The Tempest Compared To Prospero's

As a visual learner, movies always have a way of assisting me in figuring ideas out. While reading The Tempest, I had a vision of a paradise where Prospero and Miranda had landed and made their home; also, I envisioned Prospero as the victim of his brother and the King of Naples. Although, experiencing Julie Taymor’s version of The Tempest is quite different from reading lines without colors and facial expressions. The emotion and images within the scenes made me uneasy and truly disturbed a small part of my mind. I began to view Prospero (Or in this case, Prospera) as a tyrant and indignant ruler who uses psychological warfare to mess with people’s minds while using them for his/her own personal vendetta. In the first place, blue is used
Within the written play, the reader doesn’t receive a visual of what each character is wearing. In Julie Taymor’s version of The Tempest, the watcher can perceive that Miranda is wearing a dirty white dress / garment that looks as though it was made from a torn-up bed sheet. All the while Prospera has an elaborate outfit fit for a magic-practicing duchess (or at least and outfit that covers her body from the elements). Most parents would want their children to have the best; Prospera gives her daughter a rag. This demonstrates that Prospera only cares about Miranda enough to cover her body; Miranda is only a pawn for Prospera to use at her will. Another point is that although Prospero / Prospera has been on this island for twelve years, practicing “magick,” Miranda knows nothing about this sorcery. This is proven when Prospero/a tells Miranda to be “inclined” to sleep, and he / she states that he / she knows “thou canst not choose.” If Prospero/a had doted and cared for Miranda, Miranda would have been around him / her all the time – possibly picking up a few tricks of her own. Having known these tricks, Miranda could combat them: but alas, she doesn’t have the power because Prospero/a has to have all the power to