Samuel Beckett certainly was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His literature and drama changed the way people perceive arts and the tragic of human existence, further the way media displays them. Although Beckett was rigid regarding the realisation of his plays he was very open towards new media and techniques. He was up to date and wrote plays for the theatre, the radio and even for television. But he died before he could have used the possibilities the internet offers nowadays.
Nevertheless, Beckett is omnipresent in today‟s internet. You just have to type his name into Google and you will find 1.470.000 hits referring to him.1 Especially his presence on Youtube, a video community on the internet, is astonishing. There people have found many ways to adapt one or several of Beckett‟s works the way they wanted to. One could raise the question if this was what Beckett wanted, if this could have been avoided or if this was part of a logical consequence of the technological progress and the developments the internet has gone through within the last decade.
Having Paul Virilio‟s media theory in mind, the Aesthetics of Disappearance, in which he argues about the speed of information and the transformation of media, there is always a next step in terms of media, which in the end has led to the internet as it is today. Beckett always took that next step himself. Therefore, Beckett being part of the internet is the logical consequence of his work, of the way he used or was intrigued by different media, of the way he brought art to the latest medium – or is it not?
Throughout this paper I will argue that Beckett‟s work Play needed to be placed on the internet. I will try to prove that Play can make use of its full potential only within Web 2.0. I will start by reconstructing the media-history Play has gone through, from text to stage, from radio to television play. By doing that, I will point out that Beckett has always included another medium‟s potentials and techniques when adapting Play. Then, I will continue with Play on Web 2.0. I will describe what Web 2.0 actually means and where it came from, in order to later analyse Play on the internet, theoretically and aesthetically to finally conclude if Play really is best adapted on the internet.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Play in Various Media
2.1 Play as Text / on Stage
2.2 Play on Film
2.3 Play on the Radio
3. Play in Web
3.1 What is Web 2.0?
3.2 Why Play fits into Web 2.0: Theory
3.3 How Play fits into Web 2.0: Text and Techniques
4. Conclusion
Sources
Primary literature:
Secondary literature:
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X.