O

After watching the movie "O" I was thinking about how easily Shakespeare translates into different times and places. He's always thought to be such a universal playwright, and in most ways I agree that he is. I mean, he would have to be because after all, he took most of his ideas from ancient myths and stories and adapted them, so why can't we adapt those stories further to fit our life. Its just how history works. But some things just do work better in the time they were written. 

In the "olden days" honor was one of the most important things in a person's life. Thats why there were so many duels! Because it was just accepted that if someone offended your honor, you had to fight to get it back. Death was considered better in many cases that being dishonored. That is why I didn't think twice when I read "Othello" and found out that Othello had to kill Cassio and Desdemona for 'dishonoring' him. I still don't think its right, but it was easy to see how in the time of Shakespeare is was not surprising. 

In "O" im not sure if I feel the same way about how well this part translates. The overall theme of jealousy that Iago/Hugo feels is very easily to translate. But the fact that O feels he has to kill Mike and Dese is almost too far fetched for what we believe as an american society now. I know there is violence and crime in america, but this story line is less practical translated into the twenty first century than it was in the time of Shakespeare. 

Then I thought, "who would just jump to the conclusion that they need to kill the people that betrayed them?" I've known a lot of people that have been cheated on and they've never thought to commit murder over it. This is why I also think the character of O has inherent temper problems or some sort of complex to merit the drastic measures that he takes. He is for some reason more susceptible to the prodding of Hugo than "normal" people would be, because not just anyone in the world could be manipulated in the same way. 

This could also be true in part for Othello's character, but it is much harder for us to tell because we did not live in the place and the time. We can't be sure how much his surroundings influenced his actions and how much of it stemmed from insecurities. We can only make assumptions!