#of course it can be debated whether its morally right to disturb/traumatise the audience to make a point ajdkdl

[fitzrove]

Not to simplify a complex historical issue in a tumblr post but I think the reason Conspiracy (Elisabeth Essen/Hungarian prods) and fandom discussions/headcanons/fanwork deriving from it (ie. advancing the interpretation that the cause of Rudolf's anguish & the thing Tod is trying to manipulate him to do is the pursuit of Hungarian independence/seizing the Hungarian throne) tend to set me off is that it ignores the thing that's, like, the historical and the musical Rudolf's actual main deal, which is anti-conservative thought and the emotional pain and feelings of powerlessness brought about by living in a world full of state-sanctioned prejudice, hatred and anti-intellectualism (among other things)

Which I, for, like, personal reasons, find more compelling to reflect upon and have portrayed on stage in our 21st century world (= "oppressive politics on state level bad" seems. Relevant somehow) than stuff like a privileged person's private quest for power (throne) or a vaguely positive portrayal of nationalism (especially since Hungarian nationalism in the 21st century isn't super cuddly or feel-good ajdkdldl, so I think having those foundation myths repeated actually borders on irresponsible - depending on the framing, that is)

Plus its not historically accurate, like the conspiracy plot has not been conclusively proven to have happened. Unlike todolf [redacted] which is indisputable historical fact

#incomprehensible posts #to make after having to read incomprehensible ir theory for school 😭 #i'm not trying to say that opibeth is an instrument of evil nationalist soft power or anything like i'm sure they have good intentions ajdk #its just worth thinking about critically #same with productions removing hass. because i genuinely think that the prods that dont have hass deal w rudolf incompletely #of course it can be debated whether its morally right to disturb/traumatise the audience to make a point ajdkdl #its difficult because i do think people who havent been personally affected need to be disturbed like that to make them think #but obviously its a tough issue idk #musicals #theatre #elisabeth das musical