Journal | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Monographic journal issue | Supplemento 59 | 2023
Research Article | The Power of Fragility
The Power of Fragility
Martha Graham, Clytemnestra, and United States Cold War Propaganda
Abstract
Martha Graham’s modernist dance, Clytemnestra, opened on Broadway in 1958; celebrated as “a blazing swatch of emotional colors,” its Cold War political import became immediately apparent as it toured for the US government. Clytemnestra demonstrated not only the cultural sophistication of the US; the dramatization of emotions in an American modern non-verbal language engaged international audience and diplomatic “hearts” in the US bid for “hearts and minds” in its fight against communism. As a powerful artist, Graham brought her fragility to the stage, which represented the nation in what the government called the “the translation effect.”
Submitted: Nov. 24, 2022 | Published Dec. 1, 2023 | Language: en
Keywords Cold War, Cultural Diplomacy, Modern Dance, United
Copyright © 2023 Victoria Phillips. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2023/02/001
