MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

In the age of superheroes and blockbuster franchises, Shakespeare may not seem very appealing to modern audiences. However, the Bard still has a lot to share about love, marriage, and feminism. The question is how to relay these messages to a modern audience. This paper will focus on Julie Taymor’s 2010 adaptation of The Tempest and Joss Whedon’s 2012 Much Ado About Nothing, with particular attention paid to the critiques by The New Yorker’s film critic, Richard Brody. While The Tempest sticks to a more conventional interpretation, the transformation of Prospero into Prospera (played by the outstanding Helen Mirren), changes the whole dynamic of the otherwise traditional Shakespearean reiteration. On the other hand, Joss Whedon’s Much Ado is shot in a contemporary setting (Whedon’s house to be specific), with very little left out from the original source material. Shakespeare’s tragedies are more cinematic, so what is there to gain by producing a new version of these comedies? In this paper I will argue that retellings of Shakespeare function as a way to rewrite the past and integrate these works into the contemporary consciousness while using the original language. But even more, they work to show that Shakespeare’s comedies have stakes that are relevant to a modern audience. I will focus specifically on the staging and casting which can suggest a new, necessary reading of Shakespeare in terms of who has power, what is changed, and how women can take the lead in a male dominated world.