Term Paper-December 8, 2008

Term Paper: Part 1
The main goal of a director is “the determination and realization on the stage of an artistic vision of the play text (Gleason) .” Oliver Parker had the power to make decisions about his own adaption of a great literary work. In the hands of director Oliver Parker, a great cinematic masterpiece brings a fresh perspective to 21st century minds.
A lot of people look to the past with a great deal of nostalgia. Even though Othello is fictional in plot, the struggle of race, citizen class, and forbidden love were issues in Elizabethan England. By keeping the original Shakespeare setting, Oliver Parker shows that the past was not perfect. Both, Shakespeare and Parker, knew that a grand Venetian city was the perfect starting point for a grim story.
The basic starting point of any production is to find good actors and actresses. Oliver Parker needed to find strong talent and shape the actors facial expressions, body language, and voice to Parker’s vision. Laurence Fishburne is the perfect character to bring forth a strong, yet weak Othello. White men in Venice loved to believe that they were the superior race. Parker wanted to show that Othello understands the system and has Othello look down when he address the Senate. By having Othello look down, Parker is helping Fishburne to show how Othello is no more than an animal to the Venetian Senate. This animalistic characteristic does come out in a scene with Iago and Desdemona. Othello’s sexual strength is seen in the film after a mock skirmish with Iago. Othello sees Desdemona and calls to her. Parker has Fishburne’s voice sound sensual and grows loud just like an animal after winning a fight for its mate. As Iago weaves his web of deception, Othello has a mental breakdown and physically looks like he is chained to the wall. However, Othello’s legs are spread wide open and Parker uses this small motion to show Othello’s sexual vulnerability that is in the hands of fair Desdemona (Fishburne).
Desdemona sees Othello as more than a sexual animal, but as the man she loves. Even though, Desdemona is believed to have lived a sheltered life, Parker shows that Desdemona is not completely ignorant of the consequences of her marriage to Othello. In the opening scene, Irene Jacob is running for her life in an unsafe neighborhood. However, when Jacob reaches the safety of the chapel and sees Othello, Jacob does not change her facial expression to the joy of a bride. Parker wanted to show Desdemona questions her decision up to the last minute. One of the most ambiguous actions, in the film, Othello, is in Desdemona’s deal scene. As Fishburne is strangling Jacob, Jacob’s hand is pushing Fishburne away until the very last second when Jacob’s hand looks as if she is caressing Fishburne (Fishburne). Parker chooses to show Desdemona’s true love or blind love in that final gesture. Irene Jacob is an acclaimed international actress. When Parker chooses Jacob to play the part of Desdemona, Parker used Jacobs’s accent to the idea that Desdemona is well-educated and well-off. Even though she is aware of cultural taboos, Desdemona is unaware of the deception around her.
Kenneth Branaugh is not only an accomplished actor, but also an accomplished director. However in Othello, Oliver Parker is molding Iago into Parker’s artistic vision. The interpretation of Iago can be vast from dark intelligence to a conniving fool. Parker has Branaugh playing both. When Iago has a soliloquy, his low voice gives the idea of planned intelligence. When Iago is around other characters, Parker has Branaugh smiling and playing a friend to all. Deep down, Parker believes Iago is an intelligent villain. Parker shows Iago know his playing field well. Iago knows he can control many characters, but Othello is a different story. Iago begins deceiving Othello in the weapon room. At the beginning of the scene, Parker has Branaugh positioned far away from Othello. At the end of the scene, Branaugh is whispering and physically close to Fishburne (Fishburne). These stage directions are Oliver Parkers efforts to bring forth his artistic vision.
Oliver Parker has other techniques he can use to bring the Shakespearean text to life on-screen. The director cannot keep track of every single detail, but Oliver Parker has the final say in several categories. One of the biggest investments in cinema is the set. Parker wanted to break the idea of a nostalgic past, but Parker wanted to break the nostalgia through the plot. Parker wanted to set the audience up for a paradigm shift by creating a grand set. The city of Venice set is filled with beautiful architecture. Even Othello and Desdemona’s outpost quarters are fit for a king and queen. These grand settings are a vast contrast to the dark story of Othello. One of the tools, at Parker’s disposal, is the props. There are two that stick out in the story. The first prop is the mask seen in the very first scene. This prop is striking for two reasons. The mask is all white except for black outlining and the mask is worn by a black man escorting a white woman. This shows the entire story of Othello in one single plot. The mask is also a sad face. When people attend mask balls, their costumes usually include happy masks. This one prop sets the entire tone for the rest of the film. The other significant prop is the handkerchief. This prop was important in Shakespeare’s text. A woman would have her mark of greatness, by having a singular creation on her handkerchief. The color is what makes Oliver Parker’s interpretation important. The colors are red and white, which are symbols for blood and purity. This is a fitting color for Desdemona’s fate (Fishburne).
The grand costumes also hold a symbolic purpose. When the audience first sees Othello, Desdemona, and Iago, their costumes are fronts to what society perceives them to be. Parker believed that society saw Othello as a second class citizen. When Othello is first seen, Parker has Fishburne wearing two gold earrings. Earrings are the mark of a slave or someone in long servitude. Iago is first seen in the quintessential garb of the period. Shakespeare and Parker needed to bring forth the unexpected villain by making him appear ordinary. The hairstyle is an intricate part of a woman’s costume. For the most part, Desdemona keeps her hair down, instead of the intricate hairstyle of the day. This is a perfect fit for Jacob’s character because of Desdemona’s lack of interest in wealth and obvious innocent nature. Society dictates their treatment of a person based on what they wear (Fishburne).
A societal atmosphere can also be conveyed through subliminal techniques. The lighting in a stage play is more obvious than a cinematic production. However, Oliver Parker uses the lighting throughout the film to set the stage for a dark, somber plot. In most stories, there is a struggle for power. Stage blocking is used by the director to express the character’s power play. Throughout the film, Iago literally encircles his victims before the final kill. The beginning and ending of any story is what people remember. The opening and ending scenes both dealt with water. The opening scene has the famous gondola boats flowing down the dark river. Parker shows that evil flows throughout the city. The final scene is Othello and Desdemona being thrown into the ocean (Fishburne). The ocean is clear against the setting sun. The sunset symbolizes the ends of this story. The water is more symbolic of the purity of the dead, not that justice has been served.













