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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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If they won't let you do it for the reasons outlined above you can rally spark the kids interest in Shakespeare by explaining that you wanted to do it but the teen-sex and violence made it inappropriate for their tender little minds.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
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>>please note them here<<
Well, if you're going to show films, you might consider Peter Brook's Lear and Michael Almereyda's Hamlet. These are interesting for 'opposite' reason's of anachronism, not, however, because of the Almereyda film's modern urban setting. Brook's is a psychological exploration of Lear, probably placing the storm, for example, within the abdicator's psychoscape. Whereas Almereyda's refers the drama of Hamlet, probably the most psychological of Shakespeaer's plays, to the level of (to roll out that tired term) the image.
I don't know how easy it is to get your hands on the Brook. Although, I know it was released on 16mm. Even harder to get, I'm sure, would be a film of his historic stage version "Midsummer Night's Dream," which transformed Shakespearean stage production. You might get your hands on something, somehow, at the Royal Shakespear Theater.
And then, you could torture them with Gounod.
Finally, there is very entertaining recent documentary concerning the argument that C. Marlowe wrote most of the Shakespearean canon and including interviews with members of the Marlowe Society and their opponents.
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veteran
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It's another example of Mr Shakespeare pandering to his audience's baser instincts.
Oh, I don't know. Maybe the highblown passages were a sop for the Jacobean intelligentsia, so they wouldn't feel so guilty about enjoying all the sex and violence. Come to think of it, they wouldn't have had a problem with any of it. It took later generations to tut-tut and tsk-tsk certain passages in WS' texts. Reminds me of the folks who wrote new libretti for Così fan tutte in the 19th century, because they couldn't stand Mozart's divine music embellishing whorish words.
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addict
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addict
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Yes, we will read R&J all the way through. I'm going to introduce the play with Zefferelli's interpretation, which is my favorite.
I remember, from my own High School days, that the Zefferelli version contains some nudity, too (if that is something to worry about). I remember my gruff old English teacher silencing the requisite giggles and snickers with an exasperated, "Oh, come on. It's nothing you haven't seen before."
Personally I loved the recent Baz Luhrmann version. While the acting wasn't top notch, it was at least good, and the combination of incredible stylized modern visuals with the (almost complete) orginal script is striking and, I would guess, helpful to young people not used to WS.
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Joined: Oct 2001
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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They might be interested to know that Shakepseare has more to say to business people nowadays than some of the CEO's who are making headlines: Shakespeare in Charge: The Bard's Guide to Leading and Succeeding On the Business StageIn fact, Shakespeare might help explain why and how some of those CEOs are making those headlines. http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol82/shakespeare.htm
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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But, I can't really answer for their æsthetics.- and - ...highblown passages were a sop for the Jacobean intelligentsia, so they wouldn't feel so guilty about enjoying all the sex and violence. Come to think of it, they wouldn't have had a problem with any of it.Not that morals and æsthetics need a stake driven between, but. 
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Joined: Oct 2001
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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they couldn't stand Mozart's divine music embellishing whorish words"Whorish words" had some standing in Mozart's day, jheem. And others simply applauding. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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This will be a three-week unit on Romeo and Juliet, which is in our curriculum guide. It won't be a film festival on Shakespeare, though I'd love that!
I want my students to assume the roles of groundlings at their 21st century virgin viewing of Shakespeare--I'll give the bare bones plot summary and set Zefferelli upon them. The nudity is minimal--and, after reviewing the DVD over Easter, if I think it's over the line, I can always censor. But I don't think it will be necessary. What I love about the Zefferelli is the high-pitched and natural enthusiasm of the lovers. Very believable.
I know you all have seen the list of insults--you put three Shakespearean terms together to form an insult. I thought my kids might like creating an insult and then performing it as part of a class recording. We have a DVD camera, so the kids can see themselves delivering insults. I also read about an opening activity in which words and phrases of the prologue are read in-the-round--we may try this activity.
I hope that the unit will be fun, aural, dramatic and realistic in the sense that the kids will see there is a connection between teens of today and those four hundred years ago.
Thanks, as always, for your comments. Faldage, your suggestion about 'Shakespeare in Love' is terrific! I will follow through on that one!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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You might want to try a movie with actors that they'll reconize. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 version) with:
Kevin Kline....Nick Bottom
Michelle Pfeiffer....Titania
Stanley Tucci....Puck (Robin Goodfellow)
Rupert Everett....Oberon
Calista Flockhart....Helena
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That was my point. Da Ponte's words are inseparable, for me, from Mozart's music.
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