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5th out of 22 books
—
4 voters
Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama
by
David Mamet
The purpose of theater, like magic like religion…ids to inspire cleansing awe. With bracing directness and aphoristic authority, one of our greatest living playwrights addresses the questions: What makes good drama? And why does drama matter in an age that is awash in information and entertainment? David Mamet believes that the tendency to dramatize is essential to human n...more
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
June 13th 2000
by Vintage
(first published 1998)
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"It is our nature to dramatize" (1).
"Children jump around at the end of the day, to expend the last of the day's energy. The adult equivalent, when the sun goes down, is to create or witness drama--which is to say, to order the universe into a comprehensible form. Our sundown play/film/gossip is the day's last exercise of that survival mechanism. In it we attempt to discharge any residual perceptive energies in order to sleep. We will have drama in that spot, and if it's not forthcoming we will...more
"Children jump around at the end of the day, to expend the last of the day's energy. The adult equivalent, when the sun goes down, is to create or witness drama--which is to say, to order the universe into a comprehensible form. Our sundown play/film/gossip is the day's last exercise of that survival mechanism. In it we attempt to discharge any residual perceptive energies in order to sleep. We will have drama in that spot, and if it's not forthcoming we will...more
ugh, god. total posturing, postulating drivel. everything is "we this, we that" and he never once identifies who this "we" is. (and it certainly doesn't include me, as i don't buy a single word of this. and certainly not the millions of people who can't be bothered to set foot in a theatre, if they even have a (western) theatre culture to begin with.) i will admit there are a couple of moments that are moving, if only because they attempt to make a case for the spiritual value of high tragedy, g...more
This book is a bit of a muddle--Mamet constantly moves back and forth between different ideas without any real cohesiveness--but there are a couple of great ideas in this book on the nature of drama. The best one I think is when he talks about the difficulty of writing 2nd Acts, that writing second acts is a bit like living 2nd acts; in order to write the mid-life crisis, you have live through the mid-life crisis, which many people are loathe to do. They want to write the script without having t...more
This book took me a long time to read relative to its length. That was due, in part, to the book's density of ideas. It reminded me of one of those spiritual guidance books that have at most one paragraph per page, written with the intention of a reader's reading just one page at a time, closing the book, and thinking about what they have read. While Mamet does subdivide the book into chapters, and each chapter into a few sub-chapters, even the sub-chapters go off into a variety of directions, e...more
In a word: convoluted.
Through his premise of describing the use and purpose of drama, Mamet hops from classic drama to psychology to bad tv to politics to blues music and back again, and the reader's never sure what his opinions are of any of it. For example, when he writes about the big speeches that come at the end of every second act he seems annoyed that they're there, but then he notes the greatness of the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V.
There is some valuable information to be extrac...more
Through his premise of describing the use and purpose of drama, Mamet hops from classic drama to psychology to bad tv to politics to blues music and back again, and the reader's never sure what his opinions are of any of it. For example, when he writes about the big speeches that come at the end of every second act he seems annoyed that they're there, but then he notes the greatness of the St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V.
There is some valuable information to be extrac...more
The famed playwright discusses the well-known human drive to turn everything into a narrative. What I found most interesting was that the title of this short book comes from a great quote by Leadbelly, and I very much agree with Mamet when he explains that theater, drama, and art in general requires a leap of faith from the audience - an almost submissive act. Pages 68 & 69 were excellent regarding the fundamental importance of the suspension of belief, and how to relish that moment of delig...more
A very intriguing read, if a bit scattered. I approached it thinking it would be specifically theatrical in nature, perhaps reflective of Mamet's stage experience, but what it turned out to be is more broadly cultural theory with complimentary dramatic connective tissue. I was in no way disappointed, it just wasn't what I was expecting. Reading this excited me in that it catalyzed my desire to deepen my understanding of how art mirrors life and/or vice versa. Mamet's intellect and command of the...more
David Mamet gives a frank, funny, and fierce description of what drama is and what it isn't. His insights go beyond how to write, or act, or direct, and into who we are and why we do. Read The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell if you want to know what the "Monomyth" is, then read this and see why and how we live it everyday.
Flipping to a random page we have this "Dramatists who aim to change the world assume a moral superiority to the audience and allow the audience to assume a mora...more
Flipping to a random page we have this "Dramatists who aim to change the world assume a moral superiority to the audience and allow the audience to assume a mora...more
Dec 01, 2009
Brent
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who loves drama; those who feel that true art should be purgative
Recommended to Brent by:
Alberta Playwright's Network
In some circles, David Mamet gets a bad rap: he is accused of being misogynistic, nihilistic and misanthropic.
As I suspected, you would have a difficult time finding these qualities in the David Mamet that wrote "Three Uses of the Knife."
