The Seagull Study Guide (12MB) - Goodman Theatre

Hero Worship: The Good and the Ugly
BY WILLIAM LANDON
We all have heroes of one kind or another. Some are political
activists, scientists, artists, writers, historical icons
or prophets. We admire their contributions to the world
and their firm beliefs. Some are people in our personal
lives, such as a relative, sibling or parent. We admire
their contributions to our lives and the lives of others
around us. And then some are celebrities who inspire us
from the screen or stage; we may “love” them because
they are famous, perhaps what we aspire to be. Some
are several of these things in one. Well, this famous
person – Brad Pitt, Brian Urlacher, Quentin Tarantino,
Katy Perry, Beyonce, whomever – what if you had the
chance to meet that person? What if you did meet, and
you had a conversation with that person about your likes,
your dislikes, what you believe in, and so on. What if you
left with them? What consequences could you face?
Imagine how Nina must feel when Trigorin, one of the
most highly admired writers in Russia enters the estate
with Arkadina, one of the most celebrated actresses.
Here are two of the biggest stars of literary and theatrical
worlds in the same house. It would be akin to one of
your favorite Hollywood directors or one of your favorite
musicians showing up for dinner.
Because Nina places so much value in the lives of
Arkadina and Trigorin, she becomes obsessed with their
Joan of Arc, historical icon seen by some as hero and others as
mentally ill. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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celebrity status and her own unrealistic expectations.
In their first conversation in Act II, Trigorin confesses to
Nina that everything is nothing more than an opportunity
for a story, and even asks her the ironic rhetorical:
“You’ve heard of an obsession?” She is, indeed, obsessed.
It is clear from her responses to Trigorin in this
scene, as well as her interactions with Arkadina, that
Nina is obsessed with the idea of fame. Trigorin is jaded,
meaning cynical toward his experiences with fame, and
doesn’t recognize his own fame or her aspirations. When
he sees Nina’s fixation on him, he decides that she can
be useful. He gets what he needs from her in the form
of praise or some excellent story topics, and then leaves
her behind. On one hand this could be artistic selfishness,
but on a more basic level he does not share her
passions or views on fame.
Hero worship has been called a “basic and indestructible
tendency of human nature”, and it was part of human
culture in Russia in the 19th century as it is now. Nina,
like so many of us, simply obeys human instinct to attach
herself to a person of high status and celebrity. When
the admiration of a celebrity figure reaches the point
of worship, though, it becomes an obsession. In other
words, love of that celebrity can control the day to day
activities of a person’s life. This can be extremely dangerous.
To worship a hero can mean that hero becomes
an idol, or that we spend too much time devoted to that
hero. Whether we actually realize it, the media allows our
heroes today to evolve and stake a major place in our
lives.
We all follow at least one famous person – okay let’s
be honest, probably a lot of famous people – on social
media. Various social media allows us to peek into every
aspect of the lives of the famous, whether it’s Lindsay
Lohan or Dave Chapelle. We develop an idea of who they
are as people, which may or may not differ from how
they are portrayed in television, radio, and elsewhere on
the web. Sometimes obsession with this hero’s talents
can drive us to develop serious goals or hobbies, like
learning to shred the guitar or take acting classes. The
experience becomes personal, and this hero becomes a
model. The matter of the worshiper’s “maturity” doesn’t
actually factor into this identification, either. Many young
people today who watch reality TV, MTV, or Russell Brand
films base their sexuality and approach to relationships
on what they see represented through these programs.