Thinking about using old language in modern context - Looking at Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet (1996)
Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet is one of the best examples of adapting a classical story in a contemporary context. Therefore, I thought it would be beneficial to examine how he portrays the Shakespearean language in a modern setting.
I will be looking at the first few minutes of the film, as it contains some very relevant examples of news media (broadcast and print).
I will be looking at the first few minutes of the film, as it contains some very relevant examples of news media (broadcast and print).
This clip is from the opening of the film. In the original, by William Shakespeare, an announcer would say out this introduction on stage. In Luhrmann's adaptation, he has used a news anchor to tell the tale of the story. This works extremely well, as in a modern setting, this makes perfect sense.
You can see from her dress and the fact that it is broadcast on a television that this is indeed set in a modern world (specifically the 90s) - something I need to make sure I do in my e-newspaper. The time period is also apparent from the way the news anchor is dressed - in very smart attire and jewellery. In the Shakespearean version, a woman would have been wearing a robe or dress.
However, the woman is still using the words from the original Shakespearean script. So although the visuals are modern, the LANGUAGE is still from the original play. This is useful for me as 'the Tale of the Three Apples' is not written in contemporary English, but uses vocabulary more similar to that in the Bible. Therefore in any videos I am including, I can still have my characters speaking the original lines from the story, but instead have a modern aesthetic. So I will be using my own visual adaptation, whilst preserving the original text's language.
More relevant to me, in the background I can see an example of some news story graphics. Luhrmann has chosen to use a ring split into two to show the conflict between the ''two star-crossed lovers''. From this, I can see that I can see that if there is a aspect of my story that perhaps doesn't have a modern day equivalent, then perhaps I can use symbolism in the accompanying graphics of the article to replace an image (i.e. the three apples, may seem unusual to report about in a modern newspaper, so perhaps they can be a metaphor for something else?). This is similar to how Luhrmann makes the use of 'swords' relevant, as in his version they are a brand of gun.
However, the woman is still using the words from the original Shakespearean script. So although the visuals are modern, the LANGUAGE is still from the original play. This is useful for me as 'the Tale of the Three Apples' is not written in contemporary English, but uses vocabulary more similar to that in the Bible. Therefore in any videos I am including, I can still have my characters speaking the original lines from the story, but instead have a modern aesthetic. So I will be using my own visual adaptation, whilst preserving the original text's language.
More relevant to me, in the background I can see an example of some news story graphics. Luhrmann has chosen to use a ring split into two to show the conflict between the ''two star-crossed lovers''. From this, I can see that I can see that if there is a aspect of my story that perhaps doesn't have a modern day equivalent, then perhaps I can use symbolism in the accompanying graphics of the article to replace an image (i.e. the three apples, may seem unusual to report about in a modern newspaper, so perhaps they can be a metaphor for something else?). This is similar to how Luhrmann makes the use of 'swords' relevant, as in his version they are a brand of gun.
In this montage we are shown three extracts from newspapers in Baz Luhrmann's fictional 90's setting. This is very relevant to me as I am also creating a newspaper from an old text, but in a modern setting.
Similar to me, Luhrmann has decided to create fictional newspapers, that have are more relevant to the setting he has chosen. For example, 'Verona Today' is similar to my 'Arabian Nightly'. This is the same reason why I chose to name my newspaper 'Arabian Nightly' rather than 'Arabian Nights' - as 'nightly' is more relevant to a newspaper title.
After seeing these newspapers, I have decided that I can write my own headlines as they would be seen in a contemporary western newspaper - but use the original story text for the the body article.
Adapting Names from the original text
Another aspect to think about when adapting an old script/story for a modern audience are the character names.
For example, in the original Shakespeare play of 'Romeo and Juliet', the law enforcer was the Prince of Verona. However, that would not make sense in a modern society (or more specifically, the US - where Luhrmann's version is set), so he is changed to a Police chief with the last name 'Prince'. Therefore, making it relevant but also keeping a reference to the original character.
Another issue is that some names are outdated/not common in the modern world - such as Paris. In the original script, the character was known simply by that name. In Luhrmann's version he gives him the first name 'Dave', which matches the white, American male stereotype of the adaptations character.