He reveals himself to be deeply protective of drama's religious and magical roots, and indicts what passes for entertainment not for being shallow, but for allowing us to believe that we are Gods.
He reminds us that good drama reminds us of our weakness, and powe...more
As I suspected, you would have a difficult time finding these qualities in the David Mamet that wrote "Three Uses of the Knife."
He reveals himself to be deeply protective of drama's religious and magical roots, and indicts what passes for entertainment not for being shallow, but for allowing us to believe that we are Gods.
He reminds us that good drama reminds us of our weakness, and powe...more
I have a real appreciation for Mamet's dry, no-bullshit voice in his drama and his hotly contested theoretical writing. Almost like an anti-teacher, working to guide the reader to disbelieve everything, including himself. This reads like a conceptual modern companion to the Poetics, in which Mamet dissects the function and structure of drama in our modern world, using both to discuss art and its place in our times.
I've read this book at least three times. As a dramatist, I'm always looking for books that will inspire me to become a better writer and a more effective director. This book tops my list as a source of real understanding of drama. David Mamet waves away the flatulence found in most books about theater -wretched clouds of opinion, cultural flagellation, deconstructionist theory. And the man is brief.
More of a philosophical manifesto at times than a book on drama, Mamet still makes some very good points. I only wish he were a bit more practical. He spells out a lot more of the do nots and inevitabilities of drama, but doesn't really offer many viable solutions. Still, he has at least gotten me to start trying to think of my own. An interesting essay from a talented playwright.
Very compelling, intriguing, opinionated as all hell, but he's earned the right to that. It's not always about drama, really, as against modern society's attempts to divert us from drama. Against TV, against the "Information Age," against movies with vague montages 7/10ths of the way through set to cheesy music.
But there are points where he usefully clarifies those moments in the drama where things need to happen, on honest vs. dishonest uses of dramatization, and on the notion of drama as the...more
But there are points where he usefully clarifies those moments in the drama where things need to happen, on honest vs. dishonest uses of dramatization, and on the notion of drama as the...more
A good - quick read. In parts I wasn't saw whether he wanted to write a book on acting and drama or a book on human behavious and society. Occassionally the jumps between the two were poorly made and confusing. But there are som very good passages and ideas.
It's definitely worth reading if you're even slightly interested in drama. The author tends to get very deep in the middle which directly led to me getting super bored super quick. The ending was very appropriate. David Mamet really knows how to end a book!
There is a loosely organic structure to the book, but it can seem as though Mamet meanders from one topic to the next. Don't let that lose you. He hits upon "the nature and purpose of drama" like a theme returned to in a musical composition. This a book of theory, not practical advice.
Shamelessly dogeared and underlined like a madwoman. A succinct portrait of why we dramatize, and how some do it better than others. Must-read for dramaturgs, playwrights, filmmakers, directors, and critics alike.
Fascinating, humorous, dense with ideas but easy to read. I don't agree with a lot of it, but it forced me to mentally clarify my positions and has helped me to begin devising my own aesthetic.
Mamet, though often touching on something interesting, lets his arrogance control his argument. He seems incapable of understanding that a rational, intelligent person could disagree with him.
I really enjoyed Mamet's writing style and his perspective. While I disagree with his personal viewpoint on television, I do think overall he has some great points about drama.
I feel alive when I read Mamet, whether it be me screaming at the page at something I disagree with or smiling and absorbing his brilliance. Just one of the many great works from an American Master.
Rambling with hidden gold mines of the most incredible incites into the nature of drama I've ever read. But he makes you search them out.
A good analysis of dramatic structure and the true nature of drama, with some insightful asides into politics.
Jul 22, 2009
Bill
added it
Essays on entertainment's place in society. This guys is real smart and sort of a real asshole. Its a real good book.
Mamet always has some interesting threads of thought. I found myself appreciating him more while reading this book.
Leitura indispensável para entender como o drama permeia a experiência humana. Muito interessante.
Another contribution to Mamet's writing 'philosophy.' Key word in ''. Really enjoyed it.
David Mamet as a playwright I can take or leave these days. David Mamet as a structural teacher is an absolute must for any playwright's library. His Three Uses of the Knife teaches you basic lessons about how you can enhance dramatic situations and bring about ecstasy onstage in simple ways, primarily by following through on your set-ups.
He offers great metaphors time and time again, from a football game as a drama and the actual three uses of a knife in a story. Well worth the read for any pra...more
He offers great metaphors time and time again, from a football game as a drama and the actual three uses of a knife in a story. Well worth the read for any pra...more
Brilliant. A book one could read twice.
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David Alan Mamet is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. His works are known for their clever, terse, sometimes vulgar dialogue and arcane stylized phrasing, as well as for his exploration of masculinity.
As a playwright, he received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for Th...more
More about David Mamet...
As a playwright, he received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for Th...more
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