Brecht's Political Theater. A Sociological Study

Academic Paper from the year 2014 in the subject Sociology - Media, Art, Music, grade: 1,0, LMU Munich (Institut für Soziologie), course: Culture Sociology, language: English, abstract: Bertolt Brecht, dramaturge, director, lyricist, and essayist, represents one of the most important personalities of 20th century European culture; not only because of his creative activity and talent, but also because of his moral ambition and intellectual power, which are reflected in his countless works. He belongs to a generation shaped by the First World War and the subsequent period of poverty and unrest and experiences the end of the German Empire and Hitler's election as Reich Chancellor at close quarters. He then leaves Germany and in exile, nolens volens, he can devote himself to his greatest passion, the theater. But his theater does not explicitly deal with individual historical events; rather, it addresses the social conditions of a (capitalist) society in which 'unbridled violence, oppression, and exploitation' (cf. Brecht 1697b: 479) prevail, which restrict and 'corrupt' the working class, but also the theater (ibid.: 231). However, Brecht's view is not a pessimistic one: he also sees the potential in humanity (cf. ibid.: 668-669) and decides to create a new form of theater; one that does justice to the 'scientific age' (cf. Brecht 1967c: 662) and has the power to change society.