Mamet Speaks On Politics, Prose and Plays

Yesterday David Mamet, a prominent playwright and author of screenplays such as Wag the Dog and Oleanna, spoke to a crowd of approximately 100 people about the philosophy behind his work.

Mamet was a guest of IOP Fellow Fred Zollo who directed the movie version of Oleanna and leads an IOP study group on the subject of "Film and Politics."

"The truths of human nature are so various and astounding that I don't have to do any inventing," Mamet said, referring to the inspiration behind his screenplays. "Thank God, because I'm a lazy son-of-a-bitch."

Mamet showed clips from several of his screenplays such as Hoffa, Oleanna, The Untouchables and Wag the Dog.

He then spoke about each film and concluded by answering questions from the audience.

But discussion mainly focused on Wag the Dog, the popular film whose plot sparked comparisons to President Clinton's actions during the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal.

When asked about the "retaliation" bombings in Sudan and Afghanistan, Mamet replied, "It's kind of stunning...how sexual indiscretions, or, better yet, misuse of [President Clinton's] office becomes murder, the killing of innocent people."

Zollo shared a similar opinion regarding the much talked about "Wag the Dog syndrome," implying that the movie was not far from the truth.

"I can imagine Clinton and his advisors saying, 'What

could be in there? What could be in that pharmaceutical factory?'" Zollo said. "'VX? No, something more dangerous. Nerve gas! Yeah, nerve gas. That's the trick.'"

Of spin stories such as the one in Wag the Dog, Mamet said, "I think this is true of writers--I'm sure it's true of politicians. They say, 'Who would believe this?' And yet [the people] do."

When asked by a self-described journalist about the press's gullibility in the movie, Mamet answered, "If you put enough monkeys in a room, they're eventually going to say everything about everything. And that's how I feel about journalists."

Mamet also stressed the importance of distinguishing between political films and drama.

"At the end of the day, if people want to see salacious material about Clinton, we can just tun on the computer. We don't have to see a drama."

Mamet also spoke about Oleanna, a controversial play in which a professor and his student have communication problems, leading to accusations of sexual harassment.

"What the woman says is exactly as correct as what the man says," Mamet said. "The viewer should look at the herd mentality, the clumping together of higher education, and say, 'What is going on here?'"

The playwrights also discussed Hoffa, a movie about the controversial 1970s labor leader, and The Untouchables, about the 1930s Chicago gangster wars.

"The working person has the right to organize," said Mamet, whose father was a labor lawyer. "Because if they don't, they're going to get screwed."

"Jimmy Hoffa took [hold of] the Teamsters who took the American worker into the middle class," Mamet said. "For a brief period of time, the working class had the power of collective bargaining."

Students, who said they liked Mamet's talk, laughed frequently and heartily applauded at the end.

"I thought it was very good," said Davesh Q. Maulik '01. "I'm a big fan of his work.

could be in there? What could be in that pharmaceutical factory?'" Zollo said. "'VX? No, something more dangerous. Nerve gas! Yeah, nerve gas. That's the trick.'"

Of spin stories such as the one in Wag the Dog, Mamet said, "I think this is true of writers--I'm sure it's true of politicians. They say, 'Who would believe this?' And yet [the people] do."

When asked by a self-described journalist about the press's gullibility in the movie, Mamet answered, "If you put enough monkeys in a room, they're eventually going to say everything about everything. And that's how I feel about journalists."

Mamet also stressed the importance of distinguishing between political films and drama.

"At the end of the day, if people want to see salacious material about Clinton, we can just tun on the computer. We don't have to see a drama."

Mamet also spoke about Oleanna, a controversial play in which a professor and his student have communication problems, leading to accusations of sexual harassment.

"What the woman says is exactly as correct as what the man says," Mamet said. "The viewer should look at the herd mentality, the clumping together of higher education, and say, 'What is going on here?'"

The playwrights also discussed Hoffa, a movie about the controversial 1970s labor leader, and The Untouchables, about the 1930s Chicago gangster wars.

"The working person has the right to organize," said Mamet, whose father was a labor lawyer. "Because if they don't, they're going to get screwed."

"Jimmy Hoffa took [hold of] the Teamsters who took the American worker into the middle class," Mamet said. "For a brief period of time, the working class had the power of collective bargaining."

Students, who said they liked Mamet's talk, laughed frequently and heartily applauded at the end.

"I thought it was very good," said Davesh Q. Maulik '01. "I'm a big fan of his work.