Julie Taymor's Presentation Of Violence In Titus

Julie Taymor’s presentation of violence in Titus differs and compares to Shakespeare’s presentation of violence in Titus Andronicus; the following paper will discuss and analyze three major scenes where this comparison can be made.
Taymor’s presentation of violence is broadcasted in scene one. She not only presents violence, but forces emotions onto the viewer by using other characters reactions as tools to subliminally tell the viewer how they too should react to what occurs in the film. Shakespeare, on the other hand, leaves only black and white text on a page, and therefore the viewer is left to make his or her interpretation. According to a film review published in the New York Times, It’s a Sort of Family Dinner, Your Majesty, Titus is

used in scene one to “portray violence as an escalating fever, an addictive mass hysteria that consumes the characters and turns them into bloodthirsty fiends” (Holden 1999). As scene one opens, soldiers are seen performing. Taymor creates an intriguing combination both appealing visually due to the synchronicity of the soldiers’ movements, and also dark, and threatening enough for the viewer to understand fear and violence awaits the characters in the film. In this scene Taymor uses young Titus as an instrument to control the viewer’s reaction; his face depicts emotions that are afraid, scared, shocked, and slightly in admiration for the soldiers. The emotions depicted by young Titus are exactly how Taymor wants the viewer to feel during this scene. In Shakespeare’s vision however, we are not able to understand this effect, and therefore the reader is left to create his or her subjective interpretation of the text.
Aside from observing characters reaction, Taymor intentionally presents violence alongside rituals in nearly every scene where violence occurs; this creates a stark contrast, causing the viewer to question whether tradition and rituals are justification for such violence. Shakespeare does not specifically create this theme through such blunt presentation of concepts. A vivid example of this is in scene three, when Titus seeks revenge on Chiron and Demetrius for Lavina’s rape. Taymor presents Titus as calm and clean; he slowly, elegantly, and systematically informs Chiron and Demetrius of their fate. Through this scene, Taymor emphasizes how systematic and ceremonial his revenge is. According to a film review published by The Guardian, this scene is not just a “splatter fest” (Gardner 2014). Taymor makes it clear that this was a carefully throughout plan, and once again, this sense of clean ritual is in sharply contrasted with the vengeful sight of the boys hanging upside down “like sausages” bleeding from their throats (Ebert 2000). This scene presents an example where barbaric and systematic organized revenge are connected, where as in Shakespeare’s version, these two concepts can be equally understood through a deeper analysis, but are not directly presented in a blunt and stark manner.
The last major comparison that can be made between Taymor and Shakespeare’s version is through visual and sound aspects of film.

While Shakespeare emphasizes violence through explanation, Taymor takes advantage of the sound and camera angles to underline important aspects that otherwise may have been left underappreciated. According to a film review by Roger Ebert, Taymor “moves the camera in time with music or sound effects to zoom into important aspects,” forcing the viewer to stare blatantly into the face of violence (Ebert 2000). After Titus serves the pie of Tamora’s sons, Taymor uses close-ups to emphasize the grotesqueness of violence. The first close-up is of the two pies placed on a windowsill to cool. The next close-up is of the sliced pie that Titus serves to Tamora. Taymor presents the pie as raw and bloody, emphasizing the disgust and violence of the act. The scene is shot at eye level, and there are numerous close-ups of each characters face. When the pie eating begins, Taymor uses several close-ups of blood dripping chunks of pie sticking to Tamora’s teeth. In this scene Taymor’s use of camera angle forces the audience not only to be engulfed in the barbarity of the act, but to bask in it; by the close observation of the characters bloody chomping and chewing on undercooked human flesh, disgust and obscurity are forced onto the audience, thus enhancing the violent nature of the

act.
Taymor brilliantly uses all the advantages of film and modernity to enhances what Shakespeare already brilliantly created. Through Taymor’s presentation of violence, a higher level of both disgust and appreciation are depicted.

Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. "Titus." All Content. N.p., 21 Jan. 2000. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Gardner, Lyn. "Titus Andronicus Review- Shakespeare's Bloodbath Becomes a Sadistic Delight." The Guardian, 11 May 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Holden, Stephen. "Titus (1999) Film Review; It's a Sort of Family Dinner, Your Majesty." New York Times, 24 Dec. 1999. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.