Reviewing Shakespeares Romeo And Juliet Plays

Reviewing Shakespeares Romeo And Juliet Plays Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeares most popular tragedy plays. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. As the most-filmed of all plays, Romeo and Juliet serves as an example of how cinematic interpreters of Shakespeare have become more liberal over time. The story was long established even when Shakespeare wrote it in 1594 or 1595he was adapting the earlier Italian tale The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. Love is naturally the plays dominant and most important theme. Sex, drugs, and violence are usually a potent combination, and only William Shakespeare could develop them into a masterful, poetic, and elegant story. Romeo and Juliet also lends itself to modernized, marketable film adaptations because of many of the innovative themes presented throughout the play, which include love vs. hate, light vs. dark, age vs. youth, and fate vs. determinism. Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet starts with an example of the power of the media, with a television news report. Straight away we see a new and modernistic beginning. There is a very dramatic opening, with dramatic music and quick shots of Verona Beach, skyscrapers, images of war and fighting, flashes of newspapers and magazines, and shots of helicopters and cars, all present day images. We have a voice over giving the audience and introduction to the story. We are then introduced to the characters of the film. The colours used for the different characters are very interesting. For the Capulets the colours used are cold colours like blue and green where as when Mercutio there is a use of soft golden colours. This immediately brings a contrast between the characters and this cinematic technique is used many times through out the film. We are then brought to a gas station where a fight breaks out between the two feuding families. This is scene is very dramatic and a lot of quick imagery is used. We see more modernisation in this scene, we are introduced to guns instead of the commonly used sword and we also have fast cars instead of horses. We see great use of camera angels used in this scene. We see the low angel shot looking at Benvolio from one of the Montague boys and then the reverse with a high angel shot, which is not Benvolios point of view but still gives you the idea of his position. We then have extremely close up shots as we are introduced to Tybalt. Again here we see that Tybalts car is blue. There is a close up of his boots as he gets out of the car and then a close up of his head and hand as he lights his cigarette and again the background behind him is blue. When the fight begins and the tension builds we get close up shots of Tybalts eyes and Benvolios eyes. This kind of shot indicates strong feeli ngs and in Tybalts case we see hatred as he is focused and powerful. When the camera shows the close up of Benvolios eyes he twitches showing fear along with the way that he is not looking directly into the camera. Although we are never shown from a far angle we know that they are staring at each other. When we are fist introduced to Romeo, we hear his mother, father and cousin Benvolio talking about it, which helps us get a feel for his character. The first images we are given of Romeo are him sitting on Verona Beach which soft golden lighting just like Mercutio at the beginning. When we are introduced to Juliet, we see her in a close up shot underwater. She looks like she is a drowned girl; this could link to Ophelia in Hamlet. The way in which we are introduced to her foreshadows her meeting with Romeo and her eventual death. Before the party Romeo talks of his dream, this builds tension with the flash-forward of the final scene of Romeo in Juliets tomb. This makes the audience curious of what is going to happen next even if they have read the play before or not. Romeo is then given a love drug. The effects of the drug on him are depicted brilliantly. As soon as he takes the drug, we see images of fireworks and spinning lights, the music becomes crazy and then mellow. We arrive at the party and everybody is dancing, people become blurry, we have images of Tybalt roaring like a lion and Romeo muttering the words drugs are quick the same words that are used in his final scene of the play. The room begins to spin but the camera is still focused on Romeo which is a great camera angle to show that for Romeo the room is spinning. We then cut to an image of Romeo underwater washing off the effects of the drug. The shot of him under water echoes the image that we saw earlier of Juliet under water. After all the hectic scenes, the music changes to a very slow romantic song to set the scene as the two lovers meet each others gaze through the fish tank. Romeos first few of Juliet is under water. Again we see lighting used here to distinguish the divide between the lovers with the fish tank in between them, almost like an obstacle. On Romeos side of the fish tank the lighting is the golden reds and yellows, colours of warmth to evoke the Montagues and Juliet who we can only see through the fish tank is behind cool blues and greens, the tones of the Capulets. When the party ends the lovers then meet in the swimming pool, another use of the water among the characters. Here they exchange their love. The costumes used in this film are very different from what you would see in a common Romeo and Juliet. All the Montague boys were colourful shirts, a lot of the time they are open showing their free natured spirit. The Capulets on the other hand are more serious and are fashioned with higher class clothes to represent their wealth and power. The costumes that the characters wear at the party are quite interesting. Tybalt is dressed as a devil which reflects his characters evilness but is also ironic as he is very religious. Juliet is dressed as an angel which is exactly how her character is depicted, so angelic, fragile and heavenly. Romeo is the knight in shining armour and becomes the hero in the party and of the film. Religion is a very common theme that can be seen through out the film. We are constantly shown the statue of Jesus through the course of the film. A lot of the scenes take place in the church where there are many religious statues and images on the walls. Holy music is played often and sometimes is shown with a choir singing. Juliets house and room has a shrine where she prays at night. At the very beginning Tybalt is wearing a shirt with Jesus on it and also his gun has a picture of Mary on the handle. Many of the characters have tattoos