Description
Book SynopsisWhen adapting Shakespeare''s comedies, cinema and television have to address the differences and incompatibilities between early modern gender constructs and contemporary cultural, social, and political contexts. The book analyzes methods employed by cinema and television in approaching those aspects of Shakespeare''s comedies, indicating a range of ways in which adaptations made in the twenty-first century approach the problems of cultural and social normativity, gender politics, stereotypes of femininity and masculinity, the dynamic of power relations between men and women, and social roles of men and women. The book discusses both mainstream cinematic productions, such as Michael Radford''s The Merchant of Venice or Julie Taymor''s The Tempest, and more low-key adaptations, such as Kenneth Branagh''s As You Like It and Joss Whedon''s Much Ado About Nothing, as well as the three comedies of BBC ShakespeaRe-Told miniseries: Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsum
Trade ReviewMagdalena Cieslak’s Screening Gender offers insightful readings of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies and their representation in twenty-first-century film. In a comprehensive survey, she identifies the early modern constructions of gender, marriage, and female sexuality embedded in Shakespeare’s texts and illuminates the ways they are replicated and sometimes interrogated in cinematic adaptations. -- Virginia Mason Vaughan, Clark University
Table of ContentsPart I: Doing It “Straight” Chapter 1—Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice Chapter 2—Kenneth Branagh’s As You Like It Chapter 3—Julie Taymor’s The Tempest Chapter 4—Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing Part II: BBC’s ShakespeaRe-Told—Retelling Shakespeare for Political Correctness Chapter 5—BBC’s ShakespeaRe-Told Much Ado About Nothing, dir. Brian Percival Chapter 6—BBC’s ShakespeaRe-Told The Taming of the Shrew, dir. David Richards Chapter 7— BBC’s ShakespeaRe-Told A Midsummer Night’s Dream, dir. Ed Fraiman Conclusion: Girl Power or Will Power? Epilogue: Bridget Jones’s Baby
