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Modern adaptations of romeo and juliet essay
Modern adaptations of romeo and juliet essay
Modern adaptations of romeo and juliet essay
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Have you ever noticed the subtle allusions and symbols directors put in their movies? If not, then you are just like every average movie viewer. But directors do use these allusions and symbols along with script decisions such as line cuts to influence the audience without us noticing. The director of Romeo + Juliet, Baz Lurhmann, uses these symbols and allusions as well as script decisions to influence the audience of his film. He does this in three ways: through the use of water throughout the movie to symbolize purity and innocence, through the modernization of the film, and through the use of religious figures.
Baz Lurhmann influences us as an audience is by using water as a symbol for purity throughout “Romeo+Juliet.” Just before Romeo sees Juliet for the first time, he washes his face. The water purifies him after he has taken psychedelic drugs symbolizing him being cleansed of the drug. There is also water in the fish tank between Romeo and Juliet when they first meet. This symbolizes Juliet’s innocence and holiness/purity, and it also symbolizes the purity of their relationship since water is used to clean and baptize. After their initial meeting at the dance, Romeo climbs the Capulet’s wall to see Juliet. This is the famous balcony scene, but it occurs in a pool instead this time. The pool continues the symbolism of water for purity and innocence, again resembling the purity of their relationship by linking
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Instead of being set in 14th century Italy, it is on a beach called Verona beach in the 20th century. The original dance scene is also a club with flashing lights and loud music, and there are drugs involved as well. It seems to be a typical modern night club rather than a masquerade during the renaissance. Also, Romeo murders Tybalt using a gun instead of a sword. This theme of modernized weapons is also shown when Juliet commits suicide by using a
William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," set in 16th century Verona, Italy shares differences with Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet," set in modern day Verona Beach. These stories contain the same characters and conflict, however major and minor discrepancies are galore in the story lines of both formats of William Shakespeare's creation. Some major inconsistencies occur, such as Mercutio dying at a beach, portrayed as a hero, instead of being at a bar, looking like a fool, Friar Lawrence's letter is successfully sent to Romeo by mail carriers, however he does not have the opportunity to read it, unlike in the play version, where Romeo does not get the letter from Friar John, and is told the news by Balthazar, and nobody being at Juliet's tomb to stop Romeo from reaching Juliet, unlike in the play, Paris was there to pay his respects to Juliet. In addition to the major inconsistencies, minor ones are included throughout, such as Romeo and Juliet first seeing each other through a fish tank, then kissing in the elevator, not the dance, the famous balcony scene occurring in a pool, not on an actual balcony, and Juliet pointing a gun at Friar after she points it to herself, threatening to commit suicide. These inconsistencies probably occurred in the play to add a modern and entertaining twist to the Shakespearean classic, leading to the same denouement in both versions of "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet."
However, essential storyline could be aimed at a young audience with themes of forbidden love, violence, and family feuds. Therefore the main problem facing Luhrmann's film was not the plot, but the language. Luhrmann's film interpretation of Romeo and Juliet compensates for the setbacks produced through language because Luhrmann has enclosed modern day scenes, clothing and music to create a more exciting and. enthralling film, whilst still using the original Shakespearean. language from the text. This makes Luhrmann's adaptation of the play.
Baz Luhrmann's Success of Making Romeo & Juliet Accessible to a Modern Audience. In this essay I am going to write about how successfully Baz Luhrmann made his film Romeo and Juliet accessible to a modern audience. Baz Luhrmann uses Shakespeare's authentic text, combining it with a modern setting. This combination attracts the off spring of the modern.
middle of paper ... ... Through the ingenious use of personification in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare competently conveys the messages of love as lust, clouded judgment and death. In this dramatic tragedy, all of the character’s problems are a result of basing decisions off of their emotions rather than logic. Because of this, two lustful teenagers end up taking their lives over extreme affections and fear of their parents’ disapproval.
Interpretation of the Balcony Scene by Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. “Romeo and Juliet” is a famous love story written by William Shakespeare. The. Two interpretations were made of this text into a film by the two directors, Baz Luhrmann (1996) and Franco Zeffirelli (1968). The films use different types of media to portray the characters and the overall context of Shakespeare’s play.
Many people think that society has changed so much over the years. That the way that children act, has taken a turn for the worst, but in reality children are learning from their ancestors. Children are lying to their parents, they are sneaking out at night to be with a boy that is “the one”, children are going back into the age of Shakespeare. In the play “Romeo and Juliet” which was written by William Shakespeare in 1597, there are two teenagers, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love with each other. These two teenagers try to do everything that they can to live the rest of their lives together, except their families despise each other, so there is no way that they can live the rest of their lives together. So, many people believe that the way that our children are growing up today is taking away the fun parts of their childhood. However in this play Juliet did many of the things that teenagers are trying to do now. Children and sometimes adults now need to realize how your actions not only affect you but also the people around you, you also need to think about the consequences of the actions you make. At first Juliet falls in love at first sight with Romeo, then she takes a potion, which causes her family to think she is dead, and then how Friar Lawrence helps Juliet with the scheming, which shows how adults have to think about others as well.
Romeo and Juliet is a play about two adolescents—Romeo and Juliet from two hostile families fall in love with each other. This prohibited love ultimately turns into a romantic tragedy, in which they commit suicide for each other. Both Franco Zeffirelli’s (1968) and Baz Lurhmann’s (1996) versions retained the dialogues written by William Shakespeare in their movies. However, these two movies are directed in their own unique ways, which have several distinctive differences.