Term Paper: Part 2
1. What did you learn from your counterpart’s performance?
Oliver Parker, as any other director, plays the most important behind the scenes role. The director must choose who is to present his artistic vision. Oliver Parker picked strong actors that move the audience to the heart of the story. I did not have a wide range of choices, but I did have to place the ones I was given. I could not use the Shakespeare text because of the lack of males. My first idea was to create a reality TV-show with Mike being a male version of Desdemona. However, my actors and actresses told me what roles they wanted to play. Since Jai wanted to be Othello and Mike wanted to be Iago, I have to take the sexual part of the roles out the plot. I had to work with my actors and actresses, so that we could have a good time and present a masterpiece.
Othello is all about a power play and stage directing gives a subliminal cue to the audience. Kenneth Branaugh gave a powerful performance, but Oliver Parker helped create the web of deception through stage direction. Kenneth Branaugh is whispering in Laurence Fishburne’s ear. When I was direction, I have limited text, so I needed to create the power play without words. In the first scene, Jai and Mike have a disagreement. At first Mike tries to gain power by standing over Jai’s desk. In return, I had Jai standup to even the playing field. I believe it would have been easier, if Jai was taller than Mike. In the last scene, Mike and I had invaded Jai’s private office. We were standing in the power position, but that was our downfall, as in Oliver Parker’s version.
2. What are the different aspects of your counterpart and your performance?
The obvious difference between Oliver Parker’s approach and mine is the setting. With my actors and actresses playing certain roles, I had to have a setting where the love relationship can be eliminated and the power play is still relevant. In class we discussed what triggered Iago’s need for revenge. In a cop setting, there is a higher level of stress and little things can set someone off very easily. A promotion in the field can change the entire course of a detective’s future. Especially in specialized units, the higher the ranking there is the higher the change of being noticed by the city councilmen. Another essential part is the relationship between Desdemona and the men around her. In the Shakespearean text, Desdemona is one of two women among countless men. I did not have that option, so I played with reversing the sex roles. The fact that there were more women than men and that could easily set off the need for revenge in some men’s minds. The other benefit to a modern setting was the use of language. I had students, instead of trained actors that are paid to memorize their lines. If our group forgot our lines, no one would know. This took a lot of pressure off my actors that also played other roles such as set designer and script writer.
The script is only one thing under the director’s control. However, this was a student production and those controls are limited. One of the most powerful tools in Parker’s production is lighting. I didn’t use the lighting to send a message about the plot, but I used the lighting to direct the audience’s attention. The soliloquy’s are an important part of the Shakespearean text. When we did have a soliloquy, only the person that was speaking could move. The rest of the actors had to remain still and remain in the background and out of the lime light. Since I took the idea from the TV-show Law and Order, we wanted to use the theme song during scene changes and the ambulance sounds during the end. However, the play group did not get to rehearse with the technician and the scene changes did not come through on the actual performance. However, we did get the ambulance sound at the end and the audience could still hear us from the back of the theater. Another subliminal tool is the different character’s costumes. Since there is a uniform code among police detectives, I could have my actors create very simple costumes. I asked everyone to wear a business suit. I also asked everyone to put on their own personal touch. Jai wore her hats and tall boots. Carmen wanted to go for a Latina look, so she added accessories to that effect. I added a layered look, because I was technically playing two different characters that we had rolled into one.
3. How did you and your counterpart differ in your interpretations?
There are three main aspects of interpretation between Oliver Parker and myself in the interpretation of Othello. The first is the idea of race. There is no way to get around the subject of race in Othello. In the play group, Jai happened to be African-America and wanted to play Othello. When Jai wrote the script, I asked if she could also put in the racial aspect of the story. Mike did not feel comfortable using racial slurs, so I asked him to keep some, but put in terms he was more comfortable with. In the end, the camaraderie of the group made the performance work. There is no denying that Othello is a love story. However, with the only make actor wanting to play Iago, I took out the love relationship between Othello and Desdemona. Instead I had a past love relationship between Desdemona and Iago. This allowed for us to play with the sex talk that Shakespeare is famous for. Shakespearean tragedies have known to be very gruesome. Suicide is a very serious subject, but the psychology behind suicide in the Shakespearean text is a little different. Othello killed himself because he killed Desdemona. Since this is a cop show, I thought betrayal is just as good enough reason for murder. These aspects of society are important issues today just as they were in Elizabethan England.














