美国戏剧舞台上的疾病书写——以“艾滋病剧”为例

Illness Writing on the United States Stage: A Case Study of AIDS Plays

人类与疾病的抗争常以各种方式出现在文学作品中。20世纪80年代后的美国戏剧舞台上出现了集中表现艾滋病的现象。“艾滋病剧”的主题嬗变,从初期的愤怒与呐喊,到将艾滋病置放在一个更加广阔的历史背景下,将纷繁复杂的社会现实展现在舞台上,以激发观众变革的欲望和勇气,再到后来的表现友爱与活在当下的生活信念,清晰地反映了历史的发展与社会的进步,也再次彰显了艺术的社会批判功能。

The struggle between human beings and diseases often appears in literary works in various ways. Since the 1980s, AIDS plays have been increasingly staged in the United States. In the beginning, AIDS plays were thematically dominated with anger and cries. Then the disease was placed in a broader social context and the complex social reality was put on the stage to evoke audience’s desire and courage to change. Later, themes of love and the belief of living for the moment were mostly expressed in AIDS plays. The thematic changes clearly reflect historical development and social progress, and demonstrate the function of social criticism that art fulfills.