Comparing Themes Of Jealousy In Othello And O

When a Shakespearean play is transformed into a modern interpretation, it is important that certain aspects of the original, such as its concepts, themes and values are included in the new storyline. Tim Blake-Nelson’s film ‘O’ is a modern day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy ‘Othello’. The playwright written in early 1600 revolves around the central themes of jealousy, manipulation and love which are explored through the use of literary techniques. In ‘O’ these themes are still evidently followed throughout the film, however the ways in which these are presented is through the use of various film techniques.
The theme of jealousy is recurrent in both texts and is a major influence on many of the character’s thoughts
and decisions. Although jealousy affects many of the main characters such as Emilia, Othello and Roderigo, the impact that it has on Iago is so strong that it causes him to take action against Othello.
In Shakespearean plays, soliloquys are used to allow a character to communicate their thoughts and motives to the audience whilst the other characters remain oblivious. In Othello, several soliloquys are made by Iago in which he speaks of his plans to ruin the ‘Moor’ and of his hatred towards him. The jealousy of Iago is revealed in his first soliloquy in which he explains that he is jealous of both Othello and his newly appointed lieutenant, Michael Cassio. He is envious and angry that he did not get this promotion and that Cassio, a man of less experience and skill, was chosen over him. The envy that Iago feels is identified when he says ”I hate the Moor…” The use of the derogatory term ‘Moor’, indicates hatred and disrespect toward Othello, and also informs us of his jealousy by which he reveals by degrading his. In ‘O’, the literary technique of a
soliloquy is transformed in to the film technique of a voice over. During this voice over by Hugo, he speaks of his desire to rank above others, as hawks do in the animal kingdom. “I know you're not supposed to be jealous of anything, but... to take flight, to soar above everything and everyone, now that's living.” In this, Hugo is also revealing his jealousy towards Odin, (Othello) who, with his respect and high rank among his peers gives him the free reign of the hawk as mentioned by Hugo. A voice over is an effective technique, alike a soliloquy, as they both allow the audience to understand the complex inner thoughts of a character.
One of the predominant themes in Othello is manipulation.
This theme is can be most commonly seen in the character of Iago, or Hugo, as he is named in modern film. Iago is a complicated and deceitful character that, out of jealousy plots against Othello to diminish his status and ruin his life. William Shakespeare uses irony to indicate the deceptive ways of Iago by tactically referring to Iago as honest, which is repeated in much of the other character’s dialogue. This can be seen when Othello says “I know, Iago, thy love and honesty doth mince this matter…” When Iago is referred to as honest, is it extremely ironic because he is anything but- he lies to other characters in order to benefit himself and in this extract, he has done exactly this to manipulate Othello. In ‘O’, the theme of manipulation by deception is instead identified with the use of lighting techniques. In many of the scenes in which Hugo is filmed, half of his face is in shadow whilst the other is in light- this expresses his two-faced personality, and his ability to appear as a friend or confidant, when he is really utilising all of his manipulative skills to work against a
person.
The love between Othello and Desdemona (Odin and Desi) is a theme of major importance in both Othello and O. Love is the centre and beginning of all that occurs between each character- It is Othello’s intense love for Desdemona that makes his jealousy unbearable and lead to hatred, it is the strong love between them that makes them so prone to Iago’s manipulation. The marriage that occurs between the two in Othello is transformed into a modern high school relationship in which they simply commit to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. Symbolism is used in the two texts to represent love in inanimate objects such as the handkerchief (or scarf) in which Othello gives to Desdemona to signify his undying commitment to her and what she means to him. When the handkerchief is lost, it is understood that it becomes a reflection of the ‘lost’ or ‘misplaced’ state of their relationship when Iago begins to meddle with their lives. Another example of symbolism used is in the film, O. Due to their age, Odin and Desi are unable to marry, but they believe that they are ready for such a commitment. Odin then presents to Desi a rubber band, which he ties around her ring finger to act as their version of a wedding ring. The rubber band is a denotation of the seriousness that their relationship has reached, and the vows that they made to eachother. Symbolism is a technique that when used appropriately, can be very effective as it engages an audiences by activating their mind to make the connection between the inanimate and its secondary meaning.
The transformation of the themes and concepts of the play Othello into its modern film adaptation, O, would not be as effective without the use of the techniques- lighting, voice over and symbolism. The central themes that William Shakespeare and Tim Blake-Nelson included in their scripts such as Manipulation, Jealousy and Love were expressed through the use of the literary and film techniques. This successful transformation of a 500 year old script into a modern day film shows that the era something was written in does not affect its potential to be adapted into a new time and it’s social differences.