Shakespeare - Choice of film

Towards the end of November, we're going to see a movie based on a play by William Shakespeare. I have not decided which.

A lot of you are familiar with at least a few Shakespearean plays and might have opinions about which you would rather see and write about. I welcome everyone's opinions, and will probably show the film that the class chooses.

Here are the films I know I have access to, and a very short evaluation of each:

• Hamlet: I would probably use the early '90's Zeferilli production with Mel Gibson as Hamlet; Glen Close as his mother, Gertrude; and Alan Bates as the scheming Claudius. Kenneth Branagh did an interesting Hamlet in 1996, but it lasts 4 hours, and we will probably want the time for discussion. Gibson gives a passionate and surprisingly cogent performance; Close and Bates are measured and good, as expected. Hamlet is famous for the profundity of the main character's grief and philosophical investigations of life, death, and responsibilities of various sorts. Some have said that Prince Hamlet is literature's most intelligent fictional character; others feel he goes on too much about his own problems.


• Othello is a tragic story of love, jealousy, friendship and betrayal that is considered by some to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, in part because the plot is very tight and moves fast. I would use the 1994 version with Branagh as Iago and Laurence "Morpheus" Fishburne as Othello. For my money, it's Branagh's best performance, better than the early Henry V that made his reputation. There is some nudity and violence.


• Macbeth is tightly plotted, moves quickly, has lots of action, and showcases some of Shakespeare's finest language. It's a story of ambition and murder in which the strongest and perhaps most interesting character is the female murderess, Macbeth's wife. I'm not sure which Macbeth I'd use yet. There's a recent Australian version set in Melbourne with three very alluring young witches, which does contain some nudity; a 1972 or so version directed by Roman Polanski, lushly costumed and appointed; there is also an older Orson Welles version that I have just acquired and hope to view this coming week. There is violence, but so far none of the versions strike me as graphically violent by the standards of modern TV viewers.


• Titus is the Julie Newmar version of Titus Andronicus, surely Shakespeare's most savagely and graphically violent play, and both the violence and sensuality are graphic in this Newmar production. This is superbly acted and realized. Anthony Hopkins plays Titus Andronicus better than I'd have thought possible. [] is savage and lovely as the Barbarian Queen, and very effective when her discomfort with the Elizabethan script don't weigh her down. The Queen's Afican lover, Aaron, whom many find the most interesting character in the entire piece is nobly played as well. If we watch this, viewers must be ready for some strongly graphic scenes that involve both violence and nudity.


• Romeo and Juliet is of course the famous tale of star-crossed young lovers. If I go with this, there is a big decision to make about which version to use. West Side Story is a version of R & J done as a musical in the late 1950's with Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno. It's a great production, though I find it more dated than the 400-year-old play itself. It does not use Shakespearean language, which I think is a pity (student opinions vary). There are several fairly standard versions that I could choose from. But then there's also Zieferelli's mid-90's version with Leo DiCaprio as Romeo, which sets the whole play in a stylized "Verona Beach" filmed across town from here in Venice CA. The rival families show up here as rival gangs who shoot at each other and have names shaved into their heads. Modern drug references are made in Shakespeare's original language. It's pretty wild altogether. Some passing nudity, and a fair amount of violence.


• The Merchant of Venic is kind of halfway between tragedy and comedy. Take your pick. Shakespeare takes 4 traditional stories that feel kind of like fables or fairy tale examinations of love and values. Then he gets some real depth by weaving them together. I'd go with the lovely 2005 production, filmed in Venice with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons sharing the screen with a crew of attractive younger actors. Some nudity, no violence, some laughs.


• The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy about gender roles. Feminists often complain because "the shrew" is female, and in some sense apparently "tamed" or dominated by her husband, but to my mind the most accurate readings of the play and its best performances give a very different impression. This is one of Shakespeare's funniest pieces, and so remains popular despite questions about whether it's politically correct, as the saying goes. So far the best version I have is the old Liz Taylor vs Richard Burton 1968, played very broadly and for laughs, with the couple spitting and bellowing at each other and Taylor merrily cracking chairs over Burton's back and head. C'est la vie, mes amis.


