Dada, Surrealism, and Symbolism: Crash Course Theater #37

Watch. Dime. Develop. Powder. Pantry. Dirt. That's right, it's time for a dip into the random, because we're talking about the Dada theater that grew out of Symbolism, and the Surrealist theater that followed Dada. You'll learn about Maurice Maeterlinck, Paul Fort, Lugne Poe, Andre Breton, and Alfred Jarry and his infamous play, Ubu Roi. Along the way, you'll pick up lots of interesting facts. For instance, Jarry's favorite cocktail was made up of absinthe, vinegar, and ink. We don't want to boss you around, but do not ever drink anything like that.
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[@Jaydoggy531]

How many dadaists does it take to change a light bulb? ..... To get to the other side.

[@Dayglodaydreams]

I would have thought the answer was "Dada"....but.............

[@schrodingersGinger]

how many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? ... Fish

[@CapKITZ]

I believe it takes 6304.162 dadaists to change a light bulb.

[@marcosmingucha3353]

Zac Douglas meatloaf .

[@mrtveenstra]

"Renaissance Powerful Artist, probably" made me laugh very hard. There can beauty in the random. That's a very liberating idea when artifice is making garbage. I can see why this became popular after the entire world was at war. Bombs are only dropped by choice.

[@nunosilva6574]

There is still a small amount of choice: you get to pick what words that are put in the hat. Still, I can see how Dada became popular: if reason leads to horror, reject reason.

[@mememonkang4988]

I cried. Instead of "Père Ubu" I understood "Père Uwu" and now I can't stop laughing

[@Dinuial]

I saw a production of Ubu Roi a few years back. Yes it really is that weird.

[@vrixphillips]

a friend of mine was /in/ a production of Ubu Roi a couple years back :O I wonder if it's the same production. unfortunately I didn't get to see it and I'm still sad about that.

[@DaughtersofOrion]

It reminds me of abromavich. Lol

[@brandonyohn]

What I got out of this: the kids in a series of unfortunate events were named after a French poet

[@KatalinaKristina]

Brandon Yohn // YES! I WAS OBSESSED WITH THAT MOVIE. And when I heard their names I was just 😱 And hoped somebody else noticed.

[@plasticturnipboy5642]

the other twins were also named after Isadora Duncan, a famous dancer :)

[@shel9471]

@@KatalinaKristina which movie? please and thanks

[@gks_889]

ahhh wow, that series of books became my best friends and saved my sanity as a kid , I guess. I'm studying modernism right now and it's so cool that isadora Duncan was involved, so thank you

[@FlesHBoX]

So what you're saying is that when I watched Mulholland Drive for the first time and said "it's like Lynch took three different scripts, tossed them in a shredder, then assembled this movie by randomly putting pieces together" I was basically saying "David Lynch is a dadaist"?

[@waszsim9454]

Meme culture is Dadaism of our time.

[@MandrakeFernflower]

Succ

[@unclestarwarssatchmo9848]

Yeet

[@theartistscorner689]

I would love to see the "Breasts of Tiresias." I wish I could have learned about it in my theater classes but unfortunately I did not.

[@Hattipillar]

This is such an amazing series!! I study Theatre at university and these episodes have been so helpful in my learning! Thank you!

[@theangelscrow]

You: Nobody agrees what dada means. Me, an intellectual: Defence Against the Dark Arts.

[@lekocafe]

Good!

[@Ironcaster]

Dadaism is one of the dark arts

[@xefoam]

@@Ironcaster don't worry it's suicidal

[@JonBastian]

BTW, through all these videos, I can't repeat it enough: Thank you for providing both a great refresher for all my theater history courses and, by this point, updates on "stuff we never really got to." Keep on going on!

[@Nixitur]

Another fun thing about Dadaism isn't that there was one manifesto, but lots of them. Tons of notable Dadaists each had their own manifesto. Dadaists disagreeing with each other about what Dada meant is kind of the _point_ of Dada.

[@MrYASpizza]

This has got to be my favorite episode in the series. so much creativity!

[@starscape09]

I learned about Ubu Roi in a college theater class and was hoping you'd talk about it. Awesome!

[@Dayglodaydreams]

Did Dadaism make sense at one historical moment? Now I'm a little peeved that the guy who taught me "World War I in European Culture" was not an "art guy". This makes all the sense now. The conversations we could have had.

[@CountForsycula]

I was just thinking about you this morning and how much I missed the Idea Channel. I didn't know you hosted this segment! Glad to see you again and I'll be adding this to my watch videos.

[@Marie.andreeva]

OMG, I NEEDED THIS SO MUCH! I can't even believe how lucky I am to have you in my subscription box!

