In my paper, I will talk about photographic representations of Shakespeare. When looking at still images of Shakespeare's work, certain scenes or aspects of a character are focused on, creating iconic scenes people immediately think of when a specific play is mentioned, like the image of Ophelia drowning when talking about Hamlet. My working title is, "Do Photographic Representations Cheapen Shakespeare's Classic Characters?" and my working thesis statement is, "While it is normal to want to interpret Shakespeare's characters through photographs, confining a well rounded character to a one dimensional photograph can harm the portrayal of Shakespeare's work, causing more damage than intended."
Performances
Gale, Mariah, actress. Hamlet. BBC Wales, 2009.
Mariah Gale is Ophelia in the movie version of Hamlet starring David Tennant.
Watching the progression and character arc of Ophelia throughout the play will provide a specific example of what we miss out on when we focus on a single photograph rather than the storyline of a character throughout a whole play.
Cavendish, Dominic. "Hamlet, Barbican, review: 'justifies the hysteria.'" The Telegraph, <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/benedict-cumberbatch-as-hamlet-barbican-review/>. Accessed 15 November 2016.
Sian Brooke stars as Ophelia in the on stage production of Hamlet last year starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
This review by the Telegraph analyzes the production as a whole, with a brief mention of Ophelia that I think will prove helpful.
Social Sources
Homie
Kaylie Brown
Kaylie is a composition major that I met in my ward last year. She loves art and could spend hours in a museum looking at paintings and analyzing the works of the masters.
Kaylie and I often discuss the importance of art on the general public, so I know she would have some interesting opinions regarding photographic representations of Shakespeare.
Homie
Emily Bashaw
Emily is a friend of a friend that I met over the summer. From the moment I met her I've been impressed by her diverse interests and willingness to discuss new ideas.
Emily has a history of participation in the theater, as well as an impressive list of books she's read. She spends a lot of time learning and broadening her horizons, so I highly respect her opinions on art. I know that her history of theater as well as her reading history will have encouraged her to form opinions that will be helpful in writing this paper.
I love your idea and think your thesis will lead to a good paper. Your sources seem very helpful, too! So I don't really have any criticism... Best of luck! I'm interested to see where these ideas take you.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great start to the paper! Your thesis is great and I think the sources seem good, just keep working at it!
ReplyDeleteI really like your concept. I'm curious as to whether or not you think that one dimensional dimensional images (such as paintings or sketches) have a different effect than one dimensional photographs. Are you suggesting that they do more harm than good and that film or live representations are better? Is movement the only medium that truly captures Shakepeare's plays? What about simply reading them?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting idea, and I feel like you would have a lot of criteria to work with. However, would you recommend any photographic representations of Shakespeare? Are they all bad? What would make photographic representations more beneficial to our study, if any?
ReplyDelete