Lost Labours of Love

as i mentioned in this post
i was very excited to go see the play
of Love's Labour's Lost

Overall I really liked the play
I thought they did a terrific job of
adapting it to the stage
and adapting it into the 40's era
(it made me wish i was in the 40's)

As for my thoughts and critique on it

the first thing was that is was way too long
i felt like it dragged on
and they made some of the scenes
unnecessarily long and boring

i thought that this was interesting and
semi related to my final project topic

the cast did a good job drawing in the audience
and making everyone engaged
but had they just shortened the play
and made thing a little more accessible
that it would have made things better

i felt like that there were a lot of
"non shakespeare folk"
that where asking their shakespearean friends
"what just happen, what is going on, etc"
and then people explaining the entirety
of the play as they were leaving the theater

this leads me to the idea that no matter
how accessible and exciting and hip
your content may be
you still cant tackle huge boring things

even as a "shakespeare folk"
i felt like they talked really fast
and sometimes it was hard to follow
one thing that made things hard to follow
was that i was unsure who some of the cast was supposed to be

some people in our class mentioned
this may just be because we were
 looking and knew the characters better

I asked my husband what he thought
and his smartypants self said,
"it was kinda racy for BYU"
(he's a BYU hater)

over all i thought it was a good production
the set was amazing
the live band was amazing
it was pretty awesome production

my sister is in town
and i almost want to go again
so she can go

Scotland, PA

first off.. spoilers. i do warn you where and when they are over though.

I watched Scotland, PA
I ordered a copy of the DVD

I love this movie
it is just so funny to me

but it is a modern adaptation of Macbeth from Sundance Film Festival

it is pretty much the story of Macbeth set in modern times
at a 70's burger joint
it is really genius and one of my most favorite movies

I think that this was a really interesting to take this story and make it into a modern interpretation
the writer did an interesting things in keeping with the plot line but changing little details to make it interesting

First i love the way they incorporated the names in with "mac" and "banko"
it is so funny when the stoner hippy fortune teller is talking about seeing someone named "el banko"
i like how the adaptation found a way to keep the witches by making them into these like stoner people
the sons also were written in really well to match their characters in the play with one son who wants to be in a band and the other who wants to leave and go do play stuff

One thing I wanted to look and mention was the casting of characters
because i think that this is such a big part of film adaptations
First off, i loved Maura Tierney
i grew up watching her in ER and she does a really good job at Lady Macbeth
I also feel like the other characters are played very well
Mac and Pat's chemistry works well for what you expect out of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth

this is where the spoilers begin.

I love the incorporation of the famous "out damned spot"
it is so funny and ironic the way they work it in with Pat's burn on her hand
and how she tries to get it to go away but cant
and then she finally cuts her hand off

end spoilers. that wasnt so bad

I liked the transfer of the plot from a kingdom to a burger empire
i feel this is ironic in how Mcdonalds almost owns America these days
it surprisingly works well for the plot

the film is rated R, so this definitely gives it an edge
you couldnt ever use it in a classroom
but perhaps parts of the scenes or get it editted
it really just has some sexuality and language

but that was one of the other things i wanted to bring up and talk about
is how Shakespeare is till made accessible for adults
many people watching this movie may have not read Macbeth in 10 years
so this is just a small thing to get them back into the play
that why i really like this film is because it is so updated and accessible for people like me

i think that if adults are more into Shakespeare
there is a better chance for children to get into Shakespeare
because it will be cool and popular and the thing you cant wait to do when you are old
.....just like alcohol in a way haha and all things "adult"

unsex me here.

i have always been fascinated with Lady Macbeth
There is just something that I love about her

one thing that I particularly like about her is her strength
and while it may be for the bad and everything
i seem to like powerful woman roles

and women who are too submissive in literature
seem to bother me to an extent

its funny because on netflix it gives suggestion based on what youve watched
my husband always makes fun of me because it will suggest
"romantic comedies with strong female lead" or something like that

but i like this womanly strength in her in particular for teaching
because i think it gives something for female students to grasp onto
and the fact that there are there two side of Macbeth that appeal to both student genders
this may just be my own feelings but i will run with it

i wanted to look at the transformation and character of Lady Macbeth

in high school i looked in her use of "witchcraft"

and this time i was thinking about how interesting it that she specifically asks "unsex me here"
so she doesnt want to be a woman and have all of these womanly feelings
i would think that her reasoning for this is
so she wouldnt feel bad about not killing Macduff because he looks like her father

i also wonder if she was wanting and wishing that she could be king for herself ?

i always get this feminist feeling for from her
and this may be completely off and out of no where
but i wonder if she had postpartum if she had just had a child?
(which i just did a quick google search on and there is a lot out there on this idea. man i love when i have brilliant thought that i find out are completely justified ---note to self. look into this.)

the thing I wanted to point out and that i found interesting
is that if lady macbeth was not as motherly and womanly as she is
and if she was able to be unsexed
that would change much of her interactions

first off she would have probably not encouraged Macbeth to kill Macduff
I think it is a rather motherly thing to be really encouraging
and i find it interesting that she specifically parents him
like why did you bring back the evidence you shouldnt have done that

secondly she would have probably killed Macduff herself
and she wouldnt have been so "loving" or more like convincing to Macbeth
to go and do the deed and get over his feelings

so really her wanting to be "unsexed" would not have been a good thing for the point of the play

the only positive outcome that I could thing of
would be she might not be so guilty as to kill herself
and it is interesting that she really results back to those feelings about her guilty
and its a very motherly and sensitive thing that she does
that also completely goes against her beginning feelings
in the play of being so powerful and manly

so her transformation
she starts out very manly and strong
then she shows hints of her womanness in wanting to change
and  being motherly like to Macbeth
yet being very strong and expecting of him to be a man
and specifically stating that she would do it if he didnt look like her father
---that is such a stab like well i am more manly than you
but then she breaks down to this weak almost little girl type in her guilt

so yes. Lady Macbeth is one of my most favorite characters
in all of literature. her and Penelope from the Odyssey
who is also a very strong woman

maybe that says something about myself?
...on that note im not planning on killing anyone though haha