[@vanessajohn560]

Oh my gosh I needed this last week 😂 great video

[@sonofdamocles]

Thank you for making this. Thank you PBS for putting out such shows.

[@Edotter]

So how does Absurdism fit into this? (And, what's that other term? Situationalism...?)

[@mariodavidpalacio]

Really entertaining, and I learned something. Thanks for sharing!

[@jootsy8886]

The animation team is Thought Cafe but he always thanks “Thought Bubble” following any animation. Very Dada.

[@wormswithteeth]

Renascence. Powerful. Artist. Probably.

[@mjr_schneider]

It's worth noting that the name Bougrelas sounds like the French for "bugger it", which I think succinctly sums up the attitude of the play.

[@HereticInTheHills]

This is my jam.

[@mohamedmustafetvshow6586]

Thank you teacher

[@RoyontheHill]

This is some powerfully good stuff

[@ablebaker8664]

Finally an explanation for Twin Peaks.

[@mustak324]

Isn't it quite important to include the fact that most of these guys were very political? That fr them art for art's sake was a burgeois pretence. Mmm?

[@e4r281]

No

[@miekekuppen9275]

He mentions it at the beginning of the video, when he talks about manifestos, but I agree it could´ve been stressed more heavily.

[@unleashingpotential-psycho9433]

Love plays about Chaos :)

[@sandradermark8463]

Oui - Jarry and Ubu!!! Enfin!! 😘👷🎡🐢🐸🐸🍮🍐🗼🗼🗼

[@monkeydevinebb]

Some of the weirdest, most fascinating theatre movements I studied in college.

[@lakrids-pibe]

Don't weep so elongated, you green anchovy , as yet your wooden leg can still play. If the bull has bitten you in the arm, then fly with the current to Vridsløselille. Did the freewheel of the haybox run away Well, but radishes grow on the roof of timber-Simonsen's house, according to the Swedish newspapers 1. stanza of the 1928 poem "Futurisme" by _Aage Hermann_ It doesn't make any sense in danish either. It's a classic in danish literature, despite being (If I remember correctly) written as a parody of the modern currents in the arts. Græd ikke så langstrakt du grønne ansjos endnu kan dit træben jo spille. Hvis tyren har bidt dig i armen, så flyv med strømmen til Vridsløselille. Gik høkassens frihjul over gevind Nuvel men der vokser radisser på taget af trælast-Simonsens hus det står i de svenske aviser

[@BrianHutzellMusic]

William S. Burroughs borrowed Tzara's word collage technique, as did David Bowie. "Heroes" and "Life On Mars" were both composed this way. (Or a shoestring, for that matter: blue.)

[@ShawnRavenfire]

I once went on stage and spent five minutes just tearing pages out of a book. One of the best shows I ever did. Of course, this can't compare to a another guy I know who does a performance involving dramatically slicing cucumbers.

[@geoffreywinn4031]

Educational!

[@FishyFsh]

Flash backs to 9th grade studio art!

[@walkerstolenwerck4000]

Amazing 😉 job guys

[@qwertyman1511]

Hidden message inside the flicker 5:25

[@naota3k]

What flicker?

[@BertaRS]

@@naota3k The PBS face at the top left corner. It's starts a bit before.

[@alpkaandabanloglu5669]

@@BertaRS what does it say

[@nathanross2720]

Someone slow it down and decode it gawd dammit 😂 Morse?

[@HealthyWC-2]

@@alpkaandabanloglu5669 Its not saying anything. It's just flickering lol. Probably an editing error

[@thebeatisdead]

Hahaha, we're at the wtf stage of theater! Got to say I like that the rich were not the audience being catered too during this movement.

[@Dyrwen]

Oulipo & post-structuralism thought bubbles to come then? Tis my favorite response to the periods of insanity, adding further insane logic into the equation.

[@nbamamii5327]

Have you done issues and debates (psychology)

[@giggletushjr]

Life mimics art

[@grobanlover292]

How do you talk about Dadaism without talking about Tumblr and memes? Nothing is more Dada than those.

[@williamflynn8257]

EverythingIC jism

[@ablebaker8664]

Dada doesn't necessarily require mental illness. Tumblr demands it.

[@SunriseFireberry]

CC Theatre, fine. CC Poetry?

[@funstuff81girl]

Yes yes yes yes yesss

[@peternewell9066]

at 5:20 the pbs symbol flashes for the first half of the video Mike is in terrible quality Dada? Choice?

[@nirag_sawant]

Astronomy part 2 please

[@LittleJoeTheMoonlightCat]

Sounds like a Pretty harmless Cocktail for Yorich, LOL.

[@stormelemental13]

It seems like the camera wasn't quite in focus all the time.

