#Shakespeare character moment

[whatsorryiwasntlistening]

GET MANUALLY BOOPED

AHHHHH I AM SLAIN

[theimpossiblescheme]

Staging concept: Ophelia carries around a book that she uses to press different flowers and plants. At one point we see her actually pressing one of the flowers Hamlet's given her before, and we get the impression that she wouldn't part with this book for the world. During the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene, Hamlet rips the book out of her hands, and she goes diving after it to make sure he didn't damage it. And during her final "mad scene", she starts tearing out the relevant pages (rosemary, pansies, fennel, columbines, etc.) to give to everyone present. Laertes is the only one to get the significance of his sister giving away parts of her prized possession, and it adds an extra layer to his grief.

[lala-blahblah]

I will never make this because it would be for an audience of one (me) but ever since reading "If we Were Villains" (story about serious drama kids in college who perform shakespeare and deal with a murder) I have been entertaining the thought of a crack fic crossover with High School Musical The Musical The Series where the staff decides they will no longer put on shakespeare after the tragic accident that happened at Thanksgiving, because Shakespeare plays would only increase the tension and drama. So they hire Ms. Jen who decides their spring play will actually be High School Musical (which exists in the 90s in this universe) and it ruins the vibe so much that everyone gives up on being dark and mysterious because they're universally pissed at Ms Jen for making them learn choreoraphed basketball dancing.

[averlym]

some very very quick costume shorthands!

[likealittleheartbeat]

Idk much, but Zuko and Aang both get penetrated in the finale.

[sneefsnorf]

why did i just see someone call hamlet a novel. it is a PLAY. and you have to WATCH IT. otherwise it is WORSE.

[www-pinkhearse]

I’m sorry

[spiderwarden]

OKAY OKAY! I know we all joke about Minthara and the skull being a Hamlet reference but I have actively TALKED about Hamlet on this blog before and we need a moment to reference this in a serious way, because the entire story of Hamlet is basically, get this, A STORY ABOUT AN OATH OF VENGEANCE!! And there is LOVE there is family murder, and someday I will go into a post about how aspects of Minthara's character has her represent different facets of this story because she is- by all means HAMLET, but she is also Ophelia, she is also Daisy Ridley's Ophelia.

I can also tell you EXACTLY what she is contemplating when she is 'contemplating a skull' because that particular soliloquy is LITERALLY a speech about death, and the musing of what follows it, questioning whether you deeds are worth it, the SUFFERING is worth all of this trouble if you're just going to fucking die. LIKE!!!!!!! IM FUCKING FERAL ABOUT IT! YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!!!!

[voidify333]

if Shakespeare was alive today he would love ligma and bofa jokes

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

toby: we’re gonna TIE HIM UP AND THROW HIM INTO A DARK DUNGEON

maria: …okay but we’re trying to gaslight him into making him think he’s lost his shit, not actually make him lose his shit

toby: hahaha funny hahaha

maria: …i think this might have gone a little too far.

[ongein]

went to see a performance of coriolanus and coriolanus was played by a woman and im a lesbian now

[siobhanromee]

When you are trying to figure out characterization and then someone suggests an action your character would take.. and you have to go he would not fucking do that.

[aibafiles]

I've been sitting on why this video rubbed me the wrong way for a few days trying to formulate my thoughts on it and I really have to disagree - "Romeo is a fuckboy" is a very much a modern take on the play that ignores the literary devices at play and Juliet's own agency. Romeo and Juliet asks us to suspend our disbelief for the "love at first sight" trope, and Rosaline's presence (or rather lack of it) is critical to that.

Exploring Rosaline as a character through a modern lens is great—hell, I did the same myself for a personal project in high back in school—but the fact that she doesn't appear is very deliberate. We can't see Romeo's love for her as genuine because we don't even get to see who she is as a person, only his impression of her.

When he speaks about Rosaline in early scenes, he does a (bad) attempt at the Petrarchan sonnet form, a style of poetry associated here with flowery language pining after an unattainable woman. That tells us exactly what she is to him—the unattainable object of his shallow teen affections, and exactly what Juliet is not.

Juliet is a real flesh and blood person on the stage, one capable of engaging with Romeo on equal footing and actually reciprocating, and her first meeting with Romeo blows all of his cringefail poetry out of the water. We love to be cynical about love at first sight, but it's crucial to look at it in a theatrical context. The very first lines the two exchange form a sonnet: Romeo opens with a metaphor and lets Juliet expound on it. It's poetry created through mutual participation, the musical theatre equivalent of breaking into a duet. We are meant to take it seriously as an expression of mutual love, and Romeo's verse improves later on as well to drive the point home. If you have the time for it, there's a really great breakdown of the sonnet by Ben Crystal here (timestamped around 11:30 if it doesn't work) that I love. (And the whole video is worth it if you enjoy Shakespeare!)

So when Rosaline keeps coming up throughout the play, Shakespeare isn't secretly undercutting the romance or trying to frame Romeo as fickle and insincere—he's highlighting the contrast between Romeo's feelings for the two and reinforcing his relationship with Juliet. The tragedy doesn't lie in the two of them being Stupid Teens trying to rush things prematurely, but rather the adults responsible for the toxic environment that won't allow them to explore a relationship in the first place.

[departmentq]

Fans celebrate the casting of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura as a moment for actors of color, which they should be.

But I also wanted to spotlight the casting of these iconic guest starring characters, seen in episodes of TOS.

Percy Rodriguez was cast as flag officer Commodore Stone, who was Kirk's superior in the chain of command. Stone is one of the officers that presides over Kirk's court martial.

Booker Bradshaw was the original Dr. M'Benga, seen in two episodes of TOS. at the time, M'Benga was Starfleet's first and only medical specialist in Vulcan Physiology, having spent a year's residency on Vulcan.

One of the finest minds in computer technology in the 23rd century, and creator of the duotronic computer, Dr. Richard Daystrom, was played by William Marshall, whose work in Shakespeare, and his roles as Paul Robeson and Frederick Douglass, added to the gravitas of his portrayal.

A flag officer, a specialist in Vulcan medicine, and one of the finest minds in a field of technology, played by actors of color, during the turbulent 1960s.

[picaroroboto]

Point #1: The first thing we learn about Emet-Selch, even before we learn that Solus zos Galvus is Emet-Selch, is that Solus loved theatre.

Point #2: Emet-Selch plays the villain with mannerisms so over-the-top you'd think he's about to burst into a disney villain-style song and dance number at almost any moment.

Point #3: He's self-aware enough to recognize that he is a villain in your story but a hero to his own people, and that whoever wins the battle will write history to declare the loser the villain.

Point #4: The Tempest, the zone where Amaurot is located, is named for the Shakespeare play of the same name, with other landmarks named after characters from the play. The BGM "Full Fathom Five" is also named for an iconic line.

Point #5: Amaurot feels so empty because it is, in essence, a set for a stage play. After the play is preformed it has no purpose.

Back to Point #1: Emet-Selch really loved theatre.