He uses many camera angles and film techniques to show the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to a modern audience. Baz Luhrman’s use of Camera angles to convey an audience into his invited reading is second to none, He has managed to change the overall gist of the traditional Shakespeare version of Romeo and Juliet while still retaining the story line to suit a modern teen audience. An example of this is when Romeo is arriving at the Capulet party with a mask on and the invite in his hand after taking an ecstasy pill. Baz Luhrman uses a close up shot and slow motion camera movement to emphasise the fact that Romeo is disorientated because of the drugs. The tablet changes the context from a 70s or 80s to a modern 90s when ecstasy was very common and in ‘trend’. Baz Luhrman has efficiently dressed the real life characters to relate to their Romeo and Juliet meaning. Romeo is dressed as a knight in shining armour to resemble his brave courteous soul by being Juliet’s ‘savour’. Juliet is dressed as an angel to show her innocence and beauty. The antagonist Tybalt is costumed as the devil to resemble the evil that he brings to their relationship and lets the audience know that he is unwanted or bad. The song playing during the party is a well know pop/love song. Baz Luhrman uses it to show the upbeat personality of the characters and the atmosphere of the party.
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic love story about two young lovers who are forced to be estranged as a result of their feuding families. The play is about their struggle to contravene fate and create a future together. As such, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would try and emulate Shakespeare’s masterpiece. This had been done before in many films. Prominent among them were, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 “Romeo and Juliet” and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.” Both films stay true to the themes of Shakespeare’s original play. However, the modernised Luhrmann film not only maintains the essence of Shakespeare’s writings, Luhrmann makes it relevant to a teenage audience. This is done through the renewal of props and costumes, the reconstruction of the prologue and the upgrading of the setting, whilst preserving the original Shakespearean language. Out of the two, it is Luhrmann who targets Romeo & Juliet to a younger audience to a much larger extent than Zeffirelli.
Translated across many forms of media, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has long gripped the hearts of audiences around the world. Its many adaptations have made it readily available in a range of forms. Baz Lurhmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet is one example of film bringing the story of Romeo and Juliet to a new generation. Originally met with hesitation, Lurhmann’s film was deemed a pop culture remake of the classic story. The trailer released for the film followed suit, flashing images of violence, guns, and heart-throb Leonardo DeCaprio, in order to grab the attention of the audience. In most cases, people do not realize that behind these scenes lies subliminally transmitted emotion. Through the instrumentation
In the past, Romeo was like a teenager that was heartbroken because the girl he had a crush on didn’t love him, but now he has matured by taking matters in his own hands. Before entering the tomb, Romeo tells the guide who brought him there to give his letter to his family, and the guide asks him what he is going to do. Romeo, in response, tells the guide that he is “to take thence from her dead finger, a precious ring, a ring that [he] must use in dear employment” (5.3.34-36), meaning he is going to get his ring back so he can remorse over the love he once had. The symbolism of a wedding ring means for a couple to declare their eternal love for each other; in this situation the wedding ring means death due them apart, foreshadowing Romeo’s death. Next, he describes Juliet’s tomb as a mouth of death and tells the metaphorical creature whose mouth has eaten his wife that “I’ll cram thee with more food” (5.3.54-55). Meaning he will commit suicide to be with the one he loves. Shakespeare, by using metaphors, can emphasize the mood of the scene and dialogue of the characters creating a more intense scene. Lastly, Romeo matures by taking his life to be with Juliet. Before his death, he “[seals] with a righteous kiss a dateless bargain to engrossing death”, meaning he realized that he sealed his deal with death with a kiss to be with Juliet. The symbolism of their kiss means
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragic love story about two young lovers who are forced to be estranged as a result of their feuding families. The play is about their struggle to contravene fate and create a future together. As such, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would try to emulate Shakespeare’s masterpiece. This had been done before in many films. Prominent among them were, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 “Romeo and Juliet” and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.” Both films stay true to the themes of Shakespeare’s original play. However, the modernised Luhrmann film not only maintains the essence of Shakespeare’s writings, Luhrmann makes it relevant to a teenage audience. This is done through upgrading of the setting, the renewal of props and costumes, the use of water symbolism and the reconstruction of the prologue, whilst preserving the original Shakespearean language. Out of the two, it is Luhrmann who targets Romeo & Juliet to a younger audience to a much larger extent than Zeffirelli.
Baz Lurhmann’s creation of the film Romeo and Juliet has shown that today’s audience can still understand and appreciate William Shakespeare. Typically, when a modern audience think of Shakespeare, they immediately think it will be boring, yet Lurhmann successfully rejuvenates Romeo and Juliet. In his film production he uses a number of different cinematic techniques, costumes and a formidably enjoyable soundtrack; yet changes not one word from Shakespeare’s original play, thus making it appeal to a modern audience.
Also the colour might represent his character. By using guns instead of swords Luhrmann explores the idea of gang culture, relating to our society that we live today. The guns are effective because they help to emphasise the danger and hatred between the two rival families. Another way Baz Luhrmann brings the classic play, Romeo & Juliet, into modern context is by introducing the prologue through the media of T.V. and having it read by a newsreader. When the movie starts, the newsreader announces: "In fair Verona …... ...
How Baz Luhrmann Uses Props, Iconography, Costumes, and Settings to Create His Own Version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare’s best loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, has been portrayed in theatres and on film in many different ways. But none have been quite like Baz Luhrmann’s imaginative and unconventional adaptation. He has brought aspects of the plays Elizabethan origins and transfused them with a modern day background and created, what can only be described as a masterpiece. I believe that his use of Props, iconography costumes and the settings he has chosen has helped him to make this film such a great success. The settings of each scene have been specifically chosen to create a desired affect.