An Atypical Hunt: The Theater of Conversation

I have long recognized the theatrical nature of conversation. This recognition has saved me countless times in small talk; this recognition has saved me countless times in socializing with people. It is because of this recognition, furthermore, that I detest the labels “introvert” and “extrovert.” Come on. I sometimes need to recharge by being by myself. So what? Sometimes I prefer to recharge by being with people. I’m literally fifty / fifty on this one. I bring up the theater of conversation because one recent horror movie from our October list is Speak No Evil. Our bad guys in the movie seem to feed off the theater of conversation; it’s their motive. Our other characters, the female heroine excluded, just don’t seem to get it. When we socialize with others, there is a sense of theater that the very best speakers recognize. It’s this recognition that makes them so great at conversing. Our female hero in the story knows this well, and it keeps her alive. She sees through the hollowness of the performance of her antagonists, and that saves everyone else in the story.

This movie is brilliant if you go in recognizing that the theater of conversation is both strength and weakness. It is a weakness when we don’t use it ourselves. It is a strength when we see it in ourselves and others. Knowing what it looks like may just save our lives. At the very least, it can save our conversations. It is the ultimate "hunt." That is the "hunt" our antagonists in Speak No Evil relish most.