Aaron and Race

September 24, 2008

Jim Schulz

Our class has really helped me to look at things in a whole new perspective. When viewing Julie Taymor's version of Shakespeare's "Titus" I really never thought of race as an issue. I suppose as I was watching it, I viewed Aaron only as an evil person and didn't move much beyond that. I'm not sure if I really felt that Shakespeare would bring race into his plays. Viewing clips presented in class, I can now see where race does possibly play a role in it. Aaron isn't treated well at all and I now see that perhaps there is more to it than just the fact that he was evil. The fact that a bi-racial child is brought into the picture also shows that Taymor wants the viewers to look at race. Although Aaron isn't treated well and it was stated in class that a black man is treated as an animal, I wonder if it is really a race issue. Look at how Titus just killed his daughter. Much like an animal might kill their offspring if something was wrong.

Shakespeare and Camp

September 17, 2008

Jim Schulz

I never really read much Shakespeare in my lifetime, nor do I remember studying it in high school. This is not to say I never heard of his work. I did hear of his tragedies and the bloody consequences that occurred in many of them. What I never realized was the fact that many of Shakespeare's tragedies could be viewed as parody, pastiche, or camp. I mainly just viewed them as violent and bloody plays. Viewing "camp" (bad taste or ironic value) in Shakespeare's work isn't hard to find. In Act I of "Titus Andronicus" we see Titus kill his son. Without even a thought, he just kills his son one of his own without thinking twice. Later we see Titus argue as to how the son should be buried. This was Titus' son someone who should mean a lot to him and he is treated so indifferently. "Camp" is seen throughout the play. Toward the end Shakespeare has Titus kill off Tamora's sons and has his daughter collect the blood, only to have Titus kill his own daughter later. Somewhat of an ironic twist, seeing he killed the sons because of what they done to his daughter.

Romeo and Juliet and Directing

September 10, 2008

Jim Schulz

It was very obvious in class today that directing plays a tremendous part in a play. It will either make it or break it! When our group was preparing to present Act IV Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, I was playing Capulet. The first time I read through my lines were very uneventful and rather dry (I was just basically reading words). There was no emotion and every line sounded the same. One of our group members pointed out that I needed to put more into what I was saying and try to depict the emotions that Capulet was expressing. She directed me as to how the lines should be read, showing how Capulet was really feeling. It was obvious that this made a tremendous difference. Although I don't feel I captured the full effects of what I was told, I definitely learned the importance of good directing and how it can make the play a winner.

Film Adaptation (Acting)

Jim Schulz

September 3, 2008

As it was discussed in class, acting consists of facial expressions, body language, and voice. In "Romeo & Juliet" DiCaprio portrays all three of these well in the beach scene where Mercutio is killed. As Mercutio is dying DiCaprio becomes very despondent. His friend is dying because of something foolish and something he tried to prevent. As he watches Mercutio die his facial expressions resemble that of disbelief. DiCaprio stares at him and pulls on him as if Mercutio should respond and come to life. DiCaprio's body language well represents a person who is distraught and angry. He cries out and lets everyone know how he feels. The tone of his voice seems to go from grief of what just happened, to a tone that represents anger. An anger that isn't going leave soon. As DiCaprio runs from the scene I see a person who is ready for revenge. His movements reveal he is angry and he is going to rectify the crime that just happened.