ABSTRACT

In Rasha Fadhil’s 2003 play Ishtar in Baghdad, she has Ishtar and Tammuz, mythological figures from Iraq’s ancient past, appear in Baghdad during the Iraq War, and has them experience many of the horrors associated with the American occupation, including being tortured at Abu Ghraib prison. This article demonstrates that, in writing the play, Fadhil attempted to engage audiences both in Iraq and across the wider world. Fadhil’s attempt to appeal to Iraqi audiences was related to her employment of a common technique in Iraqi drama: discussing the political present by invoking characters from history or Iraqi mythology. But Fadhil broke new ground by ‘mix[ing …] legend and reality,’ rather than keeping the action safely confined to the past or a mythical realm. Her play was also revolutionary in its focus on women within a story that, within Iraqi drama and media, would normally focus primarily or exclusively on men. Ultimately, the risks that Fadhil took have limited the play’s appeal to Iraqi theatremakers and readers. Fadhil’s play also aspired to touch and influence people across the wider world. Specifically, she wanted to use the play to expose and condemn the corruption and hypocrisy at the heart of American neo-imperialism.

摘要

在 Rasha Fadhil 2003 年的戏剧《伊什塔尔在巴格达》中，她让伊拉克古代神话人物伊什塔尔和塔木兹出现在伊拉克战争期间的巴格达，让他们经历了许多与美国占领有关的恐怖，包括在阿布格莱布监狱遭受酷刑。这篇文章表明，在写剧本时，法迪尔试图吸引伊拉克和更广阔世界的观众。Fadhil 试图吸引伊拉克观众的尝试与她在伊拉克戏剧中使用的一种常见技巧有关：通过援引历史或伊拉克神话中的人物来讨论政治现状。但 Fadhil 通过“混合 [ing ...] 传说和现实”开辟了新天地，而不是将动作安全地限制在过去或神话领域。她的戏剧也是革命性的，因为它在一个故事中关注女性，在伊拉克戏剧和媒体中，通常主要或专门针对男性。最终，法迪尔承担的风险限制了该剧对伊拉克戏剧制作人和读者的吸引力。Fadhil 的戏剧也渴望触动和影响更广阔世界的人们。具体来说，她想用这部剧来揭露和谴责美国新帝国主义核心的腐败和虚伪。