Modern Shakespeare, Wednesday Per 1 & 2

[glacial_queen]

The beanbags and other comfortable seating were back as the class settled in to watch Scotland, PA, a take on Macfinlay. Before the movie began, Karla passed around a plot summary of the original play. "In what is usually considered Shakespeare's take on the folly of ambition, we have the Macfinlays who are given a prophecy: Macfinlay will become king of Scotland. However, Scotland already has a king, Duncan, and Duncan's children are next in line for the throne. Rather than waiting to see how the prophecy might shake out, Lady Macfinlay suggests to her husband that they murder Duncan and take the throne for themselves. Macfinlay's best friend, Banquo, also receives a prophecy at the same time, saying that he will never be king, but his children will be."

She continued to go over the play in far greater detail than the handed out summary went into. The summary was useful for a quick reference for the students who were unfamiliar with the work (and could read it), but they deserved to have a fuller understanding of the play before watching the adaptation. Once her lecture was finished, she started the movie. "In this version, the story has been updated to America in the 1970s and the Macfinlays murder over a burger joint rather than a nation. There's popcorn and soda if you wish to make this a real movie experience. Otherwise, pay attention, take notes if you'd like, and be prepared to discuss the movie after it ends."

Comments

Re: Post-Movie Discussion Question 1

[intotheout]

"I think you're more likely to have to kill to get rid of a king," Tip said slowly. "That kind of power is really . . . entrenched. And most places won't just decide to hold an election peacefully because someone decided they need one." New Boovworld was remarkable in that respect, even if the election itself hadn't been an entirely peaceful process. "So it's understandable. But it's still a pretty crappy way to go about things."

She was pretty firmly anti-killing. They hadn't even killed the Gorg, who were about as much asking for corporal punishment as any beings she knew of. Admittedly, they may have died in space due to a severe and deliberately provoked allergic reaction. But, you know, there was still a lot of plausible deniability for her, there.