Speed-the-Plow (produced, 1987; published, 1988) picks up on these themes in
its unflattering portrayal of the film industry where profit motivates more than
artistry and ideals. Mamet’s plays frequently make his audiences uncomfortable.
His depiction of a student who accuses her professor of sexual harassment in
Oleanna (1992; film adaptation, 1994) incited fierce debate. While some audience
members perceived the student as manipulative, wielding accusations of sexual
misconduct as a way to gain power, others were angered by what they saw as an
unfair attack on women who try to defend themselves.
Mamet’s best-known play is Glengarry Glen Ross, for which he was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize and two Tony Awards, for Best Play and Best Director. The
play, which takes its title from a conflation of two of the real-estate developments
being peddled, Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms, features four real-
estate agents (Levene, Roma, Moss, and Aaronow) and their supervisor (Wil-
liamson). All go to great lengths (legal and illegal) to sell undesirable real estate
at inflated prices. Motivating them is the prospect of either winning a Cadillac
(the prize for the top seller) or being fired (the penalty for the two who produce
the least number of sales). As the play progresses it charts the degradation of
the salesmen as they resort to lies, bribery, theft, and trickery. Meanwhile, their
supervisor manipulates them without pity. Williamson baits Levene with false
promises of “good leads,” abusing his position of power. Even acts of benevolence
are calculated and heartbreakingly false; Roma shows kindness to Levene only in
hopes of earning a greater profit.
In addition to his other works cited below, Leslie Kane’s Weasels and Wisemen:
Ethics and Ethnicity in the Work of David Mamet (New York: St. Martin’s Press,
1999) is a good general study of Jewish ethnicity and moral principles in Mamet’s
plays and is recommended for students seeking a general perspective. Glengarry Glen
Ross has attracted a broad range of criticism; students are encouraged to consult the
MLA bibliography for additional sources after consulting those cited below.
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION AND RESEARCH
- Robert Lublin argues that the stage and film versions of Glengarry Glen Ross
are distinct enough to warrant their treatment as separate works. ( James
Foley directed the 1992 film adaptation.) In “‘By Indirections Find Direc-
tions Out’: Uninflected Cuts, Narrative Structure, and Thematic Statement
in the Film Version of Glengarry Glen Ross” in Kane, David Mamet’s Glen-
garry Glen Ross (1996), Christopher C. Hudgins also examines differences
between the two versions. Students interested in comparing the film and
print versions of the play will find both essays useful as starting points for
examining the way narrative structure in film creates a different thematic
focus. Students should pay attention to editing techniques, visual symbols,
the use of music, and the actors’ particular handling of the written material.
Students might also wish to engage Hudgins’s argument regarding the film’s
ability to evoke more complex motives behind the men’s irresponsible and
immoral behavior, arguing whether or not they agree with his assessment of
the film characters’ redeeming qualities.