O and Shakespeare

In the film O, there were many things that the filmmaker did that caught my eye. Similar to last viewing, the use of colors really stuck out to me. A very interesting and powerful shot, I thought, that executed this meticulous use of color was a scene right before Em took Des' scarf off the floor. The scarf falls to the floor and lands on a red carpet. The shot is held for several seconds to emphasize the importance of the scarf. I believe that the red carpet was no accident, and very particularly placed by the filmmaker. The color of the carpet combined with the scarf could possibly be foreshadowing events to come. When Oden realizes that Des does not have the scarf, this triggers many significant events. He becomes violently angry and his suspicsions that Des is cheating on him are confirmed in his mind. He then resorts to drugs and his demeanor rapidly changes. As we all know from reading Othello that this movie will most likely end in a violent tragic manner--much to do with the scarf. The red carpet foreshdows the bloodshed that is to follow in the path of the scarf, hence the several second shot in which is filmed the scarf on a red carpet.

The scarf and the foreshadowing red carpet triggered many events in the movie that I believe reflect the play itself. Thus, implying that Shakespeare is, in fact, universal. Viewing the many popular adaptions of Shakespeares play today such as, O and 10 Things I Hate About You, it cant be denied that Shakespeare universally speaks to audiences in a timeless manner. Although these movies are adaptions and therefore lack much of the speech and have a unique take on events, this does not degrade the value of Shakespeares stories, which after all is the essence of his works. It is his stories combined with his poetic language that aften captures his audiences. I say this because even in his time, everyone who viewed his plays was not completely literary, for example the 'groundlings' who would stand and watch at the bottom of the theatre would still enjoy his plays despite their illiteracy and possible lack of comprehension of many of his lines. Therefore it is his stories that speak universally to many of us hundreds of years later. In a personal note, I honestly still get worked up when viewing any version of Romeo and Juliet (especially when Leo's in it :) ) because it make's me think about my boyfriend (who's not Leo
:(...haha). This is because Shakespeares story about love will effect people forever, unless for some reason the world becomes a loveless society--but then we have a bigger problem.

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