Today in class helped me to realize how one book or play in this case, can provoke endless opinions, thoughts, and class discussions. Although I and many people do not sympathize with Aaron, a few classmates had very valid reasons as to why they actually sympathize with Aaron and his character within the movie. I wish we could have dug a bit deeper into the text and compare those students opinions. As discussed, in the hanging scene, the movie provides a lot more emotion and depth than the literature itself, giving Aaron more dignity and ownership than Shakespeare had originally bestowed upon the character.
Shakespeare's tragedies are surprisingly less detailed than than the cinema presentations. This obviously gives the actors and directors more independence to present their play as the wish. However, in the case of Titus, I think it should have been presented closer to the text. It is a bit over the top at times (as many Shakespearean movies are) as well as drawn out in a few scenes, specifically the ending. As I said in class, most of these performances are modernized for their audience and as a result, can be a bit pop cultured. Consequently, I wish that there was another rendition of the Titus in film version to compare it to. Romeo and Juliet is one of the Shakespeare Tragedies that does have two versions and can provide a good visual comparison. All in all, I did like Titus and am very interested to see how our classmates portray these interesting characters.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Good post. I'll look into finding another, more period-based production of the play.
Contemporary directors and filmmakers are very interested in exploring characters whom Shakespeare may use racial stereotypes to present in the texts. An obvious example of this is Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Have you read or seen this play? In the original text, Shakespeare presents Shylock using the anti-Semitic stereotypes of his (and our) day. Contemporary directors, on the other hand, tend to direct the play in ways that present Shylock as the victim of anti-Semitism. I think that Taymor does the same thing with Aaron in her version of Titus. Aaron becomes the victim of racism and imperialistic hegemony. Tamora, as a woman in Taymor's version, is depicted in the same way.
I have not read Merchant of Venice. I will definately add it to my list of recreational reads. It sounds like this could be a great resource, thanks for the tip!
Post a Comment