Much like Mr. Burns reflects the changing culture surrounding the different time periods in which the play takes place, The Importance of Being Earnest and the Zarrilli reading both show how theatre can reflect the cultural values of the people it portrays and the effect it can have on its audience.
In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde examines the British upper class through a comedic lens. Wilde shows how the Victorian upper class often treats trivial things with seriousness and serious things with triviality (Gainor, pg. 772). Lady Bracknell suggests that “education produces no effect whatsoever,” then later is disappointed to hear that Jack lives in a very nice neighborhood, but “on the unfashionable side” (Wilde, pg. 784-785). This exchange is an example of how the priorities of upper class citizens can be seen as out of place. The source of a lot of confusion for the characters in the play is the character “Ernest.” Ernest is Jack’s alter ego that he uses when he is in London, and it is the name Gwendolen, Algernon, and Lady Bracknell know him by. Cecily and Miss Prism know him by Jack, and to their knowledge Ernest is his reckless brother living in London. Algernon, upon learning that Ernest is not real, shows up to Jack’s country house as Jack’s brother Ernest and becomes engaged to Cecily. To Algernon’s surprise he and Cecily have been engaged for months. Cecily has written herself letters as Ernest before actually meeting Ernest. Cecily pities “any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest” (Wilde, pg. 800). Gwendolen’s “ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest” (Wilde, pg. 782). Names like Algernon and Jack simply will not do. These women are so in love with the name Ernest, that, at one point, the reader could reasonably question whether they have any affection towards the actual men they are engaged to. It is of course no mistake that “Ernest” and “Earnest” are pronounced the same way, with the former being the name used in the play to deceive people and the latter meaning to be serious and sincere. A similarity between Mr. Burns and The Importance of Being Earnest is the characters emphasis on remembering the past. Jack is elated is delighted to discover his real name is in fact Ernest, and that Algernon is his younger brother. The characters in Mr. Burns try and see if they can remember lines from The Simpsons, what certain wines taste like, and where they can find a diet coke. The importance in knowing where you came from and having a solid memory of the past is common regardless of the time period or the place.
Theatre can have a large effect on its audience. Zarrilli discusses writers such as Schiller who dreamt “of a theatre that would be a voice of German culture and a force in shaping it” (Zarrilli, pg. 287). While Schiller’s dream “was never realizable,” the attempt made by Schiller to use a form of entertainment as a possible means to enact social change says a lot about the power behind theatre (Zarrilli, pg. 291). While Schiller tried to use his theatre productions to “refine and educate their audiences,” Wilde seems to be doing nothing of the sort in The Importance of Being Earnest (Zarrilli pg. 289). Wilde was a “clever critic” who “subverted the hierarchal values that structured” the Victorian upper class (Gainor, pg. 772). Wilde may not have been trying to accomplish the noble task of bettering his audience, but every play is written for a reason.

What are some similarities between the ways in which Schiller used the theatre, and people today use social media, to try and enact social change?
The Importance of Being Earnest highlighted some flaws in the thinking and values of the Victorian upper class. Do we see our flaws as Americans in satirical shows like South Park and Family Guy?
Can we see any similarities between our culture today and late 19th century British culture?

-Brian Pushie