Sahnede Çağdaş Amerikan Ailesi: Stephen Karam’ın The Humans Adlı Eserinde Engellilik ve Erişilebilir Yakınlık
Anahtar Kelimeler:
Amerikan Tiyatrosu, Stephen Karam, The Humans, Engellilik Çalışmaları, Mia MingusÖz
Amerikan aile yapısını konu alan geleneksel Amerikan oyunları, engelli ve kuir karakterleri Amerikan ailelerinin işlevsizliğini vurgulamak için metafor olarak kullanmıştır. Birbirinden sır saklayan, birbirine kızan ve hastalıklarla test edilen bir aileyi konu alması sebebiyle geleneksel Amerikan oyunlarıyla ortak unsurlar taşısa da Stephen Karam’ın The Humans eseri bu oyunlardan oldukça farklıdır. Bu makalede gösterildiği gibi, engellilik ve bakım verme The Humans eserinde klişe bir şekilde anlatılmamıştır. Aksine, engelli hakları savunucusu Mia Mingus’un “access intimacy” (erişilebilir yakınlık) kavramı oyunun ana temasıdır. Engelli bireylerin bakım ve erişim ihtiyaçlarını karşılayan diğer bireyler ile kurduğu yakınlığı tanımlamak için kullanılan “access intimacy” kavramı aile üyelerinin zorluklar karşısında güçlü ve metanetli kalmalarını sağlar. Bu oyun, “access intimacy” kavramını içselleştirmenin ve karşılıklı olarak birbirlerinin bakım ihtiyaçlarını karşılamanın aile bağlarını ne kadar güçlendirdiğini göstermektedir. Bu makalede de tartışıldığı üzere, Stephen Karam engelli hakları aktivisti olmasa bile, aile içinde erişilebilir yakınlığın (access intimacy) varlığının önemini merkeze alarak engelli hakları hareketine katkıda bulunmakta ve destek olmaktadır.
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