of religious figures or symbols and one of the main props in the film is Juliets wedding ring which is not only a symbol of marriage and love but also has the religious cross engraved on it. There is constant tension and suspension of what is going to happen. When Romeo and Juliet are married and he goes to kiss his bride, we cut to a scene of Benvolio and Mercutio on the beach and a shot is fired. There is talk of a brawl. Tybalt arrives. There is great use of camera angles here as Mercutio runs at the camera and it pans around to show Tybalt backing away but with short images of him taunting and egging Mercutio on. Tybalt stabs Mercutio with a piece of glass, this is a new adaptation as they do not use swords anymore. This was well thought of as in the play Mercutio follows being stabbed with the lines a scratch, a scratch. There is almost like a stage set up on the beach and this resembles the theatre performances of Romeo and Juliet as we see Romeo and Mercutio on the stage saying lines and the other characters are down below looking up. We are then given more tension with pathetic fallacy that is common in plays, films and novels, when the weather reflects the mood of the play. A storm is brewing and it becomes very windy, we see people lock up their shops and people driving away. The music is also very dramatic. This makes the scene very tense for the audience and makes them curious about what is about to happen. We are then brought to Juliets room with her talking about her excitement and happiness with her new marriage and new love and all of a sudden the camera cuts to a rage filled Romeo screaming and driving extremely fast after Tybalt, there is a car crash and Romeo is standing there pointing a gun at Tybalt. Just as he pulls the trigger and shoots him, the camera cuts back to a shocked looking Juliet as if it was her that was hit with the bullet. This was a great use of imagery as we see just how much of an impact Romeos actions will have on Juliet and many others. This also links in with the line that Romeo say further on as if that name shot from the deadly level of a gun did murder her speaking of Juliet. Romeo is then haunted by hi s actions. As he sleeps he is awoken suddenly by the sound of a gun shot and we see a flash back of Tybalt dying. We see water used again in the next scene as Romeo falls from the balcony into the swimming pool and Juliet looks at him and says Oh God, I have an ill divine soul, me thinks I see thee now, thou art so low as one dead at the bottom of a tomb. Romeo sinks beneath the surface of the water almost as if he is drowning. Romeo is sent to exile and when he hears of Juliets death the panic and fear is represented well with the panic and fear of Romeo returning to Verona Beach. We have the Priest panicking that his letter never reached Romeo. There are helicopters and police cars with the sound of police sirens. The music gets faster and we see fast cars and then there is a bit of a car chase. We feel the hectic panic of everyone through these quick, short, loud and frantic scenes. Romeo reaches the tomb where Juliet is laying. We see the image of him walking down towards her body just as we did in the earlier scene when he described his dream. The slow music and his slow walking are a complete contrast to the last scene. Romeo mourns over his dead wife. The tension here builds for the audience as we known that Juliet is about to wake shortly and we can see her body twitching but Romeo can not. He sits up to take the poison just as we have a close up of Juliets eyes opening. She is awake but does not speak. Romeo has not yet taken the poison which makes the audience want to scream at the screen Dont do it. It frustrates the viewer as well because Juliet does not speak to him, if she did she could have prevented the tragedy. Just as Romeo takes the poison Juliet touches his cheek and we have a very quick reflex from Romeo as he realises she is awake and that he cant go back. Juliet finally realising what is happening begins to panic. The line thus with a kiss I die was rearrange in the scene until after he has taken the poison to make it more dramatic and to have more of an impact on the audience. The silence after the his death makes this scene so tense, then you hear the sound of her crying and the sound of her loading the gun, and the sound of the gun shot echoes. The camera pans back to show the two lovers happy in death and we see a flashback of the night that they met and happy moments that they have shared. This reminds the audience of their troubled but happy relationship and helps the viewer to connect to the tragedy that has just happened. The news report is shown again as the television fades into the background and the film ends, leaving the ending dramatic and heart wrenching. Luhrmann changes in this scene have the effect of changing the focus and theme of the scene from the broader issues of rash youth and social conflict to a narrower focus on the tragic love of Romeo and Juliet. Only having Romeo and Juliet in this scene f ocuses the conflict on the tragic failure of their happiness and love. The audience want to focus on the lovers as it is the point of the story but there are much broader themes to it also. The cast which Baz Luhrmann chose played well into his idea of wanting to broaden the horizons on the audiences that enjoyed Shakespeare. Succeeding in attracting a huge youth fan club, it helped that he had cast the young handsome Leonardo Di Caprio. Having famous people in the film immediately attracts a big audience. Claire Danes plays a beautiful Juliet. Other famous people such as Paul Rudd, who has come increasingly popular, along with Diane Venora, Pete Postlethwaite and many others. Baz Luhrmanns adaptation of Romeo and Juliet does not seem out-dated even though it is 11 years old. It is still referred to as the new Romeo and Juliet. What is so great about this version is how Shakespeares language is untouched but worked in and fitted so magnificently into the modern day life. Luhrmann makes his film into an almost theatrical experience. . The most brilliant aspect of the movie is the urban landscape setting, the lighting, and the cinematography. There is comedy, romance and tragedy infused together in this film. This is a remarkable film, filled with love, passion, hate, power, etc. Luhrmann wanted to entertain his audience with the timeless love of Romeo and Juliet and in my opinion he succeeded in doing so with an unforgettable adaptation of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Sources Luhrmann, Baz. 1996, William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet

