Tradition and Change in Greek Shadow Theater

GREEK SHADOW THEATER, which is primarily an urban phenomenon, was largely ignored until recently by Greek folklorists, who focused their attention almost exclusively on the culture of rural Greece.The decades of the 1960s and 1970s, however, witnessed a remarkable surge in interest in Greek shadow theater.'Much attention was devoted to the link between Greek shadow theater and ancient Greek comedy, the relationship between the Greek and the Turkish traditions of shadow theater, and the "Hellenization" of Greek shadow theater in the 19th century.2Works in the latter area focused on such topics as the evolution of the full cast of "traditional" characters and the development of the "complete" repertoire of "classical" plays.In stressing the importance of Greek shadow theater, Greek folklorists have claimed that Karagiozis, the poor, hungry trickster, with his hunchback, bare feet, and long arm, who has come to personify the tradition of Greek shadow theater, is "the genuine stereotype of the common Greek" (Zarikos 1976:75), "the only genuine expression of modern Greek reality" and "the voice of the modern Greek people" (Trezou 1976:62).However, while popular and scholarly interest in Greek shadow theater was increasing dramatically, the tradition itself was undergoing drastic, and what many considered disturbing, changes.Well-known puppeteers were growing old, and no young people were taking their place.Fewer and fewer puppeteers were traveling through Greece giving performances in small cities and towns, while open-air theaters in large cities were being forced to close, to make way for apartment buildings and stores.Furthermore, live shadow theater performances were declining in popularity because of increased competition from movie theaters and television.Puppeteers recorded plays on long-playing records and gave short weekly performances for children on national television.Comic booklike pamphlets, orfiladhia,3 containing shadow theater plays were published inexpensively and anonymously and were advertised as "the indispensable companion of every child."Karagiozis, then, had taken his place beside Mickey Mouse, Davy Crockett, and other comic book characters on the shelves of kiosks and stationery stores throughout Greece

Contemporary and Historical Greek Studies · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philippine History and Culture

• Introduction

  D Theodossopoulos•South European Society & Politics•2006

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• Patenting'Karagöz

  Bahar Aykan•International Journal of Heritage…•2015

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• Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics

  Open Access•John Lyons, John S Lyons•Introduction to Theoretical…•1968

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• The Urban Experience and Folk Tradition

  Annelen Archbold, Américo Paredes et al.•Journal of American Folklore•1974

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