Into the Woods representing AIDS- Page 2

[Trekkie2]

Posted: 1/17/09 at 8:06pm

Blaxx, I think you win the day's brilliancy award.

[laura is broadway]

Posted: 1/21/09 at 11:48pm

I think I enjoy over thinking things like this..

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/22/09 at 12:02am

I was thinking after posting this... Does Sondheim have any allegorical shows?

Well, his shows certainly have allegorical elements (even though it's the respective book writers who make that happen, not Sondheim). For example, Mrs. Lovett could be interpreted as a symbol for temptation, or the Devil, or even capitalism. Things can be allegorical in different ways. I did a project my sophomore year in high school for a Religion class drawing comparisons between "Sweeney" and the Book of Revelation. I even broke down the images in "City on Fire." So, you see, if people want to believe ITW is an allegory for AIDS, then that's certainly a way it can be interpreted.
Updated On: 1/22/09 at 12:02 AM

[timesquare01]

Posted: 1/22/09 at 3:04pm

I just did Into the Woods recently and I took it as the Woods represented choices one has to make in life, "into the Woods" meant becoming confused/lost along the path and entering turmoil "out of the woods" meant finding the answer. The Giant was the consequences for your actions in "the woods", or while you're uncertain.

[LansburyLuPone]

Posted: 1/22/09 at 10:29pm

Marlene Dietrich narrated (but refused to be photographed in) a documentary about her career in 1984 that was called simply "Marlene," and in it she hilariously covered how people were always contacting her about alleged "hidden meanings" in her movies. She kept saying, "We were just making movies!"

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 12:28am

But the truth is that all artists work in part from their subconscious. No writer is conscious of all the implications of what he writes. Most writers hope their work will provoke associations they never intended in the reader's or viewer's mind.

Having said that, academics do often write ridiculous things about narrative works.

I think the only show of Sondheim's that has any important allegorical elements is Into the Woods. Well, Follies too. The Weissman theatre and the Weissman Follies obviously represent America's state of mind between the wars, something the creators have acknowledged. But I don't really think of the show as an allegory, despite it having some allegorical elements.

[laura is broadway]

Posted: 1/28/09 at 10:32pm

"For example, Mrs. Lovett could be interpreted as a symbol for temptation, or the Devil, or even capitalism. Things can be allegorical in different ways. I did a project my sophomore year in high school for a Religion class drawing comparisons between "Sweeney" and the Book of Revelation. I even broke down the images in "City on Fire." So, you see, if people want to believe ITW is an allegory for AIDS, then that's certainly a way it can be interpreted. "

Okay, I've been thinking about this a lot since I read it... What were some of your main points? I've never considered that, though I can definitely see a strong argument for Mrs. Lovett being a symbol of the devil.