Modern vs. Greek Theater

Complete Opposites

I found it very interesting how theater in ancient Greece and modern day are almost completely opposite one another. While Greek plays were a giant spectacle and full of community, today's plays are smaller affairs where people are very much silent and separate from one another. Greek plays were made to force the audience to actively question their beliefs and values, and while there are certainly pieces in modern theater with the same goal, the overall aim of going to a movie or a play is to immerse oneself in a story separate from one's own life. Despite how Greek theater has influenced us modern-day in subjects such as the theater-related language we use, our version of theater is almost entirely different from that of ancient Greece.

The Intersection?

In learning about how different ancient Greek theater is from our modern-day theater, I began wondering how ancient Greek theater would affect our modern day. While it may be more difficult to fit an entire city into one theater, the idea of showing the entire voting populace art that causes them to question their beliefs is an interesting one. Social media does this in part, as we are bombarded by different opinions and contrasting claims, but social media is also biased and unreliable. Although it's nearly logically impossible, it's interesting to theorize how different our voting and political system would be if we had kept to Greek traditions.