I have to be honest. I was disappointed in Mark Ravenhill's play. His manner of playing up the shock factor, making each scene more explicit and shocking than the last detracts rather than enhances the point he is trying to make--that consumerism is taking over the world, turning even love and relationships (what human beings tend to value most) into commodities that can be bought or sold on a whim. He could have easily gotten his point across just as well in a subtler fashion, perhaps even better, because the increasingly explicit scenes place the reader's focus and attention on the literal rather than the point Ravenhill is trying to make in writing such a play. It is like having someone screaming at you from three feet away. Because the person is screaming, the meaning is obscured because your brain only perceives that the person is screaming rather than making out the words that are actually being said. This is not what I would call good writing, and I have to say that I will be disappointed if the rest of the plays we read are written in a similar fashion. However, I am interested in hearing others' thoughts on the matter and seeing how they compare with my own. I guess I will find out in class tomorrow.