Pendergast - Victim and victimizer two sides of same coin

The character of Max in Sherman’s “Bent” (the film) is similar to the character of Halder in Taylor’s “Good” (the play) in significantly meaningful ways even though their circumstances are drastically different. Both characters are afraid of being an individual. I feel this reluctance and inability to assert and/or define their own values and ideas when the values and ideas differ from those of the social majority or socially defined authority, is related to the human instinctual desire to be accepted and loved by others, the need to be loved, and the commonly held and erroneous belief that self-love and self-acceptance cannot exist without others’ love and acceptance.

This concept of self-love and self-acceptance, which is an affirmation of self-worth independent of others’ opinions of our worth, is closely tied and runs parallel to, as I see it, with the process of individuation which can also be called the quest for selfhood, the journey within, self-actualization, etc.

Both Max and Halder are both somewhat conscious of their individual selves, and they even question their morality and their authenticity. Max: “I am a rotten person. Why do I do these things?” And Halder: “The whole of my life is a performance?” (5). Also, Max is at least living out his sexual orientation even though he isn’t fully able to embrace it. So in the beginning of their stories, they are both on some level trying to work out who they are, but perhaps they still haven’t embarked on the conscious journey of who they are regardless of who others want them to be.

Max at the end of his story is much further advanced on the individualism quest than Halder whose unconsciousness of self remains pretty much at the same level for the duration of the play. Max, in his final scenes, finally admits to himself that he loves Horst and feels love, acceptance and respect for himself despite the social taboo of his sexual orientation. After he tells Horst that he loves him, he angrily asks aloud, “What’s wrong with that?” Max perhaps found this insight and courage precisely because of the painful and demeaning circumstances in which he was placed. Suffering on this deep level can stir the soul and open doors that were formerly closed. Confronting death can also stir the soul and lead one to asking the bigger life questions. Max’s life was in constant danger and he witnessed the violent death of his beloved right before his eyes. Also, Max fell in love with Horst, a man who didn’t disown himself. Love can move the soul to greater heights and bring with it great insight into ourselves and humanity as a whole.

Halder had a very different set of circumstances from Max. Rather than being captured by the Nazis, he became one. He had the advantage (disadvantage from the perspective of personal growth) of avoiding this intense suffering, confrontation of death and love experienced by Max. Both characters were avoiding suffering, death and isolation, but only Halder was successfully able to avoid these things, hence why he didn’t grow.

In terms of victimhood and victimization, I see these two states of being as consequences of a person’s lack of self-awareness as well as lack of awareness of the interdependency of, “oneness” with, and responsibility to all of humanity. Both Max and Halder victimized themselves and others by denying their true selves. Both characters were afraid of pain, rejection, isolation and death and both believed that their best chance of avoiding these things was to do what they were “expected“ to do by society and/or by social authority. Both characters were not aware initially that the suppression of the true self, which includes an awareness of the individual self as well as the self’s relationship to humanity as a whole, causes the worst kind of suffering and isolation of all.