Publish at November 28 2023 Updated November 28 2023
The term "puppet" seems to be associated with childhood. So many shows aimed at the very young use these dolls manipulated by hidden humans. Yet there's nothing childlike about puppetry in the first place. In fact, the art was only performed for adults, just as fairy tales weren't originally written with children in mind.
In the 16th century, performances featured the great classics of tragedy, and in the 17th century, the figure of the guignol appeared and served to mock elites and authority.
Since then, although puppet shows have been created for young audiences, they can also be used to tackle darker themes. New Zealand director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) used Sesame Street-style doll characters in his film "Meet the Feebles", dealing with notions of suicide, violence, drugs and so on. This important contrast is used by puppeteers to touch on serious themes in a roundabout way. The puppet approach removes some of the sense of rejection a viewer might feel if this were performed by an actor.
Running time: 5min10
Photo : Boris15 / DepositPhotos
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