Posted by Victoria Melnikova on March 31, 192003 at 13:02:09:
One aspect that “La noche de los asesinos” and some of Buenaventura’s vignettes have in common is their metatheatricality.
In “La noche”, there is a play within the play, the characters being the actors and the audience at the same time. The representation that the three siblings perform, whether it is a rehearsal for real action or a means of attaining cathartic relief, could potentially allow them to get a critical perspective of their acting/actions. However, this does not happen. The characters are unable to completely detach themselves from their own self, occasionally “forgetting” that they are performing a role and reverting to their initial identity. Such lack of consistency, internal conflicts among the siblings, as well as other ambiguities prevent the “production” from running smoothly, condemning it to repetition ad infinitum. Only the removal of the boundary (i.e. opening the door) can provide them with a fresh perspective and offer new solutions.
Metatheatricality is also present in Buenaventura’s “The Orgy.” The Old Woman directs an orgy designed to bring back the memories of her past. A performance usually presupposes the presence of the audience. However, in this case there is no audience, nor is their any need for it. The Old Woman, the director of and an actor in her own show, is its only “consumer”, which underscores the grotesque aspect of the orgy as well as the Old Woman’s greed, whether it is greed for money, entertainment, or control. This could also be symbolic of the ruling class’s appropriation of “culture” as yet another marker separating them from the colonized. The beggars subvert the orgy by killing the Old Woman. Pessimistically, instead of doing away with the oppressor, they, in fact, become the new oppressor by stealing money from the Mute, who is just as repressed as the beggars are. The latter have switched roles, but they are still actors in the same show (in both meanings of the word) of power.