• A Midsummer Night's Dream, for all its apparent silliness, involves profound examination of love and may be Shakespeare's most popular comedy. Four couples and a troop of would-be amateur actors traipse through the woods at night, befuddled by fairies and magic that strangely resemble a lot of human romantic behavior. This version has Michelle Pfeiffer as the Queen of the Faeries, Calista Flockhart chasing her man through the woods, and an extraordinary performance by Kevin Kline as the lunkheaded dreamer Bottom. This play causes some confusion because viewers tend to take it as just a light comedy and nothing else, but when the faerie dust clears, there are always things to write about.


• Julius Caesar is one of the better known of Shakespeare's histories, a thoughtful consideration of power and morals. The version I have features a very young Marlon Brando in one of his first filmed performances.

Staggered Schedule

Everyone note: we're still on a staggered schedule this week.

The debates will be next week, 11/2 or 11/4, depending which day you're in class.

FYI -- You Can Make New Posts for Credit

Like a lot of new things, student participation is getting going slowly in terms of quantity, although so far the quality of the entries has been very good.

One thing I notice is that no one is making new posts. Just to be sure this is clear:

YES! You can make new posts!

In fact, in many if not most cases, I recommend it. That puts your words right up there front and center at the top of the blog, where your colleagues can read it and comment. Once we get a few more comments up there, it will be (I think) easier to continue.

Debate Procedures

Debate Format

Here's how the upcoming debates will be structured:

Physical Layout:

• Speakers will use the podium, which will be at the center-front of the classroom


• The teams currently debating will occupy a row of desks at either side of the front of the class until their turns to speak.


• All of us not in the current debate will occupy the regular class seats.

Notes

Students may use notes in any form. These will not be turned in to the instructor. Many previous students have found 3" by 5" cards to be an effective form for notes, though some few prefer outlines. Flow-charts have been used effectively by a small number of students who are responding to previous speeches (that is, everyone but the first pro speaker).

A few students have used visual aids effectively, but they have often caused more trouble than they have been worth. Since the speeches must respond to previous arguments, completely mapping out a speech before the debate tends to keep the speaker from properly responding, and grades may suffer.

The only speaker in a debate who can know before the debate exactly what he or she will say is the first pro speaker. No one else should attempt to pre-write a speech. Even first pro speakers will usually find that writing out the entire speech is usually not the best way to perform, since it's very hard to give an effective delivery when one is reading. (An outline is usually effective for the first pro speech).

Procedure in a 2 vs 2 Debate

Anyone who arrives late on the debate day runs the risk of being unable to participate in the debate, and possibly having to take a zero for the debate. We will accomodate people who arrive late only insofar as this does not handicap those who arrive on time, but that also means that we will not keep the class waiting.

• Round #1 (first speakers)




• First pro speaker makes a speech, taking up to 5 minutes. This explains what the pro-side's proposal is and why it should be implemented or accepted.


• Cross-examination -- the first con speaker asks questions of the first pro speaker. As in all cross-examinations, the questioner ONLY asks questions, making no statements. The person who answers ONLY answers, asking no questions. Cross-examinations may take up to 3 minutes.


• The first con speaker makes a speech describing why the pro platform should be rejected, answering the first pro speaker's arguments and extending the argument in whatever ways the con side finds advantageous.


• The second pro speaker cross-examines the first con speaker. Notice that the person asking questions is always the person who will speak next, and the person answering questions is always the person who has spoken.




• Round #2




• Second pro speaker speaks.


• Second con speaker cross-examines second pro speaker.


• Second con speaker speaks


• First pro speaker cross-examines second con speaker.




