THE POLITICS OF OTHERNESS IN THE TIME OF CRISES: REVISITING TONY KUSHNER’S ANGELS IN AMERICA

Authors : Mehmet Zeki Giritli

Pages : 329-340

Doi:10.21550/sosbilder.1325393

View : 41 | Download : 21

Publication Date : 2024-01-31

Article Type : Research

Abstract :The recent COVID-19 pandemic has revealed once again that the effects of health crises have been more severe for some groups compared to the others. The most prominent of these groups is non-binary or LGBTQ+ individuals who have long faced social discrimination. The disadvantaged position of LGBTQ+ people during worldwide epidemics attracted the attention of playwrights especially in 1980s and 90s. Although this could be attributed to the AIDS epidemic during the time, playwrights problematized the "otherness” issue influencing LGBTQ+ people through AIDS and the political response to it. One of the most significant of these was American playwright Tony Kushner. In "Angels in America”, Kushner put forth not only the problems of LGBTQ+ people during AIDS epidemic but also the problem of otherness in different levels as a social and political phenomenon. This article aims to explore the concepts of "responsibility” and "otherness”, which Kushner problematized in his play based on the philosophical approaches of Levinas and Benjamin, in light of the current developments regarding health crises and the political response. The article claims the disadvantaged position of minority groups during crises including AIDS and COVID-19 is more of a political issue regarding the attitudes of right-wing/conservative politics (which has not changed even today) rather than the difficulties posed by the pandemics themselves. In that respect, Kushner’s activist theatre proves to be guiding in evaluating the conditions of "the others” during the pandemic.
Keywords : Covid-19, LGBTQ+, aktivist tiyatro, Tony Kushner, Angels in America