Waiting for gusfman - Essay Example

The form of the ‘mockumentary’ not only allows for this type of satire, but it also creates a satire of the form of the documentary as well. The film Waiting for Guffman provides for a look at the idea of community as seen through the social interactions that are required to develop an event that celebrates the uniqueness of the community, while that uniqueness is revealed for its absurdity. Waiting for Guffman (1996) is a film in which the genre of the ‘mockumentary’ as developed by Rob Reiner through the innovative and classic film This is Spinal Tap (1986) is used to satirize a cultural event.

Christopher Guest, who co-wrote and starred in Reiner’s film, creates the work Waiting for Guffman as a way of examining the concept of the a local theater group as they attempt to put on a production as a way of celebrating the town’s sesquicentennial. Guffman refers to a man named Mort Guffman who is reported to be Broadway talent scout who will be attending the event. The production is based on the history of the town which has parallel details of the type that might be found in many small towns, crossing the line to the absurd as the town is proclaimed to be ‘The Stool Capital of the World’.

Christopher Guest plays the character Corky St. Clair whose visions are often beyond the capacity of his small theater to achieve. The film utilizes the suspension of natural laws through explorations of the absurd as they relate to the truths of many small towns across America. As Guest’s character presents himself as an over the top and flamboyant theater director, he embraces the idea of homosexuality within a small town atmosphere as being represented by extravagance and eccentricity. Through a stereotypical portrayal, he comments on the avant guarde as it is explored in less than sophisticated surroundings, missing the mark and flying wide into an absurdity of his