• Round #3




• First pro speaker speaks. Notice that by this time it's unlikely (although entirely possible!) that the debaters are dealing with entirely new main concepts.The second speech usually amounts to a rebuttal -- a response to previous arguments.


• The first con speaker cross-examines the first pro speaker.


• The first con speaker speaks.


• The second pro speaker cross-examines the first con speaker.




• Round #4




• The first pro speaker speaks.


• The second pro speaker speaks.

In the case of a 3 versus 3 debate, there will be two more rounds. Cross-examinations will continue in all rounds except the very last one. (The reasons that cross examinations are not traditional in the last round is that it's not usually advantageous to ask questions of an opponent unless one will have the opportunity to respond. Since both teams cannot have the opportunity to respond last, the most equitable procedure is to have no cross-examination for either at the end.)

It may happen that teams have a different number of debaters on debate day. If so, the members of the team with fewer members has a choice to make. They are entitled to make extra speeches and cross-examinations to make up for the teamates that are missing or non-existent, so that the team has equal time. Or they may refuse to speak extra in order to avoid the extra work or stress. They will not be penalized for either decision, but historically, extra speaking often raises a grade and almost never drops it.

Debate Grading

Debate Grading FAQ

These answer the questions that come up each semester about how debates are graded:

• Since I cannot verify how much study and preparation students do for the debate, the entire grade will depend on performance in the debate itself.


• The debate grades count the same as an essay in in terms of the cumulative grade at the end of the semester.


• Students will receive grades on the day of the debate.


• Students receive individual grades. If a team member refuses to prepare,this may be frustrating, but should not ruin one's grade. Where necessary, the difficulty of working with an inconvenient partner may be taken into account in the grading.


• One may get a good or bad grade whether one's team wins or loses.


• Each student is graded individually but according to how he or she does in advancing a team effort. Accordingly, students who make outstanding contribution to a team's poor showing may get A's, but not by abandoning the team.


• Grades will be awarded according to how logically and thoroughly each debater supports the team position. While I reserve the right to award a higher grade because a student delivers a speech very well, I will not penalize a student whose delivery falters unless that changes the logical content of the delivery. Once in a while a student freezes in front of the class, unable to speak. That student may wait even several minutes for his or her panic to pas, then proceed. As long as the speaker is eventually able to deliver the argument logically and thoroughly, the grade will not suffer.


• Hopefully this is obvious, but I will not grade anyone down on his or her accent.


• I will not grade anyone down for grammatical or usage errors unless they are sufficiently serious that the argument itself suffers.


• I make no guarantee that the use of any sort of visual aid will improve anyone's grade. In fact, my experience is that they usually do not (although I do recall several exceptions). High grades go to clear, profound argument that's relevant to the point at hand. Visual aids only improve one's case if they advance that.


• I have never had to drop any grade because a debater has been overly aggressive or disrespectful to a colleague, though I suppose this could happen. The arguments that do appear that are sort of on the borderline of this usually run like "Oh, you only believe that because you're rich (or poor or American or Republican or female or Catholic). This kind of argument tends to lower one's grade simply because it is irrelevant to the argument at hand. For instance, even if one can demonstrate that one's instructor is an arrogant, self-important pedant does not mean that said professor is incorrect about the comma splice on one's paper.

Feel free to ask about anything I've left out.

Humor and Posts

WhiteOleander, your previous post about "not joking around" applies to the suicide forum, right?

Humor on this blog, the 1C blog, is OK, though I anticipate that disagreement between colleagues will remain respectful.

Suicide forum and Change in Abortion group topic

Here is the link to suicide forum: copy and paste http://www.suicideforum.com/index.php
Let's be considerate here and not joke around about serious issues. You can look around, but will need a member login to read certain posts. Even though there are moderators, some people still read those posts that may be triggering and are eventually deleted.

Also, for the people not in class today, the abortion debate group has changed it's debate to the existence of god.