Ethnics and capitalism in the screenplays of David Mamet

David Mamet, of his experience as a boy often or twelve, writes: Our schoolyard code of honor recognized words as magical and powerful unto themselves, and it was every bit as pompous and self-satisfied in the recognition of its magic as is the copyright code or a liquidated damages clause. It was the language of games, the language of an endeavor which is, in its essence, make-believe - the language of American Business. (A Whores Profession 110) I start with this quote in my attempt to locate - that is, mark the site of - ethical judgment in Mamet's screenplays1 because it identifies two key elements in Mamet s original screen work: 1) the ability of rhetoric to mask adolescent desire as mature and rational discourse, and 2) the ineluctable link between this type of rhetoric and American Business. Both elements relate to what Mamet refers to as a "frontier ethic" - a notion encoded into American consciousness that promises "something for nothing," the mendacious lure of easy fortune assured to any young man willing to head West. Despite the fact that Mamet's screenplays eschew pedantry and didacticism, they nonetheless echo an ethical stance. Mamet admits that what he is "interested in [is] what Tolstoy said - that we should treat other human beings with love and respect and never hurt them" (Wetzsteon, qtd. in Kane, Weaseh 2). Mamet further articulates his hope that * l American Buffah shows that, by showing what happens when you fail to act that way" (Wetzsteon, qtd. in Kane, Weaseh 2). The same ambition is evident in most of Mamet's screenplays: Homicide (1991), Hoffa (1992), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Oleanna (1994), American Buffalo (1996), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Heist (2001), znaEdmond (2005). Notable and important exceptions are: The Edge (1997), which is the first screenplay containing a character who is admirable for the characteristics he possesses rather than the characteristics he lacks; Spartan (2004), in which the protagonist evolves an ethical conscience; State and Main (2000), which is unique in that it is the only comedy among the group of works; Lakeboat (2000), which is primarily a series of character sketches loosely linked by location and their interaction with the young newbie Dale Katzman; and Redbelt (2008), which renders a strongly ethical character in Mike Terry, who is briefly distracted from his ethical nature by capitalist motivations. Of the first six screenplays in Mamet's canon, three were based on previous plays and three were written for the screen, yet all six locate their ethical stances outside of the action and dialogue of the dramatic characters and all six share with the rest of Mamet's screenplay canon a scathing critique of how capitalism erodes our ability to act ethically and treat each other humanely. In order to diagram the relationship between Mamet's virulent dialogue and the ethical nature of his work, we need to differentiate dialogue from discourse, for it is in discourse, not dialogue, that ethical judgment in Mamet is found. Despite its casual use in contemporary scholarship, "discourse" originates from the Latin cursus (literally race or race course) and the Spanish discurso (which combines speech with time). Thus "discourse" partially refers to speech across time - in the common vernacular, "dialogue." In Aristode, however, we find a significant, third quality for the term "discourse." Aristode contends that discourse is a means toward truth (which for Aristotle was absolute); its goal is skopos, that "one goal [...] at which [...] [private individuals and all people generally] aim in what they choose to do and in what they avoid" (57). The more a person moves toward this universal goal, the more happiness she or he attains. Although Aristode does equate "happiness" with success, which involves the acquisition of a pleasant, secure life and the "abundance of possessions" (57), we need merely peruse Aristotle's list of those parts that constitute happiness to realize that most of Mamet's characters do not possess these qualities and are not on their way to achieving them: good birth (legitimate and descended from a line of honorable ancestors), numerous and worthy friendships, good and numerous children, good old age, health, beauty, strength, physical stature, athletic prowess, reputation (worthy and just), honor, good luck, and virtue. …