Mamet, in his exact-wording way, scribes his interesting perspective on life, art and politics. Hidden in this mostly rhetorical piece, some nice description of the basic 3-act dramatic play/film script formula can be found. But mostly, Mamet attends to philosophy on the nature and purpose of drama (as the title warns).

He bases drama in human nature. We are creatures that need, want, find, create drama to process our lives. Politics is all about drama. Were it about substance, the politicians would not be elected. (I paraphrase.) And when it comes to art, well, here Mamet gets a little muddy, or perhaps, I misunderstood. He seemed to be saying, we must take care not to be too clever as artists. The art is from the heart, or it is not art. Which is odd, because I've always found his screenplays romping in cleverness. But neither should good art be use to teach or change or, dare it, "reach the audience." No, says Mamet, "the purpose of art is not to change but to delight. I don't think its purpose is to enlighten us. I don't think it's to change us. I don’t think it's to teach us."

An enjoyable thought-provoking read, despite the fact that I often disagreed with his bleak assessment of reality. I also found his definition of audience wants and needs rather limiting.

Read more Book Reviews by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony.