “Reopening Sarah Kane’s ‘Chamber of Horrors’: Blasted as Gothic Drama.” Modern Drama, 62(1): 23-44.
  • The Collins English Dictionary (n.d.). “Belongingness.” HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/belongingness

Yüze Vurumcu Tiyatroda Aidiyet Psikolojisi ve Psikolojik Travmalı Askerler: Anthony Neilson’ın Delici (Penetrator) ve Sarah Kane’in Harap (Blasted) Adlı Oyunları

Year 2021, , 516 - 536, 01.09.2021
https://doi.org/10.18691/kulturveiletisim.894880

Abstract

Psikolojik bir kavram olarak aidiyet insan doğasında bulunan güçlü bir güdüdür. Bu güdünün tatmin edilmeyişi veya yitirilişi, insanların davranışlarında ve ilişkilerinde son derece ciddi sorunlara sebep olmaktadır. Bu sorunu yaşayan kişiler aidiyet ihtiyaçlarını gidermeye gayret ederler. Buradan hareketle bu makale aidiyet ihtiyacı ve aidiyet duygusu kavramlarının, Yüze Vurumcu Tiyatro (In-Yer-Face theatre) olarak da adlandırılan 1990’lar Britanya tiyatrosunun iki önemli oyunu olan Anthony Neilson’ın Delici (Penetrator-1993) ve Sarah Kane’in Harap (Blasted-1995) adlı oyunlarında bulunan yalnızlaşmış, çevrelerinden soyutlanmış ve psikolojik travmalı asker karakterler ile olan ilişkisini incelemektedir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda bu makale Delici’deki Tadge karakteri ile Harap’taki Asker (Soldier) karakterini örneğin Roy Baumeister, Mark Leary, Abraham Maslow, Sigmund Freud ve Jacques Lacan tarafından ortaya konulmuş aidiyet kavramı ile ilişkili teoriler ve ilintili çalışmalar yardımıyla irdeler. Oyunların asker karakterleri ile aidiyet ihtiyacı ve aidiyet duygusu arasındaki bağlar, ilgili teorilerin, takdir edilme/onaylanma, travma sonrası stres bozukluğu ve aktarım gibi diğer psikoloji kavramları ile birlikte değerlendirilmesiyle çözümlenmektedir.

References

  • Ablett, Sarah (2014). “Approaching Abjection in Sarah Kane's Blasted”. Performance Research, (19)1: 63-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2014.908085
  • American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
  • APA Dictionary of Psychology (n.d.). “Belonging.” Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/belonging.
  • Aston, Elaine (2010). “Feeling the Loss of Feminism: Sarah Kane's "Blasted" and an Experiential Genealogy of Contemporary Women's Playwriting.” Theatre Journal, 62(4): 575-591.
  • Bal, Mustafa (2021). “Memory Plays: Harold Pinter’s Old Times and Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator.” Pamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute, (42): 155-167. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.697184
  • Baumeister, Roy and Mark Leary (1995). “The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation.” Psychological Bulletin, 117(3): 497-529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033 2909.117.3.497
  • Baumeister, Roy (1991). Meanings of Life. New York: The Guilford Press.
  • Bryan, Rich (2006). “Boys will Be Boys: Public Language and ‘Subcultures of Violence’ in Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator.” In The Wicked Heart: Studies in the Phenomena of Evil. Sorcha Ní Fhlainn and William Andrew Myers (Eds.). Oxford, the UK: Inter Disciplinary Press. 91-99.
  • DeWall, C. Nathan, Timothy Deckman, Richard Pond, Jr., and Ian Bonser (2011). “Belongingness as a Core Personality Trait: How Social Exclusion Influences Social Functioning and Personality Expression.” Journal of Personality, 79(6): 979–1012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00695.x
  • Elbogen, Eric, Sally Johnson, Virginia Newton, Kristy Straits-Troster, Jennifer Vasterling, Ryan Wagner and Jean Beckham (2012). “Criminal Justice Involvement, Trauma, and Negative Affect in Iraq and Afghanistan War Era Veterans.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(6): 1097-1102. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029967
  • Freud, Sigmund (1959). Collected Papers. Vol.4. Trans. Joan Riviere, et al. New York: Basic Books. (Original work published in 1908.)
  • Freud, Sigmund (1961). The Future of an Illusion. Trans. James Strachey. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published in 1927).
  • Herman, Judith (2015). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. New York: Basic Books.
  • Kane, Sarah (2001). Complete Plays: Blasted, Phaedra's Love, Cleansed, Crave, 4,48 Psychosis, Skin. London: Methuen Drama.
  • Kielawski, Robert (2016). “Between Paranoid Men: Masculinity and Violent Homosocialities in Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator.” In War and Words: Representations of Military Conflict in Literature and the Media. Wojciech Drag, Jakub Krogulec, Mateusz Marecki (Eds.). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 103-118.
  • Lacan, Jacques (2006). Écrits. Trans. Bruce Fink. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
  • Larsson, IngBeth and Carl-Göran Svedin (2002). “Sexual Experiences in Childhood: Young Adults' Recollections.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 31(3): 263-73. https://doi.org/doi:10.1023/a:1015252903931
  • Maslow, Abraham (1943). “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review, 50(4): 370-396. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054346
  • Neilson, Anthony (1998). Neilson Plays, 1. London: Methuen Drama.
  • Sierz, Aleks (2000). In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today. London: Faber and Faber.
  • Solomon, Zahava, Mark Waysman, Mario Mikulincer (1990). “Family Functioning, Perceived Societal Support, and Combat-related Psychopathology: The Moderating Role of Loneliness.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(4): 456-472. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1990.9.4.456.
  • Stillman, Tyler and Roy Baumeister (2009). “Uncertainty, Belongingness, and Four Needs for Meaning.” Psychological Inquiry, 20(4): 249-251. Retrieved February 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40646442
  • Stolorow, Robert, Bernard Brandchaft, George Atwood (2013). Psychoanalytic Treatment: An Intersubjective Approach. New York: Routledge.
  • Stratford, Aoise (2019). “Reopening Sarah Kane’s ‘Chamber of Horrors’: Blasted as Gothic Drama.” Modern Drama, 62(1): 23-44.
  • The Collins English Dictionary (n.d.). “Belongingness.” HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/belongingness
There are 25 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Mustafa Bal 0000-0002-4839-1800

Çağan Fırtına 0000-0003-1423-517X

Publication Date September 1, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021

Cite

APA Bal, M., & Fırtına, Ç. (2021). Psychology of Belonging and Traumatised Soldiers in In-Yer-Face Theatre: Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator and Sarah Kane’s Blasted. Kültür Ve İletişim, 24 (2)(48), 516-536. https://doi.org/10.18691/kulturveiletisim.894880