The first scene is set at a gas station, opening to 3 young men pulling in after a fast ride on the highway in their bright yellow topless car. A shoot out soon ensues, requiring a swat team and a helicopter to break up. Another scene portrays a boy by his lonesome on a beach, writing love poetry as he finishes a cigarette. A third scene introduces a party following an ecstasy-induced drug trip, and later a request to elope is placed with a tattooed ‘friar’ who wears Hawaiian shirts beneath his robes. Surely a description as such (albeit a true description) could not reveal the ever-popular tale the production recounts; surely, one could not guess that these are scenes from a re-telling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This is Baz Luhrmann’s
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Double coding (placing established creations in new contexts) is apparent in the presentation of characters like Father (friar) Lawrence, the aforementioned priest whose marked body suggest a backstory, or the Capulet and Montague patriarchs, who create a new-money-vs-old-money opposition—the background characters are able to seem a bit more dynamic thanks to this. Mercutio, a central character, demonstrates double coding, too. He is presented as his normally playful, charming self, as he is in the stage play, but his actions in modern times have been interpreted as someone who may be exploring inhibited ideals and preferences. Seventeenth century England probably would have not had and speculations or concerns to draw from Mercutio’s personality, but with a development of a very hyper-masculine view of sexuality and propriety, Mercutio’s behavior has a different feel. This notion not only receives a helping nudge from Luhrmann’s Mercutio being presented in drag, but also from Mercutio’s incredibly volatile reaction being told he “consortest with Romeo”. This phrase can be interpreted very plainly as him being associated with Romeo, but his reaction assumes that of a defense to confrontation rather than a statement of fact. As we see people and their actions today, Luhrmann’s Mercutio could have taken the statement as an insult to his masculinity, or to his relationship with Romeo. He too …show more content…
Amongst my peers, it seems Romeo and Juliet exists in a fantasy land that never happened; the time period very well has happened, but it has passed and no one living has seen it, so it does not feel quite as real as the setting of Romeo + Juliet. Even so, the juxtaposition of the tale with this new setting suspends it even farther into a realm of disbelief. It’s assisted by fireworks, fairy lights, and slow motion shots, but in modernity, this story seems even less real because the audience has seen first-hand that this is not how life happens now—more often than not, it does not progress so easily, so erratically, or so dramatically. To be concise: for all a modern audience knows, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet could be an accurate depiction of life and love in 15th century Italy; it is definitely fantasy when set in modern day because they can observe their own lives and recognize the
Double coding (placing established creations in new contexts) is apparent in the presentation of characters like Father (friar) Lawrence, the aforementioned priest whose marked body suggest a backstory, or the Capulet and Montague patriarchs, who create a new-money-vs-old-money opposition—the background characters are able to seem a bit more dynamic thanks to this. Mercutio, a central character, demonstrates double coding, too. He is presented as his normally playful, charming self, as he is in the stage play, but his actions in modern times have been interpreted as someone who may be exploring inhibited ideals and preferences. Seventeenth century England probably would have not had and speculations or concerns to draw from Mercutio’s personality, but with a development of a very hyper-masculine view of sexuality and propriety, Mercutio’s behavior has a different feel. This notion not only receives a helping nudge from Luhrmann’s Mercutio being presented in drag, but also from Mercutio’s incredibly volatile reaction being told he “consortest with Romeo”. This phrase can be interpreted very plainly as him being associated with Romeo, but his reaction assumes that of a defense to confrontation rather than a statement of fact. As we see people and their actions today, Luhrmann’s Mercutio could have taken the statement as an insult to his masculinity, or to his relationship with Romeo. He too …show more content…
Amongst my peers, it seems Romeo and Juliet exists in a fantasy land that never happened; the time period very well has happened, but it has passed and no one living has seen it, so it does not feel quite as real as the setting of Romeo + Juliet. Even so, the juxtaposition of the tale with this new setting suspends it even farther into a realm of disbelief. It’s assisted by fireworks, fairy lights, and slow motion shots, but in modernity, this story seems even less real because the audience has seen first-hand that this is not how life happens now—more often than not, it does not progress so easily, so erratically, or so dramatically. To be concise: for all a modern audience knows, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet could be an accurate depiction of life and love in 15th century Italy; it is definitely fantasy when set in modern day because they can observe their own lives and recognize the