Weasels and Wisemen Ethics and Ethnicity in the Work of David Mamet [Paperback]

Weasels and Wisemen is the first major study of David Mamet's work to investigate the moral vision and cultural poetics upon which this playwright's aesthetic vision is founded. A seminal figure in contemporary American drama whose ascendant reputation as an innovative playwright and filmmaker demands an appraisal of his thought and the evolution of his craft, Mamet's commitment to the dynamic of ethics and ethnicity heavily informs his work. Tracing the development of Mamet's canon over a period of twenty years from his early unpublished play Marranos through his most recent work, Weasels and Wisemen examines the subtle link between the moral vision and ethical behaviour that distinguishes Mamet's theatre and film. It offers a compelling rationale for the prominence and prevalence of the pedagogical relationships, the struggle for dominance, the moral imperative, the consequences of conduct, and the orientation of life that unify his work, and argues the significance of Jewish values and cultural experience that have been insufficiently acknowledged in Mamet's canon. Weasels and Wisemen provides powerful evidence that encourages readers to rethink the plays and screenplays of this important artist.Introduction The Comfort of Strangers Caught in the American Machine Fuck Money....But Don't Fuck 'People' The Humanist Fallacy Coming Home Gathering Sparks A World Apart Epilogue Works Cited

Kane ... has written an illuminating study of one of America's most recognizable voices. - Library Journal

Leslie Kane is Professor of English at Westfield State College. She is the author of The Language of Silence and the editor of David Mamet: A Casebook, winner of the Choice Award for Outstanding Scholarship.