Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2013-11-09 "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught": Reflections on arW , Imperialism and Patriotism in America's South Pacific Jayna D. Butler Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Butler, Jayna D., ""You've Got to Be Carefully Taught": Reflections on arW , Imperialism and Patriotism in America's South Pacific" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 3812. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3812 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”: Reflections on War, Imperialism and Patriotism in America’s South Pacific Jayna Butler A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Megan Sanborn Jones, Chair Rodger D. Sorensen Wade Hollingshaus Department of Theatre and Media Arts Brigham Young University November 2013 Copyright © 2013 Jayna Butler All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” Reflections on War, Imperialism and Patriotism in America’s South Pacific: Jayna Butler Department of Theatre and Media Arts, BYU Master of Arts Underneath the romance, comedy and exoticism, South Pacific is a story that questioned core American values, exploring issues of race and power at a time when these topics were intensely relevant—the original opened just four years post WWII, on the heels of Roosevelt’s aggressive expansionist response to domestic instabilities. Much has been written about the depiction of war and racial prejudice in South Pacific. However, examining such topics in the context of their cultural and political moment (both in 1949 and 2008) and through the lens of Terry Eagleton’s unique take on morality, is not only a fascinating study, but an intensely relevant and unchartered endeavor. This work concerns the evolution of an American code of ethics as it has been reflected and constructed in both Broadway productions of Roger and Hammerstein’s South Pacific (c.1949, 2008). Specifically, it examines the depiction of WWII, America’s imperialistic foreign policy, and the function of American patriotism in light of Terry Eagleton’s theories surrounding an evolving code of ethics in 20th/21st century America. By so doing, this thesis uncovers answers to the following questions. What were the cultural and political forces at work at the time South Pacific was created (both in 1949 and 2008)? How did these forces influence the contrasting depictions of war, imperialism and patriotism in each version of the musical? In what ways were these productions reflective of a code of ethics that evolved from what Eagleton would classify as moral realism (prescriptive of behavior) to moral nihilism (reflective of behavior)? How did the use of this increasingly reflexive moral code make this politically controversial musical more palatable, and therefore commercially viable during the contrasting political climates of WWII and the recent war on Iraq? Determining answers to questions such as these enables us as a society to look back on our history—on our mistakes and triumphs—and recognize our tendency to find pragmatic justification for our actions rather than acknowledging the possibility of the existence of objective truth, which remains unchanged through time and circumstance. Keywords: South Pacific, war, American expansionism, imperialism, prejudice, American patriotism, ethical, moral nihilism, moral realism, relativism, evolution, code of ethics, pragmatic justification, objective truth, historiography, World War II, war on Iraq, musical theatre, Broadway, New York, Terry Eagleton, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Joshua Logan, Bartlet Sher, Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza, Kelli O’Hara, Paul Szot. Dedicated to my parents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank my adviser, Megan Sanborn Jones, for her support and encouragement of both my initial concept, and subsequent efforts in the completion of this study. Her valuable insights, sense of humor and confidence in me were integral to the entire process. I also thank the entire Theatre and Media Arts faculty at Brigham Young University— particularly Wade Hollingshaus and Rodger Sorensen—for their unwavering support of this endeavor. All have been an inspiration to me, and have provided me with an educational experience I will not soon forget. Profound thanks to the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization, for their cooperation and support for this project. All original archived materials reprinted are done so with permission from the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. All rights reserved. A sincere thank-you to my Grandma Ellen Prince, my mother Janis Butler, and my sister Amy Hirsche, for instilling in me a love of music and theatre. The appreciation and enthusiasm I have developed as a result of their example and encouragement has filled my life with joy and meaning. Finally, I wish to thank my father, Danny Butler, who inspired me to follow in his footsteps and pursue my Masters degree at Brigham Young University in the first place. Without the appreciation for learning, history and music he instilled in me, and his unwavering confidence in my abilities, none of this might ever have come to pass. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page: Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………….........................……ii Dedication.........................................................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments…….……………………………………………………………………………........................…………iv CHAPTER I: Introduction…...................……………………………………………………….......................……….…..1 1. South Pacific as Cultural Archive……..………..………………….….....…….........................…..….…..4 Finding Justification in South Pacific………..……………………………….........................…..….…..4 Delimitations Inherent in the Study of Musical Theatre…….….......................….…….….……6 A Method to the Madness……………………………………….……….…........................................….....8 Literature Review: Searching the Source……...…………………………........................……….…10 South Pacific: The Story Behind the Story……………...……………….…....................…………..16 The Innovation and Influence of Rodgers and Hammerstein…………....................……….18 Even Broadway has its Limits: Delimitations of the Musical Genre………....................…22 2. The Evolution of Morality…………..…....………………....………………....…….....................…....….25 Moral Realism: Absolute, Uncompromising Truth….......……………....................……..……..25 Moral Nihilism: ‘Truth’ is Relative...………………………………….............................................…28 Eagleton’s Ethics: Objective Truth Lives On…….....………………………….....................…...…32 Eagleton: Problems with Postmodernism….....……………………………...…........................….35 Eagleton’s Pledge: Morality and Politics—‘Indivisible under God......……....................…37 CHAPTER II: “Cockeyed Optimist” or Bloody Mary? The Depiction of War in South Pacific…………….....………………………................................……...…….…..39 1. Mid-Century American Morality......................................................................................................40 Putting South Pacific 1949 in Context…………………...……………......……...................…....….40 Us Vs. Them Ideology…………………………………….....…...……………....................……...………42 World War II Glorified.....…….…………………………………………....................….………………..44 2. Examples of Moral Realism at work in a War Torn South Pacific (1949)…......…………….…………………………..……….……...................……….……47 3. Making Sense of Moral Realist Ideology in South Pacific 1949 and Beyond………...……………....................…….....………..……...........……60 Why Moral Realism? ………………………………………………….......………....................………….63 4. The Nihilist Revival of South Pacific in Context………….......….........................………………65 Justifying the Revival’s Nihilist Depiction of War….........………….....................…………….68 5. Sher’s Nihilist Depiction of War in South Pacific 2008……………......………...................…72 v Acting Style/Direction…………........……………….…………………………..................………...…...76 Staging/Transitions..………………………………………………………………..................……...……78 Music/Choreography……….....……...……………………………………………...................………….81 The Power of Conventions to Communicate Progressive Ideas….......................………..84 Conclusion……………........……………………………………………………………......................…...….86 CHAPTER III: “Bali Ha’i” –Your Special Island: Racial Prejudice and Imperialism in South Pacific……......……………....................……….....…...........…..88 1. South Pacific 1949: A Topical Story………………...……………...................……………..…...…90 2. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s use of Realism and Nihilism in South Pacific ……………………......................….......………….......….94 A Realist Indictment of Racial Prejudice…………...............….............................................…..94 A Nihilist Validation of Imperialism…..........…………….….......................……………...…….…98 3. Reflective Nihilism in the South Pacific Revival……...………….................…….........……..105