American drama between 1920-1950 explores the inescapable relationship between man and machine, during an age when machines become increasingly domesticated and accepted as an index to the American dream. Drawing on the experiments of European Expressionism, especially under-acknowledged German models in drama and film, American dramatists found new techniques for developing character and theme, as well as innovative staging techniques. Most important, however, the three decades of drama examined in this study illustrate three progressive stages in the human response to the machine. Treadwell s Machinal tells stories of self-destructive hostility toward advancing mechanization.
Pyramids illustrate socialized acceptance of the machine, across a wide political spectrum.