Boxing Match vs Theater Friday, March 15

At the start of class Mr. Rivers showed us the metaphor that Berthold Brecht came up with. This metaphor was that theater is just like a boxing match. There are many comparisons between the two and we discussed all of them as a class. What we came up with was that there can only be one winner, that it connects to the three-act structure, and that there can be major problems between he people within it.  Throughout the class we were making great connections between the two and a few examples of that is when the unpredictability of both theater and boxing came up. This was a good point because at any point in a boxing match or a film, anything can happen and the audience never knows what will happen. This is why both of these can also be very entertaining because it is fun to expect the unexpected. Another relation between the two is that a character or boxer needs a good counterargument or attack to take control and this is very true and common for both film and a boxing match. We also stated that at the end of a film or fight, not all members of the audience might agree with or like. That does not matter though because that is what makes both of these very entertaining and why people always watch them. Not everyone will be pleased at the end of one of these but that is another reason why it is such a great metaphor. As we wrapped up that discussion, Mr. Rivers began the film Thank You For Smoking that we have been watching.
The movie replayed toward the end and Nick was finally able to go in front of the press and discuss his relationship with the Washington Post reporter he had an affair with, Heather. He was also asked to give his thoughts on the article she wrote about him in a negative way. After that, Nick was asked to speak in front on senators in a court room and give his opinion on the skull and crossbones idea. Nick, at this point does not have his job and he has nothing to lose with what he says up there. Nick, a great arguer and persuader, was able to keep the poison logo off of the cigarettes because he was such a great and successful lobbyist. For what he did, he was offered his job back however, he denied to take it to show responsibility to his son, Joey. Nick was still successful in life and moved on to being a lobbyist for phones.
I hope this can help anyone absent in Friday's class.