In a Shakespeare adaptation, performance or appropriation of your choice (from TV, Theatre, Animation, Online or Film) identify the core interpretations of race and identity they offer.

Looking through the post-colonialism lens in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'!

(Taymor, 2010)

Shakespeare’s repertoire spans across many genres, through many different decades, with his play ‘The Tempest’ being considered his final play written in 1610-11. The play became to be regarded as an allegory for the negative impacts of colonialism, with the characters and their relationships being their own allegories. The character of Prospero serves as an allegory for the artist and ruler and Caliban as an allegory for colonial victim and oppressed native of the island (allegoryexplained, 2024). These allegories are depicted in Julie Taymor’s 2010 ‘The Tempest’.

 

(Lynch, 2020)

Julie Taymor reflects this theme of colonisation through her character of Caliban (Essaysauce, 2023). Caliban is depicted as a monster, a being that isn’t of human form that is made to be Prospero’s slave, whereas in the movie adaption, Caliban is transformed from a pitied servant to a more savage human being played by the Beninese-born American actor, Djimon Hounsou (Essaysauce,2023). Taymor has effectively casted the only dark-skinned actor to portray Caliban admis the white cast to make him stand out from the other characters. Djimon used the Japanese dance form of butoh which allowed him to move characteristically to Caliban from the original text, whilst standing out. This non-naturalistic, exaggerated way of operating supports this idea that Caliban is savage and made to look animalistic (Lynch, 2020).  Within the film, Caliban’s look had been selectively chosen to suggest he is made from the earth, the rocks and clay and his costume is minimal, with only a small cloth to cover him; by distinguishing the clear divide between himself and society, it shows that Caliban is a literal part of the island (Essaysauce, 2023). The island is his identity. Prospero, a stranger to the island, enslaves Caliban and Ariel and strips them of their heritage and identity, by infiltrating their native language with his own. Caliban begins to represent the victims of colonialism as he transforms from being a savage to a Third World Inhabitant. From a post-colonialism perspective, Europe might choose to represent Caliban as a greedy, monster to justify colonialism, whereas, from a Third World Country perspective they might view the character as a vehicle for political and cultural change due to his power to stand up against his master’s subjugation (Chand, P., & Chaudhary, S, 2013). Taymor aggressively depicted Caliban to be so different from the rest of the people to allow the audience to feel sympathy, rather than the apathy traditional audiences would have.

(Berkeleyborn, 2021)

The biggest difference between the play and the film would be the gender-swap of Prospero; in the movie Helen Mirren plays the role of Prospera, a sorceress. The move was an act of feminism by Taymor, to demonstrate that women can have the power. It is believed that Shakespeare embodies the role of Prospero as the powerful artist who orchestrates his own play, but this does not imply that he supported the white race of Prospero to be superior to the natives on the island, which is what many post-colonial critics interpret (Sharma & Yadav, 2021). The gender-swap could suggest that despite changing a core detail of the story, the allegories of the characters and play remain the same.

 

‘The Tempest’ is considered an allegorical play for the European colonisation, that can be interpreted differently depending on your perspective on the Brave New World and colonialism. Julie Taymor has effectively used different elements such as costumes, actors and make-up to create this theme. 

References

allegoryexplained. (2024, May 18). The Tempest (Allegory Explained) - Allegory Explained. Allegory Explained. https://allegoryexplained.com/the-tempest/

Berkeleyborn. (2021, March 24). Helen Mirren as Prospero - The Tempest - on my list of favorite films ever! Jigidi - Free Online Jigsaw Puzzles; Jigidi. https://www.jigidi.com/es/jigsaw-puzzle/s3gcyrcj/helen-mirren-as-prospero-the-tempest-on-my-list-of-favorite-films-ever/

Chand, P., & Chaudhary, S. (2013). Critical Discourse Analysis of the Character of Caliban by Post-colonial Critics: A Post-colonial Scrutiny. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL), 1(2). https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijsell/v1-i2/v1-i2-ijsell_3.pdf

Essaysauce. (2023, March 23). Compare The Tempest Play and Movie: Themes, Gender Switches and Caliban’s Portrayal | EssaySauce.com. Compare the Tempest Play and Movie: Themes, Gender Switches and Caliban’s Portrayal. https://www.essaysauce.com/essay-examples/2017-5-16-1494965660/

Lynch, R. (2020, February 19). Why Exaggerating Stereotypes Progresses Our Empathy From Contemporary Perspectives. Medium. https://rlynch-40571.medium.com/taymors-aspect-exaggerating-caliban-db645023f1e6

Sharma, B., & Yadav, P. (2021). Racial Conflict and Colonial Overview in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research (IJFMR), 3(2). https://www.ijfmr.com/papers/2021/2/10586.pdf