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Comparing Othello's Jealousy In The Film 'O'

Decent Essays

The modernised basketball film “O” translates William Shakespeare's tragedy script Othello into a high school teen drama. The film gets its individuality and power from the fact that its plot, themes, motivations and actions of its characters are a modern comparative to the seventeenth century play. The director and writer of the 2001 film ‘O’ have produced a near identical productions, all while adding a more modern twist to the context of a high school violence. Every wondered why modernized versions of Shakespeare’s plays are so successful? It’s because the writers and directors take the work of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era plays and adapt their meanings, plot and values for a modern audience to appreciate. Jealousy, woman and power will …show more content…

Jealousy is expressed through many different characters perspectives. Iago’s jealousy if a major focal point throughout Shakespeare’s play, Iago gets so jealous that he becomes a very racist person with some terms such as thick-lips, sooty-bosom and Moor to describe Othello. His racism towards Othello makes him think that he shouldn’t be under Othello in the Military and Desdemona and Othello shouldn’t be together. During the Elizabethan time it was very uncommon and highly frowned upon to see a white person and coloured person to be married, let alone the person with the higher rank to be coloured. Similar in the film ‘O’, jealousy and racism is a big problem during the time why the film took place. Although the settings have changed during the centuries, jealousy and racism between Othello and ‘O’ still remain somewhat the same. …show more content…

in the Elizabethan era the ideologies they had towards woman were that they belonged to their husbands and fathers, woman were submissive, woman were objects and were to be kept and controlled, woman didn’t have a voice to speak in society, they were to be obedient. In Othello Desdemona challenges these ideologies in the Elizabethan era, Desdemona rebels against her father and loves a man of a lower rank, Emilia challenges the dominant man by questioning her husband, she also defies her husband Iago by telling the truth about the manipulation, Desdemona supports the Elizabethan cultural assumptions by allowing Othello to murder her by being submissive. Quote/Evidence In the film ‘O’ Desi is a submissive character. ‘O’ is transformed to suit a modern audience. Resembling the play Othello Desdemona gives into her husband when he murders her. Unlike in the play Othello, Desi doesn’t challenge Odin, or given a chance to confront Odin before she dies. The audience is positioned see woman as still being powerless in society and the white male is dominant, woman have no voice, domestic violence is acceptable by the dominant male, woman are sexual objects and are to be controlled and woman are not challenging dominant power structure. Because of this the story ends in

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