The Role Of Good And Evil In Branagh's The Magic Flute

Great Essays
“I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” - Susan B. Anthony

One believes that the classic tale of prince charming saving the helpless damsel in distress is almost insulting to women — as if a women can’t save herself. Take the new Disney movie Brave for example, the protagonist female character is empowered, independent and saves herself and her mother without the help of any man. Basically, girls rule and they kick butt! However, the classic age-old tale of a damsel in distress being saved by her true love is just that — a classic. Classic’s have been passed down generation to generation and hold a special place in the audiences heart. Through sonic, visual and textual means, Kenneth Branagh's The Magic Flute explores two contrasting themes of good and evil. In The Magic Flute also know in German as Die Zauberflote tells the tale of ‘two ‘lofty,' ‘noble’
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She cannot save her daughter and requires Tamino to do that for her. However, that all changes after the scene up at the windmill where the ‘Queen appears before Pamina and tries to convince her to kill Sarastro. The Queen sings in minor second her famous aria, "Der Hölle Rache", which translates as "A hellish rage burns in my heart.”’ (yourclassical.org) Here the audience is shown who the real antagonist is — the Queen. This scene displays to us that ‘the Queen of the Night becomes tainted by the forces of darkness’ (Steen, 85) The Queen then continues to tie up Panima to the burning windmill. She Not only does this evilness happen to Panima, but also the guard (who had raped her) throws himself on top of her and offers to kill Serastro for her. It now becomes evident to the audience that the Guard, but more importantly the Queen of the Night are the real antagonists in the

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