My personal letter in the ABQ Journal - Sunday, August 24, 2025

Theater of the Absurd in Texas and California

In the 1960s I was a fan of the Theater of the Absurd. This genre presented plays that brought ideas to the absurd level to illustrate the absurdity of those ideas.

An example of this genre was Eugene Ionesco’s, “Rhinoceros”. In this play people allow themselves to be turned into rhinoceroses because others are turning into rhinoceroses and they are afraid of not conforming. Ionesco grew up in Romania as the Nazi party was gaining power and he saw rational people turning into Nazis.

Well thank you Texas and California politicians for illustrating the absurdity of allowing politicians to draw their own districts. Maybe now people in New Mexico and elsewhere will recognize this absurdity and demand independent redistricting commissions.

 

Richard Mason
Rio Rancho

By the way, Ionesco's play was made into a movie by the American Film Theater. It stars Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. Seems sort of relevant today.
Probably available on Netflix 

 

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