Joe Orton and the Counter Cultural Movement in the 60's Essay

Joe Orton and the Counter Cultural Movement in the 60's - Essay Example The hardship during the days of the Second World War gave birth to the newest possible philosophies that state it is obvious to follow the trend of open market economy with all its perception of high yielding materialism. This hard cored materialism and pro life oriented attitude was previously known in the western world but now it came into a maximized form which sociologist refer as a pro active action against the mass destruction and insecurity of the last great war. The latest philosophy was to obtain as much as possible that life has to offer. Every social aspect changed with it and along with it changed the world around them. Plays and writer were no different. Colours became more vibrant and approach became more outrageous to keep up with the society. Joe Orton's plays were a product of this period. The funny side of this approach was however different from the basic perception of the life styles of the 1950's through the later 1960 were a confluence of conflicting philosophies. ... (Fletcher, 135-9) It is a well known fact and it has been shown time and again by many literary historians and researchers that the main targeted audience were the baby boomers who had all the opportunities to take all the advantages of almost any and every marketing gimmicks. But Joe Orton's plays had their own vibes even though they supported the antiestablishment norms of the time. Joe Orton was born in 1933 at Leicester and is famous for his social satires in modern playwright history. His career actually span only five years from 1964 to 1967 but within this short time he amused, shocked and outraged the audience with his prolific sense of black comedies that are predominantly scandalous in nature. His major plays include The Ruffian on the Stair, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, The Erpingham Camp, The Good and Faithful Servant, Funeral Games and What the Butler Saw. During his short term as a successful playwright Joe Orton depicted in his plays what was going around in the outer world but he presented them in his own unique manner. (Fletcher, 221-26) Entertaining Mr Sloane was first presented on 1964 and this play appears to be a sexual innuendo with the treatment of a dark presentation. Here we find the characters indulge themselves in murder and rimes associated with murder with little or no repent at all. The sexual approach appears to be reflecting the course of action of the 1960s and ethical values are just not entertained at all. More in alignment with the context of the antiestablishment principals the characters are not will the authority to bring or reach to the aspect of justice but they are more concerned with the living and tend to extract the most out of