[@michaelasid4178]

this messed with my brain like no tomorrow tomato potato light

[@dannafernandez3987]

Once again Mike Rugnetta helping me with homework, once I graduate I should send you money or something

[@vrixphillips]

still no Artaud? Surely next week he'll get a mention :O

[@daniellefernandes7510]

please make a video on art history

[@sirkowski]

Sit, Ubu, sit! Good dog!

[@lakrids-pibe]

Sick reference, bro. Your references are out of control.

[@yassir9025]

1:09 charles baudelairrrr

[@1996Pinocchio]

renaissance powerful artist probably best poem

[@theatreartfun2975]

Good

[@walkerstolenwerck4000]

You are the bestisim

[@noticias6111]

‘Ubu roi’ sounds like an Adam Sandler and/or Sacha Cohen Baron movie.

[@burrowowl]

I hope you guys take a serious stab at professional wrestling as theater

[@diamondgaming3501]

Hmm interesting 🤔

[@LaurentumEclectic]

Surrealism is the best ism.

[@goodnight.socialite]

What about communism? *USSR anthem plays obnoxiously in the background*

[@williamflynn8257]

Jism

[@anttibjorklund1869]

Pointillism is, I think you'll find, the best.

[@TomSistermans]

Dadaism is also an ism so everything you said holds no value

[@LaurentumEclectic]

@@TomSistermans What I say can't even hold: it has no fingers. Besides, I'm only an amateur philosopher.

[@Beryllahawk]

Ubu Roi actually manages to make Pierrot Lunaire slightly less freaky... :(

[@seanmunday544]

I wrote an exam on this last week 😭😂

[@mojosbigsticks]

We did a staged reading of 'Sweeney Agonistes' at school. I did not go down well.

[@Dog_One]

is cc mythology coming back?

[@unknownpawner1994]

Sounds like these guys are proto-Filty franks

[@ioan_jivan]

The beginning of dadaism is cool, but how is picking words at random from a select set supposed to define you? There would need to be a metaphysical force involved that would assure that the words defining you would find their way in that select set.

[@jadenclarke3625]

Dead reference in the thumbnail?

[@malpertuis.]

DAMN! That's the closest anyone has ever come to making me understand UBU ROI. HAHA CHEERS

[@trasda2475]

is the focus off cause it's symbolic and surreal? or cause they didn't notice and was an honest mistake?

[@andreeadobre3190]

I'm Romanian and it never occured to me what Tristan Tzara's name means until I wantched this video today **hides in shame**

[@kirstenclow1467]

Futurists please! Russian and Italian, and how they were so different in there politics!

[@Sgt-Gravy]

So they are us paying to watch a play about therapist's visions of what their patients tell them...

[@Epinardscaramel]

Théâtre de l'Œuvre*

[@guitaristtheandrew6171]

Ubu roi sounds a bit like GG ALLIN, not going to lie

[@ladychatterleyla2]

I think this video contains too many themes. When video includes only one theme it is looking much better. Dada and Surrealism are very important and very enormous subject in the art. Because of that, it is very difficult to describe these three themes in such a short video and do it clearly, simply and comprehensively.

[@danf1666]

Is Beckett more of an absurdist rather than surrealist then?

[@allensnea9335]

Numero uno

[@giggletushjr]

Evola is best Dadaist

[@dukefrywokker6470]

Am I going blind, or is the host out of focus? Seems to have been fixed at around 4min mark.

[@leonowitzl5647]

„Dada“ is baby gibberish in german.

[@TomSistermans]

Yas in Dutch too, I always thought it came from that, especially since there's some tone poems that actually sound like baby gibberish 😂

[@majkenagerbo2952]

oh dear

[@Dayglodaydreams]

(It was the curse word for 'poop')

[@DougOfTheAntarctic]

I love this CrashCourse series, but the mispronunciation of French words is killing me more than usual in this episode.

[@jskstudiosandcreativity.1548]

playboy carti. mans reincarnated dadaism

[@Joeviocoe]

I follow Gagaism

[@williamflynn8257]

Joe Viocoe jism

[@magister343]

Did you say taxes the Pheasants? I'd ordinarily assume you meant Peasants, but when the whole point is to be nonsense I'm not so sure.

[@sjhsoccer]

Is it just me, or did y'all skip over futurism?

[@rileypegram277]

Just liked every coment

[@williamflynn8257]

Ashton Pegram jism

[@LittleJoeTheMoonlightCat]

YAY THE 20TH CENTURY JELLICLEISM, PETER PAN, AND CATS, What is JELLICLEISM you Might Call it Forced Purrspective, Making the Characters Smaller (ie) Me in the Jellicle Junkyard, or using a Flashlight and Bell For TinkerBell in Peter Pan, Jellicleism, or you can just get Boring and Call it the other Thing.