Problems American Society facing In Today World Essay

Introduction: In today society there are many reason we can point out and say, this is the problem that society is like it is today, but the truth is we needs facts, not opinion. There are statistic on why families were like they were in 1960 and what changes have come about in today time. There will be changes in families till the day we die, changes comes about every second of everyone life. Identify Important or significant changes in families since 1960? What factors are responsible for this change? Male dominance has played a major role as of domestic around the world. We have in many cultures reversal gender roles in regards to household chores. Household chores were a job just for the woman not the man, but In today society we have, men now staying home, either because they are laid off or have not been successful in finding employment, they are taking care of the kids, doing the cooking, household chores. More women are financially independent now, because some men feel more superior then women, and having a wife who is the bread winner gives some men an inferior complex. With all these emotion up in the air, soon comes abuse (for some), agreement to file for divorce, come into play. Today statistic states that divorce in United States is the highest industrial in the nation. Divorces sometimes cause children to react to that divorce thinking that it is their fault, so they go out do drugs to take the pain way, some really goes into a psychotic breakdown, you have some that just become trouble kids or when they get older learn from what they seen their parents do and go through the same things because of what they had seen when they were young. On the balance, are families becoming weaker or simply different in society? What evidence can you cite? Today’s numbers have shown us that our families have become weaker, in our American society. There are a couple of ways one  could make a proposal on how to strengthening the family, one could start by going into a marriage with love and true understanding, through thick and thin. Also try to be on the same page as to when you are prepared to have a child and make sure that you are financially ready, Now men and women needs to learn how to belong to each other, so that they can not only beget but also raise the next generation together. If families were to make sacrifices to preserve family well-being, then their children would go on to establish harmonious families of their own. Lastly, they say a family that prays together will stay together. Conclusion: If parents don’t step up and raise their children together as a family, this new generation will be a disaster waiting to happen. Let’s stick to the vows that one takes when people goes down the aisles to be reunited Reference: Ken Fuchsman†The Family Romance Transformed American Domestic Arrangements, since 1960, Clio’s Psyche: Understanding the â€Å"why of culture, current events, history and society.Vol.17, no.4 March 2011 www.wnd.com/2010/12/243621 www.gwu.edu/~ccps/pop_rel.html

