Film Compare & Contrast

Today we began by looking at one of Emilia's monologue's that we didn't get to see in the abridged version that we read. I wanted to look at this monologue because Shakespeare rarely gives such strong, powerful words to women and this is an example of one of those moments. In this monologue, Emilia says that it's the husband's fault if the wife makes a mistake. She compares men and women and finds that they are same, even if men think they're not. She says, "Let husbands know / Their wives have sense like them: they see and smell / And have their palates both for sweet and sour, / As husbands have." She shows us that men and women are the same, and her last line gives us a bombshell: If women fail, it's because their men have showed them how. Basically, monkey see, monkey do.

Remember, this is a monologue that you could use if you're group decides to do the Monologue Translation Project.

Afterwards, we watched both versions of the final scenes of Act V of Othello and O. You filled out a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two film adaptations to the real script of the play.

For homework, you must start the planning of your project with your group. Look at the Final Assessment and Final Assessment Rubrics under the Othello folder on Schoology and start debating which option you want to choose as a group. With each option, there are various ways to be extremely creative and get a great grade on this project. This will be worth a test grade, and it will be your last test grade of the semester, besides the two test grades of the research paper.

Here are some samples for some of the options listed:

Monologue Translation:
Here's Othello's final speech from the play and Odin's modern translation of it from O.

Odin’s final speech

Othello’s final speech

My life is over, that's it. But while all ya'll are out here livin' yours, sitting around talking about the nigger who lost it back in high school, you make sure you tell them the truth. You tell them I loved that girl! I did! But I got played!  He twisted my head up. He fucked it up. I ain't no different than none of ya'll. My mom's ain't no crack head. I wasn't no gang banger. It wasn't some hood rat drug dealer that tripped me up. It was this white, prep school motherfucker standing right there! You tell them where I'm from... didn't make me do this. [Shoots himself in the chest, collapses]

Soft you; a word or two before you go. I have done the state some service, and they know't. No more of that. I pray you, in your letters, When you shall these unlucky deeds relate, Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice: then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well; Of one not easily jealous, but being wrought Perplex'd in the extreme; of one whose hand, Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued eyes, Albeit unused to the melting mood, Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees Their medicinal gum. Set you down this; And say besides, that in Aleppo once, Where a malignant and a turban'd Turk Beat a Venetian and traduced the state, I took by the throat the circumcised dog, And smote him, thus. [He stabs himself with a dagger]

Video Montage:
Here's a film adaptation that the sophomores from Ms. Casper's class did of one of the scenes from Macbeth.

Movie Trailer:
Here's a movie trailer for the film Water for Elephants that the sophomores from Ms. Casper's class put together.

Rap Montage:
Here's an example of what the Reduced Shakespeare Company came up with for a rap about Othello.

Twitter Account:
You're on your own!

DEETS
In-class:
--Emilia's Monologue
--Film Compare and Contrast

HW:
--Get with your group and start deciding on a project!