The Complexity of the Tyrant: Rethinking Tyranny in Recent Film Adaptations of Macbeth
Open Access
- Author:
- Bibb, Jordan
- Area of Honors:
- English
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Claire Mary Louise Bourne, Thesis Supervisor
Christopher Gervais Reed, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- tyranny
Shakespeare
mental health
violence
mass ideology
adapting plays into film
psychology and behavior
fear and oppression
contemporary issues
character vs circumstances - Abstract:
- How does Shakespeare’s Macbeth comment on the subject of tyranny? Traditional interpretations of Macbeth fault its title figure with perpetuating tyranny, but recent interpretations of the play on film, specifically Justin Kurzel’s film (2015) and Rupert Goold’s stage-to-screen production (2010), re-examine the nature of Macbeth’s character, and even render him in a manner that almost forgives his violent behavior. The following analysis of these two screen adaptations and their attempts to explain the additional factors to blame for tyranny invite us to reconsider how we judge aggressors in power, throughout history and today. For Kurzel and Goold, those factors come from places beyond Macbeth himself. This thesis argues that the bridge between the contemporary moment and Shakespeare’s time is these modern adaptations, through their acknowledgement of the political issues consistent between the two. It explains how, through Kurzel and Goold’s adaptations, Shakespeare’s works are a didactic source of wisdom for our world by showing patterns in human behavior across time. Though it may manifest itself differently now, tyranny is still a challenge to modern society. We encounter the factors that these directors cite as the precursors of violence and totalitarianism: In Kurzel’s we see the trauma that contributes to gun violence, and in Goold’s, the mass ideology that emboldens leaders like Donald Trump.