‘The Flick’ More than just slang

‘The Flick’ More than just slang

               Annie Baker who grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, she graduated from the Department of Dramatic Writing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She earned her PG from Brooklyn College. Her first play ‘Body Awareness’ was staged in 2008. She wrote ‘The Aliens’ in 2009,’ Uncle Vanya’ in 2012. It is an adaptation of Russian play by Anton Chekhov.

              In year 2013 she came up with a play ‘The Flick’ , play sets  in Massachusetts, and focuses on three underpaid movie employees. AS Sam Gold marked "Her writing is really funny without ever betraying the truth of a character or the honesty of the situation in order to get a laugh... The punch lines come from the rhythm; they come from how she’s playing with time. So you can get a laugh from how long it takes for somebody to respond or what they say after a long pause.

               Critics from New York Times mentioned her as fresh and talented dramatists of in the past decade, she writes with tenderness and keen insight of situation and people’s life. Annie Baker always stuck to her roots and life. Annie Baker had a very keen habit of observation, admiration and imagination right from her childhood. She always felt amazed for the printed colorful pamphlets, tickets, stamps and many things. Body Awareness is a play based on her childhood imagination. “My goal for the play is to not judge anyone, to get at that point where everyone is equally right and equally wrong, so the humor comes from that,” Ms. Baker said in New York Times May 2008.

                    The Flick which focus on three under paid movie employs. It is a very dramatic situation for a person like me. It is wonderful experiences to watch character who work make a movie. Which is a collect effort of mass media? They work there with their wish and passion. They are under paid they have grudges there they portray their emotions in different ways. Movie is a reflection of society. Some time these characters find their reflections, they get carried away. The practical requirements of life make them aware of their status of under paid. Every one of us work and we get our due at decided time. Many times we feel that we are under paid or we are exploited. That poignant feeling and that pangs of emotions has no words to explain. We become helpless to the situation. May it be a very minute part of our life but it has undeniable importance.

                  Annie Baker has always chosen the characters from daily life and handled the problems of our immediate concerns. I remember the lines by Anton Chekhov ‘The world perishes not from bandits and fires, but from hatred, hostility, and all these petty squabbles.’ These small incidences make our character. Aristotle believed that character develops over time as one acquires habits from parents and community. Once Plato also mentioned ‘Character is simply habit long continued’. Annie Baker studied these characters from a close quarter. As she teaches and come across many students and their parents, it becomes easy for her to study the characters. Her active stance on stage makes her all the more dynamic.

                It recall me  a movie by Francois Truffaut ‘The last Metro’ it is a 1980 drama film. This film is about a dramatist. Who goes underground and write a drama, same drama is played in theater. These characters that play their role have different relations and personalities during the drama and outside the drama. Director captures the difficult equations and situations these characters face in their life and how it sometime meets or opposes them from making choices. We see the growth and complexity of characters’ emotions in this film.  The title of the film is used very metaphorically. Today I recall it, due to ‘The Flick’ –an American expression for Cinema. I admire the title and the subject as well. It talks about the very essence of art form like Drama or Cinema.

                I remember when all critics have gushed ink out on paper to proclaim’ poet is dead’. Deconstructionism has broken the backbone of writers. I am sure feminist theory will add some chapters on Annie Baker in near future.

                Annie Baker who is a practicing dramatist and writer has made a new yard stick by her ‘The Flick’ She has recently won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for drama. As UK has recently took a step further to honor the writer by putting their face on currency note. Jane Austin is the first writer whose picture has appeared on UK currency.  Dramatists from all over the world will be enriched by Annie Baker.