ABSTRACT
Worthwhile art examines and illuminates the contradictions in love, marriage, politics, religion, or play. Art worthy of the name gives dimension and dilemma to the events depicted or delineated. Such art becomes the seedbed of wisdom and insight. One-dimensional art is mere propaganda however beautifully done; in the end it is boring or irrelevant. There are three tests of dramaturgy and theatre that one can apply to gauge the degree to which such uses of make-believe are emancipatory. The first test criterion that one may apply has to do with the content of the dramatic event. A second test has to do with the originality and creativity of the staging of the event: new and creative forms of costuming, set design, scenic organization, and scenario development may have emancipatory moments. Third, the modes of production and distribution are most important factors in a determination of the emancipatory potential of stage, cinema, television, or radio drama.