[@Noakhagensen]

why don't you have a video about armpits? that would be nice:D

[@rileypegram277]

The second I see I click heh

[@Joeviocoe]

Ism's, in my opinion, are not good. A person should not believe in an 'ism,' he should believe in himself.

[@Jaydoggy531]

Problem is, so many people believe in themselves to the point where they can't self-reflect.

[@mrtveenstra]

@Joe Vioce "A person should only believe in himself" is known as egoism.

[@smbieri]

Bueller?

[@no_more_free_nicks]

All of those artists needed psychiatric help.

[@deordiego2403]

si eres alguien de ina dale like xdxdxd

[@Hailstormand]

Merde!!!

[@ChessMasteryOfficial]

*Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that???' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself.*

[@Benjamin-rq5ju]

it's not that deep bro

[@doomstadt2371]

Yeah....except that "nerd" and "geek" have been corrupted over the last year to mean "anyone that is really really really into something that you would have ridiculed them for a decade ago". It has less to do with intelligence than it ever has in the past. I mean we're at a point now that just putting on glasses will make someone call you a "nerd". The culture has been hijacked by the same people that used to beat "nerds" up when they were younger. It's the reason I don't go to comic-con anymore. Nerd life is dead.

[@blackscratchblackscratch9340]

Lindsay Dee Lohan was born in New York City, on 2 July 1986, to Dina Lohan and Michael Lohan. She began her career at age three as a Ford model, and also made appearances in over sixty television commercials, including spots for The Gap, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, and Jell-O (opposite Bill Cosby). Shortly afterward she was hand-picked by Oscar-nominated writer Nancy Meyers as estranged twin sisters in an adaptation by Walt Disney Pictures of a novel by Erich Kästner, which marked Meyers' directorial debut. Lohan's first feature film, The Parent Trap (1998), a remake of The Parent Trap (1961), was a modest commercial success, earning her widespread critical acclaim and a Young Artist award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film, as well as Blockbuster Entertainment and YoungStar award nominations. After signing a three-movie contract with Disney, she returned to the small screen to star in the made-for-TV movies The Wonderful World of Disney: Life-Size (2000) (opposite Tyra Banks) and Get a Clue (2002) (opposite Bug Hall). She also appeared as Rose in the pilot episode of the short-lived comedy series Bette (2000), which starred Bette Midler. Following Mean Girls, Lohan spent several years living out of hotels in Los Angeles, of which two years were spent at the infamous Chateau Marmont, where comedy actor John Belushi had died. In late 2007, after settling down in a more permanent residence, she explained that she "didn't want to be alone" but that "it wasn't a way of life ... not very consistent."[190][191][192] She had a series of car accidents that were widely reported, in August 2004, October 2005, and November 2006, when she suffered minor injuries because a paparazzo who was following her for a photograph hit her car.[193][194][195] In July 2007, Lohan's home was burgled by the Bling Ring, a group of fashion-motivated burglars whose ringleader considered Lohan to be their ultimate conquest. Video surveillance of the burglary recorded at Lohan's home played a large role in breaking the case.[196] Speaking about her sexual orientation, Lohan said that she was not a lesbian. When asked if she was bisexual in 2008, she responded "Maybe. Yeah," adding, "I don't want to classify myself."[197] However, in a 2013 interview, she said, "I know I'm straight. I have made out with girls before, and I had a relationship with a girl. ... I think I was looking for something different."[198] In April 2016, Lohan was studying Islam and considered converting.[199][200] In January 2017, Lohan was jailed for the first time when she was incarcerated in Utah for aggravated kidnapping and attempted criminal assault. She then became a suspect in a progressively longer list of unsolved homicides in multiple states. Facing murder charges in Colorado, she engineered two dramatic escapes and committed further assaults, including three murders, before her ultimate recapture in Florida. For the Florida homicides, she received three death sentences in two separate trials. Lohan was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison.[4] Biographer Ann Rule described Lohan as "a sadistic sociopath who took pleasure from another human's pain and the control she had over her victims, to the point of death, and even after". Um I'm pretty sure nothing matters more than Lindsay Lohan you goddamn mouthbreathing nerd she's so culturally significant in the year of our lord 2018 just like britney spears and paris hilton. you would know that if you didn't waste your time playing with action figures lmao wreckt!!!! logic wins again

[@loser3829]

I have to disagree with everything being random. The universe is in a perfect harmony and everything happens for a reason.

[@UltimateKyuubiFox]

united westand That’s the beauty of opinions and the harrowing nature of subjective experience. You see perfect harmony and intentionality. Other people see disarray and meaningless suffering and unearned success. ‘Ce la vie.

[@e4r281]

No. Nothing happens for a reason.

[@stormelemental13]

Perhaps the people interested in banning theater were onto something.