Differences in Cultural Perspective

Almost every individual tend to be fascinated with beliefs or things that are different from what he or she normally sees in his or her every day life. These variations usually arises the interests of the person in knowing and understanding the things that are not familiar to him or her. However, there are also instances wherein these differences could make people pose their judgment or prejudices upon others that do not practice or adhere their beliefs. This kind of thinking is applicable in the cultural differences that most countries have.The movie Forbidden Kingdom could greatly exemplified the importance of understanding various cultures. This motion picture feature two of the biggest stars in the martial arts film genre namely Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Other actors also supported them most specially Michael Angarano, which plays Jason Tripitikas that represent the western part of the world in the story. The plot of the movie paved the way for the exploration of the western and ea stern cultures. It enables its viewers to see the differences that these different parts of the world have.Nevertheless, it also paved the way for people coming from these two cultures to increase their tolerance for each other’s difference even to the point of appreciating it. The movie revolves around a teenage boy name Jason Tripitikas. He is an avid fan of Chinese martial arts. He frequently goes to China town in order to buy some DVDs about martial arts movie. During one of the normal days that he went there, he pass by a pawnshop where he saw a staff. The owner of the establishment, an old Chinese guy named Hop informed him that the staff should be given back to its rightful owner.On his way back home, Jason encountered the local bully, Lupo. He violently forced him to go to the pawnshop at night so that Hop would open it, which will allow them to rob the shop and took Hop’s money. As the robbery happened, Lupo shot Hop but before he died, he instructed Jason to bring the staff back to its owner. Jason ran away from Lupo and his gang. However, Lupo was able to get a hold of him but before they could hurt him the staff transported him into ancient China where his adventure began.Jason interacted with the Chinese community back then and learned the true value of their culture especially that of martial arts (The Internet Movie Database). The American teenager’s perception of the eastern culture specifically of the Chinese started with only the idea of martial arts. Every time he would heard about their culture it is not surprising that the first thing that came into his mind is martial arts or Chinese food. This is not unexpected especially for a western teenager since most of his knowledge about the Chinese culture is influence by the media.However, when Jason was able to really partake in the real culture of ancient China he was able to understand their way of life. In doing so, he was able to adhere to some of their beliefs and prac tices. In line with this, Homi Bhabha’s arguments in â€Å"Culture’s In-Between† tend to explain the cultural differences that happened in the movie. The first thing that Jason experienced was a sense of identity that is only based upon the western culture that he has. His view of other culture is also based upon the beliefs that his western roots reinforced. Nevertheless, this changed when he experienced the ancient culture of the Chinese.He was able to understand the variation and even follow some of the Chinese way of life. In this situation, Jason’s identity became multicultural because he does not only follow one particular belief or practice but he tend to be tolerant of others as well (Bhabha, 54). Moreover, based on Randall Raus’ â€Å"The American Perspective of: What is Culture? † he asserted that America is actually very tolerant of other nations’ culture. He asserted that there is no other country that is culturally divers ified as the United States due to the presence of numerous people coming from various states that have their respective ways of life (Raus).Being the case, this caused the establishment of different cultural practices in the country that is observable in varying communities there like the Latino, Chinese, Filipino, and others. Early on in the story, the western teenager already has his fascination with martial arts. Due to the influence of media, he thought that martial arts were a â€Å"cool thing. † He perceived it as some sort of trend that if he could be able to perform such kind of stunts he would instantly gain popularity.The teenager also has this thinking that learning martial arts would demand respect from other people and this would also boost his reputation in the community. This kind of adage is greatly influence by the media. Communication technology like the television, Internet, advertisements, commercials, and others has a huge impact in the way of thinking of people especially of young adults nowadays (Rayuso). Martial arts are usually portrayed in movies or television shows as something that is merely fascinating rather than its true purpose of self-defense.In this sense, media tend to modify the view of the people with regards to other culture. This eventually impedes the proper understanding of other nations’ beliefs and practices. The manipulation of the media regarding people’s perspective about a certain group or nationality is widely observable at the present time. A good example is the issue of terrorism wherein some irresponsible media reporting tend to always put Arabs and Muslims in a bad light as they pertain to them as the one responsible in terrorist attacks (Hamza, et. al).Citizens of various nations either get interested with the culture of other countries or they would immediately disregard it especially if it is not similar or near the practices that they have. Nevertheless, the knowledge of other nations culture is very essential in order for people to properly understand each other and learn to accept the differences that exists among them. It also aid in clarifying wrong notions that people have regarding their counterparts in other states. The correct knowledge of other cultures could foster greater understanding and acceptance among the people all over the world.

Steroids and Sports Don’t Mix Essay - 1662 Words

The problems of doping in sports began to surface in the late 1950s, because of rumors that coaches were allowing players to use performance-enhancing drugs. The 1956 Olympic Games where plagued with athletes using performance-enhancing drugs, so countries began to speak out against the harm that drugs were causing to the athletes and the sport (6 Anonymous). Long-term use of performance-enhancing drugs will destroy athletes bodies. Doping is the use of illegal substances that is harmful to athletes health and is capable of enhancing performance. Doping also refers to the presence of drugs in the athletes blood or urine. So, doping in other words is cheating and can be detrimental to the individual reputation and the sport. There†¦show more content†¦With this new technology athletes that test positive for banned drugs will be suspended from competition. Athletes train hard for the sport they compete in, but only dedicated athletes honestly prepares to compete. The Montreal in 1973, reported seven male weightlifters from six different nations tested positive and was disqualified because of anabolic steroids use (8 Oakley). Anabolic steroids are testosterone. Testosterone is the growth hormone of boys (54 Nelson). Testosterone has two major types of action: androgenic and anabolic (8 Oakley). Androgenic affects stimulants the hair growth on men faces and changes their voice. Women develop manly features like; lots of hair on the face and a deep voice (8 Oakley). The anabolic effect increases muscle strength rapidly, but tissues and tendons are not strengthening with the muscle (55 Nelson). Increased muscle strength and weakened tissues and tendons cause a body imbalance. This imbalance can be life threatening. Two percent of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders use anabolic steroids (1 Mathias). 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