Richard Iii and Looking for Richard
A deeper understanding of ambition and identity emerges from pursuing the connections between King Richard III and Looking for Richard.
Compare how these texts explore ambition and identity.
Ambition; an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honour, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment * Al Pacino’s production as an art-house vanity project * Promotes himself – manipulating the audience through cutaways, specific and timed edits. The medium of film allows for one to manipulate and force audience attention to a specific area, scene. * His honest ‘love’ for William Shakespeare
* Richard III – Ambition for power and the crown (Buckingham, Richard, Richmond) * Tudor Myth displayed * Strive for power
Identity: * Through the collective works and connections established one forms an opinion on identities and how actions shape and define a person and their identity. * Pacino may be displayed as a egocentric, Hollywood star fulfilling his own purpose of promoting himself unto the world. This profile also creates a heroic and insightful connotation to Pacino who comments to the audience that his objective is to make Shakespeare more accessible to a modern day audience. * Identity and the role of identity in acting. Does Al Pacino become like Richard III? Can one divorce themselves from the character traits they are presenting? * Richard III – does conscience, acting and deception shape identity? Is Richard merely a creation of God’s divine will, or is he a cold hearted villain? * Nature V Nurture * Was Richard born horrific or was it a skill he acquired? * Was it due to the deformities and possible prejudices he suffered “dogs bark at me as I pass” * Pacino evokes sympathy from the audience in the ending scenes opposing interpretations in the play and impacts of context ie. Divine Justice and Elizabethan claim to the
Compare how these texts explore ambition and identity.
Ambition; an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honour, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment * Al Pacino’s production as an art-house vanity project * Promotes himself – manipulating the audience through cutaways, specific and timed edits. The medium of film allows for one to manipulate and force audience attention to a specific area, scene. * His honest ‘love’ for William Shakespeare
* Richard III – Ambition for power and the crown (Buckingham, Richard, Richmond) * Tudor Myth displayed * Strive for power
Identity: * Through the collective works and connections established one forms an opinion on identities and how actions shape and define a person and their identity. * Pacino may be displayed as a egocentric, Hollywood star fulfilling his own purpose of promoting himself unto the world. This profile also creates a heroic and insightful connotation to Pacino who comments to the audience that his objective is to make Shakespeare more accessible to a modern day audience. * Identity and the role of identity in acting. Does Al Pacino become like Richard III? Can one divorce themselves from the character traits they are presenting? * Richard III – does conscience, acting and deception shape identity? Is Richard merely a creation of God’s divine will, or is he a cold hearted villain? * Nature V Nurture * Was Richard born horrific or was it a skill he acquired? * Was it due to the deformities and possible prejudices he suffered “dogs bark at me as I pass” * Pacino evokes sympathy from the audience in the ending scenes opposing interpretations in the play and impacts of context ie. Divine Justice and Elizabethan claim to the