"O" Mirrors Othello

           “O” brings Shakespeare into the 21^st century. This movie is based on the dramatic tragedy known as Othello. But unlike most teen spin offs of Shakespeare’s plays, I find this movie to be almost identical.

            The biggest difference between the movie and the play is the setting. No longer is the scene of Venice and Cyprus but instead a southern boarding school, and the Turkish war has been replaced by a basketball court. With the changes in setting come changes in language. To modernize the play, profanity and slang are very dominant. And for the soundtrack, the melody of rap plays as Hugo plans his evil scheme.

            Symbols that are present in both play and movie are the handkerchief and the Willow. The handkerchief has identical symbolic meaning in the play and the movie. The handkerchief symbolizes different things to different characters. Since the handkerchief was the first gift Desi received from Odin, she keeps it about her constantly as a symbol of Odin’s love. Hugo manipulates the handkerchief so that Odin comes to see it as a symbol of Desi’s faith and chastity. By taking possession of it, he is able to convert it into evidence of her infidelity. The handkerchief originally was in the possession of Odin’s mother and is supposed to stay in the family, which represents him making her apart of the family and of their  trust. The Willow is represented differently but does maintain the same meaning for Desi in the play and the movie. In the play as Desdemona prepares for bed in Act V, she sings a song about a woman who is betrayed by her lover. She was taught the song by her mother’s maid, Barbary, who suffered a misfortune similar to that of the woman in the song; she even died singing Willow. The song’s lyrics suggest that both men and women are unfaithful to one another. To Desdemona, the song seems to represent her alienation from Othello’s affections. In the movie, Willows is the hotel that Odin and Desi spend a romantic night. During the night, Odin becomes forceful to Desi and in this moment in the relationship Desi feels disconnected from Odin and questions their relationship.

            Themes such as betrayal, infidelity, love, passion, romance, death and manipulation are all problems that even today’s world is faced with. Therefore these modernized versions are often very applicable and relatable to our lives when the setting and cultural restraints of the Renaissances era are removed. 

Who Are You?

           Disguise is a dominate theme in Twelfth Night . Viola’s disguise is the most obvious, when she transforms into a man named Cesario when she dresses and acts like a man. Viola dressed as a man and created  very tangled web of lies that resulted in a strange love triangle. Viola loves Orsino, but Orsino love Olivia, but Olivia loves Cesario. What is the point of this strange love triangle? Well I think Shakespeare is trying to show how delusional human attraction can be and that it can be manipulated by just dressing like a man.

            Another character disguises himself in the play. Malvolio under the impression that Olivia loves him decided to dress as she wishes. This outfit comprises of crossed garters and yellow stockings, which is a horrible outfit but because of his blinded love he will do or become anyone to be with Olivia. When Malvolio dreams of his life with Olivia he imagines himself dressed in fine clothes. Due to Olivia’s high status, Malvolio feels the need to change his look in order to be able to be with Olivia.

            While Malvolio is determined mad because of his goofy clothing and excessive smiling he is sent to a confined dark room. While in the dark room, Feste decides to create another disguise. He creates a priest named Sir Topas, who he dresses up as to deceive Malvolio. The catch is that Malvolio is not able to see Feste so there is no need to dress as his new character. This is very telling on the topic of disguise because Feste believes that the outfit and reality are deeply connected. For Sir Topas to be real he must dress the part and then he will truly be Sir Topas. I believe that Shakespeare shows this crazy scene because he is making a statement on the issue of class and gender and all you need to change this image is to change clothes. I gender and class a fixed variable or can the change of clothes change who you are?

            The question over changing who you are is a question that is still relevant to today. Many believe that a new pair of shoes or a designer bag will change the way you and others feel about you. But is this really what happens. I personally think people can pretend to be something they are not but in the end their true self will be revealed. 

Seeing Double...

            We have just started reading the play called Twelfth Night, which is a comedy I have been looking forward to reading. Hearing that the movie She’s the Man makes me want to investigate the similarities and differences that the movie has from the play. The greatest thing about the work of Shakespeare is that each generation is free to interpret his stories to suite the circumstances and situations prevalent to their times. Shakespeare’s plays encompassed every possible aspect of the human condition form the tragic to the ridiculous making younger generations able to relate and retell his stories.

            The first references to the play in She’s the Man are the similarities in the names. Such as Olivia, Sebastian and Viola. And the main reference is the main character is attempting to pass as a boy. The movie presents Amanda Bynes in the role of the heroine Viola, who pretends to be her twin brother in order to play soccer after the girls' team at her school is disbanded. Bynes displays a flair for comedy, especially when Viola studies guys walking down the street and mimics their gait and mannerisms. Bynes uses her elastic face to show Viola's every thought making the transition and doing her darnedest to pull it off. The largest problem comes in the form of her roommate Duke Orsino. He is a sensitive young man that is more than willing to open up to what he thinks is another guy. Duke is romantically interested in a girl at the school, Olivia. The problem is she has eyes for Sebastian. Viola completes the strange romantic triangle when she begins to fall for Duke. This naturally places Viola in some uncomfortable circumstances. Since this genre is far from subtle the lamentable Viola finds being a guy is not as easy as she had hoped. This plot parallels the love triangle present in the Twelfth Night. One small reference to the play is that the pizza joint that the kid frequent is called Cesario, a reference to the name Viola uses as a man in Twelfth Night.

            Although the movie uses loose references to the play it has inspired the inspiration for the concept of the chick flick comedy. After I’m done reading the play I’m sure I will find more secret inserts from the writers that reflect the inspiration from the play.