Sometimes Laughter Really is the Best Medicine
Baz Luhrmann takes on the terrifying task of attempting to modernize the classic Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. Considering, Shakespeare invokes feelings of anxiety and makes many students want to shudder in fear, this task was not to be taken lightly. A movie critic Mick LaSalle argues that the modern-day remake is a complete tragedy and eliminates all emotion that the play has to offer, I am going to argue that Baz Luhrmann's modernization of the play still proves it to be a timeless classic and that William Shakespear is a storyteller for all time.
Ethics and morality are concepts that change with time, ethical behavior is modified depending on someone's generation. Modernizing something …show more content…
Luhrmann has to convert the poetry into a visual effect, and he accomplishes this by creating big bold scenes and characters. Luhrmann puts a lot of attention into how the Capulets are characterized. John Leguizamo has an extreme Latin feel to him, his movements and his clothing are dripping in Latin culture. This is presented so extremely in order to show the difference between apparent truth and satire. Everything about the Capulets is physically superficial, but not verbally. Leguizamo is dressed in a bulletproof vest with Jesus on it and carrying pistols with crosses hanging off. Not only is he always dressed in some sort of religious clothing, he also moves likes he is dancing to music. He prances and twirls around while he's shooting at Benvolio only to drop to his knees, remove his jacket, and toss it to the side. Luhrmann is making the language of the book shine through with his daring visuals. In order to present the 16th-century feeling that Latins were all about masculinity and violence, Luhrmann makes the Capulets overemphasized examples of that. We can go even further by considering how the scenery and set design makes the play seem fitting for the …show more content…
When examining the choices Luhrmann makes for his set they quite literally pop, everything from the fireworks and jarring party scenes to the beauty and slowness of the water scenes. Luhrmann pays tribute to multiple aspects of the 1990's in this film. His opening scene is an example of this, while we are hearing Shakespeare's famous first lines, "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene..." (1.1.1-14), we are seeing a television screen set in an MTV style. Luhrmann still keeps Shakespeare's famous language, but he has put it into a medium of media that is prevalent. Although the language is outdated, having a scene that mimics an MTV vibe puts the Shakespearean language into a real-time setting. Another update that helps develop this point is how swords are now replaced with guns. It would be more than unlikely to find a sword on someone in the 90's, but a gun is more contemporary. Luhrmann even gave the guns names of swords, Benvolio carries a nine-millimeter gun named sword while Mercutio also carries a nine-millimeter but it says dagger. Shakespearean language could potentially confuse the audience, but updating the surrounds in such a way helps the theme shine through loud and clear. In addition to updating the props and atmosphere, Luhrmann also made the background music fit the 90s. Of course, you
Baz Luhrmann takes on the terrifying task of attempting to modernize the classic Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. Considering, Shakespeare invokes feelings of anxiety and makes many students want to shudder in fear, this task was not to be taken lightly. A movie critic Mick LaSalle argues that the modern-day remake is a complete tragedy and eliminates all emotion that the play has to offer, I am going to argue that Baz Luhrmann's modernization of the play still proves it to be a timeless classic and that William Shakespear is a storyteller for all time.
Ethics and morality are concepts that change with time, ethical behavior is modified depending on someone's generation. Modernizing something …show more content…
Luhrmann has to convert the poetry into a visual effect, and he accomplishes this by creating big bold scenes and characters. Luhrmann puts a lot of attention into how the Capulets are characterized. John Leguizamo has an extreme Latin feel to him, his movements and his clothing are dripping in Latin culture. This is presented so extremely in order to show the difference between apparent truth and satire. Everything about the Capulets is physically superficial, but not verbally. Leguizamo is dressed in a bulletproof vest with Jesus on it and carrying pistols with crosses hanging off. Not only is he always dressed in some sort of religious clothing, he also moves likes he is dancing to music. He prances and twirls around while he's shooting at Benvolio only to drop to his knees, remove his jacket, and toss it to the side. Luhrmann is making the language of the book shine through with his daring visuals. In order to present the 16th-century feeling that Latins were all about masculinity and violence, Luhrmann makes the Capulets overemphasized examples of that. We can go even further by considering how the scenery and set design makes the play seem fitting for the …show more content…
When examining the choices Luhrmann makes for his set they quite literally pop, everything from the fireworks and jarring party scenes to the beauty and slowness of the water scenes. Luhrmann pays tribute to multiple aspects of the 1990's in this film. His opening scene is an example of this, while we are hearing Shakespeare's famous first lines, "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene..." (1.1.1-14), we are seeing a television screen set in an MTV style. Luhrmann still keeps Shakespeare's famous language, but he has put it into a medium of media that is prevalent. Although the language is outdated, having a scene that mimics an MTV vibe puts the Shakespearean language into a real-time setting. Another update that helps develop this point is how swords are now replaced with guns. It would be more than unlikely to find a sword on someone in the 90's, but a gun is more contemporary. Luhrmann even gave the guns names of swords, Benvolio carries a nine-millimeter gun named sword while Mercutio also carries a nine-millimeter but it says dagger. Shakespearean language could potentially confuse the audience, but updating the surrounds in such a way helps the theme shine through loud and clear. In addition to updating the props and atmosphere, Luhrmann also made the background music fit the 90s. Of course, you