Genre Comparison Of O And Othello

Genre Comparison
“O” & Othello

Many tend to use the words: jealousy and jealous, as a description of an attitude or emotion; but few actually knows the definitions of these words. To be jealous has to do with or arose from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness. Jealousy is a jealous attitude or disposition. Jealousy is a very powerful emotion and has the potential to make people do various things. There is a statement for jealousy that states “jealousy kills”, although this was meant figuratively for the way that it can eat at someone mentally and emotionally. However “jealousy kills” can be very literal, in the cases of the movie “O” which is based off of the play Othello, by William Shakespeare. Both of these genres (stories)
are clear evidence proving that jealousy truly does kill.
In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare, jealousy (figuratively) is the main character.
For the fact that it plays a major role in the outcome of the play. William Shakespeare's Othello is a tragic play about deception, manipulation, and revenge. The main character, Othello, is a powerful black military man who wins the love of a white woman named Desdemona. Their devotion to each other seems ideal, and it appears that Desdemona would do anything for Othello, even if it meant withstanding ridicule. The love between Othello and Desdemona, however, will be horrifyingly hindered, for the immoral Iago has plans to destroy their affection, but especially to destroy Othello himself. Iago's primary goal was to get revenge on Othello for not promoting him to lieutenant. Iago is clever. Iago is evil. In the eyes of others he is ironically perceived as honest and trustworthy, but inside he is a sinister villain. Iago is able to manipulate the minds of people into performing actions that are advantageous to him. "Honest Iago" is like a disguised wolf in the flock of sheep that guilefully pounces on each victim. Iago does not merely seek retribution against Othello in one single step, but rather, he cautiously and cleverly manipulates several people to trap the Moor. Iago uses people as if they were pawns; and he positions each one carefully, making moves that will finally corner Othello. He uses people such as Roderigo, Cassio, and even his own wife
Emilia. In the movie “O”, Odin is a Black student and star on the basketball team at Palmetto Grove high school (where all the other students and faculty are white).
He is in love with Desi, whose father is the Dean; they share a loving and intimate relationship. However, even as he pretends to be Odin's friend, Hugo, the coach's son, is intensely jealous of Odin. Odin gets the school's MVP trophy and he shares it with Michael, his "go to man," rather than with Hugo; and most crushing to Hugo is that his father, Coach Duke Goulding, “loves Odin like a son”. Hugo feels that Odin soars above the crowd and that he can literally fly both on and off the basketball court (which is why Hugo compares Odin to a Hawk; and later on in the movie states that he always wanted to fly like a hawk). He sees O as proud, powerful, and determined-he has it all. Hugo fits into the social scene but not like Odin. If only he can make Odin think that Desi is cheating on him with his good friend Michael, Hugo's revenge will be complete. It does not take long for Hugo to set his plan in motion. Using Roger, Hugo has an “assistant” to help him with his plan. He even gets Desi's roommate Emily to go along with the deception when she steals a family heirloom scarf given to Desi by Odin, which makes its way to Michael. Michael is Desi's best friend. Their relationship is platonic, but because they are always together when Odin is playing basketball, it's a situation tailor-made to be manipulated and presented
as something it's not. The story all unfolds as out of Hugo’s jealousy his plan of lies and deceit work itself in a way that it unjustly kills Odin, Desi, and it is unclear as to the status of Rodger and Michael. The both of these stories/genres both depict jealousy as a negative catalyst of emotion. The only differences between “O” and Othello are: the difference in the names of the characters, the idea of Hugo comparing Odin to a Hawk, the settings of the two genres and the language. Apart from that combined, both “O” and Othello extract from the same theme/moral: “jealousy kills”. The play by Othello William Shakespeare is very complex with the underlying message to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The movie only enhances and modernizes the same message making it applicable and more connecting to today’s viewers. The irony about jealousy is that a person hates, feels extreme anger towards, and/or envies someone/something that they wish they had/were, essentially hating something that they admire just because it’s not them/theirs. Something as simple as a bodily emotion can somewhat personify, in a sense that it is able to take full control of situations and people. Possibly making outcomes completely different than if there was an absence of jealousy. That just goes to show that where there is something different then what someone has and they are in pursuit of it or in admiration from a far, jealousy rears its ugly head and nobody notices it was there until “Jealousy Kills!!”