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A note on racism in Othello
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William Shakespeare's Othello is only moderately interested in questions of race and racism. For Shakespeare, Othello's blackness was mainly a plot device. Though the bard did demonstrate concerns about racial and religious prejudice, in Othello and The Merchant of Venice, his interest in the tragedy of the Moor was principally psychological. For Shakespeare and his contemporary audience, Othello was about jealousy, hatred, and vindictiveness.
The play has aged well, as have all Shakespeare's plays, but not, perhaps, in the ways Shakespeare's contemporaries would have predicted. In Shakespeare's time, it would have been acceptable for Othello to kill his wife, had she truly been unfaithful. What made Othello a tragic criminal to Shakespeare and his Globe audience was that the Moor misjudged his wife. That is no longer the case in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This age does not recognize Othello's right to murder his wife under any set of circumstances. We do, however, live in a time that has become increasingly sensitive to race issues. The civil rights movement of the 1960s paved the way for the sometimes stifling political correctness of the 1990s and early 21st century. Film versions of Othello made since the 1960s reflect our time's preoccupation with race. This paper will look at several film versions of Othello in this light. Filmed versions of the drama--directed by Orson Welles (1952), Stuart Burge (1965), Oliver Parker (1995), Tim Blake Nelson (2000), and Geoff Saxes (2001)--visually boost or minimize the race factor in the story, subject to the political ideas of their time.
In the first Hollywood version of Othello (1952), directed by Orson Welles, race was not an issue. Instead, Welles' film dealt with ...
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The film ‘O’ directed by Tim Blake Nelson is a recognised contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Othello, which addresses a number of issues that are relevant to a modern day audience compared to that of the past. The director of the film has changed crucial parts of the play which makes the play such a classic, which has essentially ruined the literary value of Othello. This is evident for a number of concepts including, the overt links between the play and film, the power of words and language and Iago and his motives
Healthcare has been a topic of discussion with the majority of the country. Issues with insurance coverage, rising costs, limited options to gain coverage, and the quality of healthcare have become concerns for law makers, healthcare providers and the general public. Some of those concerns were alleviated with the passing of the Affordable Care Act, but new concerns have developed with problems that have occurred in the implementation of the new law. The main concerns of the country are if the Affordable Care Act will be able to overcome the issues that plagued the old healthcare system, the cost of the program, and how will the new law affect the quality of the health delivery system.
Of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, the story of the rise and fall of the Moor of Venice arguably elicits the most intensely personal and emotional responses from its English-speaking audiences over the centuries. Treating the subject of personal human relationships, the tragedy which should have been a love story speaks to both reading and viewing audiences by exploring the archetypal dramatic values of love and betrayal. The final source of the tragic action in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice has been attributed to various psychological, mythical, racial, social sources: Othello’s status as racial outsider in Venetian society, his pagan roots in Christian society, hubris and/or hamartia in Othello or in Desdemona.
Orkin, Martin. “Othello and the “plain face” Of Racism.” 2nd ed. Vol. 38. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 166-88. Shakespeare Quarterly. Folger Shakespeare Library in Association with George Washington University, Summer 1987. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. .
In the Sixteenth century, as we see clearly from Othello and other works of both Shakespeare and Cinthio's original version of Othello, race was a topic of great debate and discussion. Today, in the twenty-first century the debate retains its controversy and passion. However, attitudes towards race have taken a dramatic turn during the last century. In the developed world people are now living in an increasingly cosmopolitan society would undoubtedly be more tolerant and would reject or even be offended by racial discrimination to any person or sections of the community. Openly 'racist' people today are seen as outcasts. Taking this into account, the way a modern audience would react to race and racism in Othello is dependent upon the way in which that modern audience would interpret 'Othello'. This prompts the questions of what sort of message Shakespeare wanted to send to his audience and was Othello the moor portrayed as a tragic hero or did his character eventually come to resemble the prejudices of which he was a victim. Shakespeare also discusses the issue of race with other characters such as the hateful Iago and the prejudices hidden deep in Barbantio.
Neill, Michael. "Unproper Beds: Race, Adultery, and the Hideous in Othello." Critical Essays in Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony Gerard Barthelemy.
Essential to the success of Othello is the fact that the issues and themes explored in this tragedy, written by Shakespeare in about 1604, are still relevant to the modern audience. The interest of an audience is held by themes that are fundamental to the human condition, as these reflect our world and examine human nature. Othello explores the issues of racism, gender, domestic violence, the supernatural and the pathology of the entirely evil person, which are all remarkably relevant to our time. Thus the interest of the audience is held, as issues that affect the viewers and readers of the play spark individual opinions, reflection and thought.
The color imagery of Othello influences many characters; some are influenced to hate or love Othello because of “black” and “white,” while Othello himself is driven to murder, particularly with red imagery. While each color plays its own role throughout the text, they all greatly contribute to the characters' behaviors and actions … leading to the play's tragic end.
Shakespeare. Othello. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. Rossi. New York: Longman, 1999. 312-379.
Racism in William Shakespeare's Othello. The play, Othello, is certainly, in part, the tragedy of racism. Examples of racism are common throughout the dialogue. This racism is directed toward Othello, a brave soldier from Africa and currently the supreme commander of the Venetian army.
Little, Arthur L. “’An Essence that's Not Seen’: The Primal Scene of Racism in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly 44.3 (1993): 304-24. JSTOR. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
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"Othello." Shakespeare for Students: Critical Interpretations of Shakespeare's Plays and Poetry. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 649-87. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. .
The cinematic techniques used by Parker successfully compliment the wide range of emotions experienced by the characters within Shakespeare’s complex plot. A variety of themes within the script of Othello, including racism and appearance verses reality, are more effectively portrayed allowing the audience to have a heightened understanding and enjoyment of the movie.
Shakespeare’s “Othello,” one of his most well-known works, tells the story of a Venetian Moor named Othello and his tragic fall at the hands of a manipulating and deceptive Iago. The 1995 film adaptation of “Othello” by Oliver Parker attempts to capture the spirit of the play that Shakespeare envisioned. Though trying its best to stay as true to the original play as possible, it does at times depart from Shakespeare’s version. In Oliver Parker’s version of Othello, the film relies heavily on the setting, costumes and acting of the actors, portrays the characters differently than they are presented in the original work, and adds a variety of scenes while removing other aspects of the play.