Why Has the Theater Industry Become 'Sleepy'? The Weaning Culture Revealed Through Observations of 'Pygmalion'
*This article is Chapter 2 of the observation series
'Why Couldn't I Laugh at the Play "Pygmalion"? The Structure of "Getting Sleepy" and the True Nature of a Society Where Sincerity Feels Out of Place'
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Last time, I wrote an article about watching the play 'Pygmalion'.
Honestly, at first, I doubted my own senses.
I got sleepy.
I couldn't concentrate.
I couldn't laugh at all at the points where the audience was laughing.
The feeling of 'Wait, really?' was the only thing that remained.
But I feel like this wasn't a case of
the work being boring, or
my sensibilities being off,
or anything like that.
▼Click here for the audio version of this article (YouTube)
The feeling of 'Um... where should I even start pointing out the issues?'
While watching the play, this was what was in my head the whole time.
Um...
First of all, where should I even start pointing out the issues?
I've experienced this feeling somewhere before.
For example, when I come home and see
my child has kicked off their shoes,
thrown their socks aside,
and is playing video games without doing their homework.
It's the feeling before you even get angry.
It's not the phase of scolding or correcting,but rather
'Huh?'
a feeling of quietly taking a step back.
Watching this play,
for some reason, it was exactly like that feeling.
The moment authority suddenly looks like 'just another human'
This isn't just about the theater.
Up until now, I have met
people in so-called 'positions of authority' to a certain extent.
People with titles, both within companies and within the industry.
At first, we process them unconsciously like this.
They must know something
They must see the big picture
There must be a reason they got this far
But when you talk to them,
The points are off-base.
They don't see the structure.
The locus of responsibility is vague.
Yet, their voices are the loudest.
In that moment, a quiet switch flips in your head.
Oh, this person is just a human being, too.
This is neither rebellion nor arrogance.
It is 'the moment the filter of authority is removed'.
It's similar to that glitchy feeling you get
when you suddenly realize that a school teacher or a doctor
is younger than you.
The world hasn't broken.
Your perception of the world has simply been updated.
Why do you get sleepy in a world that is supposed to be about honing skills through mutual effort?
Honestly, I thought the theater industry
was more about honing skills through mutual effort.
Because theater is the original form of entertainment.
It cannot be recorded.
It cannot be redone.
Success and failure are exposed on the spot.
It should, by nature, be an incredibly harsh place.
Yet, what I felt while watching was,
Failure is not visualized
Evaluation is contained within an inner circle
A 'massive premise' is placed upfront
In other words,
a structure where it works even without competing on substance
was the feeling I had.
That was 'where' the audience was laughing
The most distinct sense of discomfort was here.
The points where the audience laughed were
entirely superficial.
Phrasing.
Easy-to-understand sarcasm.
Predictable comedic retorts.
But originally, the places the work should have been touching were
the moment goodwill turns into violence
the moment education starts to look like control
the structure where success becomes a curse
…Honestly, these are not places to laugh.
That is why I could not laugh.
I didn't feel anger either.
I wasn't disappointed either.
I was just, intensely sleepy.
What I confirmed after looking at the reviews
After looking at the reviews later, I understood clearly.
What there was a lot of was,
'Erika Sawajiri was cute'
'It was good to see the performers in person'
'The production of XX was amazing'
Such voices.
In other words,
While it seems like they are going to see a play,
in reality, they are 'going to meet celebrities'.
The performance itself,
honestly, has become irrelevant.
This is no longer a matter of
good/bad
degeneration/decline
as a topic.
It may simply be that the role has changed.
To me,
it appeared that the theater has shifted its center of gravity from being a 'device for inquiry' to
a 'contact event'.
What kind of irony did the production side intend to depict?
There is a line in the work that was placed quite impressively.
'That's men for you.'
I suspect the production side intended to depict 'women's independence' here.
A woman who distances herself from male-centered values and chooses not to be dependent.
As an easy-to-understand message that reinterprets a classic for the modern day.
However, the moment this line was placed, the structure of the stage changed decisively.
It felt as though the inquiry
was settled right there.
'Is education truly good?'
'After changing a person, who takes responsibility?'
Originally,
the questions that should have been left to the audience
were already collected by the evaluation of 'That's men for you.'
Who is to blame?
Where does the problem lie?
How should one interpret this?
Everything was 'safely organized' with that one phrase.
Perhaps this is because if left hanging,
some people might feel uncomfortable, and the position of justice might waver.
What was depicted as a result
was not a woman engaging with society,
but a woman choosing from pre-prepared options within the miniature garden of male society.
The intention was to depict independence, but
in reality, it became a protective structure to ensure the audience remained comfortable.
This is not a problem of the performers or individual expression.
It is the result of choosing a cultural design that finds it 'safer' to present questions as established truths
rather than leaving them in a dangerous, unresolved state.
And I feel that this choice
is not unrelated to the sleepiness.
Intended to depict independence
Intended to depict irony
Intended to make it modern
But in reality,
it seemed that existing values were simply
refined into a more careful, safer form.
An essential problem of the entire industry
This production was
a proper 'adult stage play'.
It is not that 'authority' itself is the problem.
What this stage play symbolizes is
the gap between being authoritative and actually possessing a question.
This work has
being a classic
being globally acclaimed
being safe to watch
—all the 'proofs of correctness' are present.
But in exchange,
not making the audience feel unstable
not leaving judgment to them
Not leaving interpretations hanging
—this design is clearly being chosen.
This is not limited to the theater industry.
In publishing, education, business, and medicine, we see countless structures where
only 'track records of correctness' and 'histories of evaluation' accumulate,
while the function of posing questions is completely lost.
It has authority.
Therefore, it must be correct.
Therefore, there is no need to doubt it.
What is created that way
is something that feels safe and bland on the inside,
yet only its legitimacy is held up in advance.
The sense of discomfort occurring in this play
was not so much about the play itself,
but rather reflected the current reality where 'authority without questions' is accepted as culture,
exactly as it is.
To you
I don't mean to say the play is bad.
I don't mean to say the audience is shallow.
It's just that even when watching the same work,
we were looking at different layers.
Once you've seen it,
you can no longer laugh together,
nor can you pretend to enjoy it.
And I think that's fine.
This isn't a review,
just an observation record.
But there are probably not a few people
who feel the same bug.
'Um... where should I even start pointing out the flaws?'
If you've ever thought that,
it's not that you've become insensitive,
it's just that your resolution has increased.
In this baby food culture,
how many works that adults can truly 'savor'
are actually left?
Continuing to Chapter 3.
🔁 Click here for the overall structure
'Why couldn't I laugh at the play "Pygmalion"? — The "sleepy" structure and the true nature of a society where sincerity stands out'
—
This article also exists in English.
🪞 If you,
・Are thinking things through but not seeing results
・Are doing reasonably well in life but feel unfulfilled somewhere
・Keep repeating the same patterns in your love life
If even one of these applies to you—
It is not a lack of knowledge, nor is it a problem of your 'personality' or 'ability'.
In this note, I articulate as a structure:
✔ Why you keep returning to the same worries
✔ Why you 'know what to do but cannot change'
✔ What happens when you change your position of judgment
I have put these into words.
When you finish reading, you should be able to see 'what criteria you are using to make judgments'.
Let's end the cycle of worrying about the same things here.