Julie Taymor's Titus Andronicus

Titus is a film directed by Julie Taymor. This film, adapted from Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, premiered on December 24th, 1999. It's set in a modern Rome, perhaps the 1950's, but maintains ancient Roman culture. As in Richard III, music plays a prominent feature in Titus. Taymor, unlike Loncraine, uses music to exaggerate specific emotions displayed by her characters. In the scene where Tamora vows to massacre Andronicus and his family, sinister sounding music interrupts the steady stream of singing cicadas. The music is deep and contemplative, and like Tamora's pride, is acquainted with gnawing. After Tamora reveals her plans for vengeance, the music, like her deposition, again returns to a choir of unassuming cicadas. I thought Taymor's interpretation of Lavinia's rape was amazing. She was able to portray the devastating effects of rape without exposing her audience to the cruel act. When Marcus accidentally finds Lavinia, she's mounted onto a burnt black tree trunk, swaying to the breeze. Her white, now stained, dress and skin are a harsh juxtaposition against her scorched environment. Like purity found in a brothel. What I found most interesting was, Marcus had to leave the plush green forest and ventures into the brittle land around Lavinia, as many helping those cope with the aftermath of sexual abuse …show more content…
The film did a good job of portraying Tamora's fear and Aaron's anger. Aaron's cunning behavior seems to be the result of knowing he is under estimated because he is black.The historical content also helped me understand Taymor's sexual dominance and Lavinia's chastity. The film clearly divides Gothic sexual exploration and Roman chastity. The wild orgies demonstrated in the film helped me see Tamora and her kin didn't cherish sex, but abused it. Their greedy appetites are the reasons Tamora suggested her sons to rape