Commedia dell’arte
Commedia dell’arte
The Commedia dell’arte (“comedy of art”) was a dramatic form that developed in 16th century Italy that eventually spread throughout Europe. It had stock characters and a predictable plot line.
The closest Philippine equivalent was the Moro–Moro, which, like the Commedia, is no longer staged anywhere. Occasionally, however, the term is used as a metaphor to describe something meant to deceive the public into thinking that a real drama is taking place, with a cast of characters engaged in a conflict, contest or contention the outcome of which seems nearly impossible to predict.
A Moro–Moro, however, has a predetermined ending. Devised by the friar orders during the Spanish colonial period to convince the Indios that Christianity saves not only the soul but also the flesh, it stereotyped Muslims by depicting them as the violence-prone but inevitable losers in confrontations with conquistadores and Christian converts.
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