Works Cited
Gleason, Paul. Descriptions of Jobs for Production Designer and Director. Handout. Milwaukee: Cardinal Stritch University, 2008.

Othello. Dir. Oliver Parker. Perf. Laurence Fishburne. 1995.

Acting Bias- November 20, 2008

In watching all of the groups tonight, you can appreciate the text even more. Othello and Hamlet changed something about the text in their specific play. Hamlet changed the words to make the text more understandable. However, with every new director there is a specific bias toward each character. The Othello group changed the entire play and even though everyone still died in the end, the interpretation of the play is probably entirely different than what Shakespeare intended. Shakespeare is dead, but the text is still alive and can be interpreted to be important to every reader. In performing tonight, I was amazed to see that a text that is meant as a tragedy could be turned into a comedy. Just as in life, there are funny moments even in the hardest of times.

Shakespeare and Feminism- November 12, 2008

Does Shakespeare’s text sympathize or antagonize feminism? Lady Macbeth is a woman who wants power of her fate. We can conclude that Shakespeare’s text understood the woman’s need for control over her life, but the text seems to show that feminism went against the natural order of the day. Women were meant to be subservient to the man of the household. The text perceives that Lady Macbeth would have been perceived as evil according to the thought process of the time. This is unusual because a year before Macbeth was written Queen Elizabeth ruled England. During her reign, England prospered and grew in power. Now that a man had come to the throne, patriarchal ideals must be reinforced. At the time, Shakespeare had a great example of a powerful woman that succeeded. Instead, he created women as evil or frail characters and follows the lead of the patriarchal society.

The Noble Eightfold Path- November 12, 2008

Macbeth and The Throne of Blood follow the ideals of “The Noble Eightfold Path.” Washizu and Macbeth both fail to follow the first basic step of seeing things as they are and not as they appear to be. The second step of “The Noble Eightfold Path” is denying something very dear, such as money, power, or title. Washizu does not deny his right to the throne and in doing so; Washizu cannot have peace according to the Buddhist tradition. When we consider Shakespeare, students admire the play on words and discover that the spirits really were speaking the truth. The Throne of Blood also uses the riddle of the trees to show truth as it needs to be perceived. Both main characters desire power and in the Buddhist Tradition, one must be aware of oneself without craving or desire. These are only three out of the eight that both Macbeth and Washizu have violated and in the end show the reality of life, suffering, and peace.

Ideological Pinnacles- November 7, 2008

Cordelia and Saburo are the pinnacle of their particular religious belief. Cordelia is a wonderful example of Judo-Christian ideology. In the beginning of the play, we can infer that she has loved her father through actions. Christ also loved through actions when he washed the disciples feet. Second, Cordelia even though she was a woman exemplified the Christian perspective. When a woman marries she is no longer under any obligation to her father, but now under her husbands domain. Then she was an innocent life that was killed by the follies of others. Christ was killed to save mankind from their sins. Saburro also follows the Buddhist tradition. From the beginning of Ran, Saburro understands that life is suffering. He knows that there will be know peace if his father divides the kingdom. Saburro wants to keep the family together, which is also a part of Japanese culture. In Ran, Saburro denies the power given to him by his father. This self-sacrifice is treasured in Buddhist ideology. These two people are examples that the fathers should have been.

Shakespeare Social Activist- Novemeber 3, 2008

Was Shakespeare a social activist? In Othello, he does not conform to any social norms. To start off with, the evil character is a typical Englishman. Iago is white, intelligent, and has a good military career. This compared to Othello, who to start off with is black and ends up destroying his military career through his weakness. Then Shakespeare uses some interesting questions in “The Merchant of Venice.” The great speech, given to an “inferior” being asks questions that mankind has to answer about anyone. “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?” Does Shakespeare want us to understand that our soul, though the strenght may vary from person to person, is what needs to be given a chance to live.

Timeless Literature October 20, 2008

In a previous class, Dr. Gleason asked why do people continually read Shakespeare down through the ages. Classics are timeless because they continually apply to the struggles the common man faces. That is obvious in the play Othello because of our discussion in class. Today we still deal with the subject of race. The point of view has changed over the years to now where the African Americans and other minorities have a voice. However, we still have prejudices of mixed racial families. Romeo and Juliet is also another example. If it did not apply, Leonardo DiCaprio could not have played a major role. The gang life is not very familiar to all of us, but the parent’s wishes vs. teenagers wants still create problems today. If we can still talk about the text in class and find a very specific example (Romeo, Othello), then it is part of timeless literature.