New and Old Portrayals of The Tempest by Kayley Bitzer

Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a play that is believed to have been written in 1610. This play tells the story of how Prospero loses his right to be the duke of Milan. Prospero, being the protagonist in this play, sets the tone and creates many problems for quite a few people. The first scene opens with a terrible shipwreck that Prospero created to get his enemies onto the island where he has been banished. Immediately there is drama in the play; a “problem” arises.   Prospero is ruthless when it comes to caring about other people; for example, he holds Ariel prisoner so he can carry out his magical plans. This play has the feel of a drama, and there are many situations where people feel tension (e.g. the possibility that Prospero and Antonio might clash with each other). Antonio took Prospero’s throne and banished him and Miranda to the island. Shakespeare wrote this play hoping to challenge the audiences senses, making them ask themselves “what is man?” and “why is man so revengeful?”  Shakespeare also makes his audience aware of tragedy in the play; people can relate to tragedy because most everyone has dealt with some form of misfortune. Ariel tells Prospero that he should feel sorry for his prisoners, “Your charm so strongly works ‘em that if you now beheld them, your affections would become tender” (Act 5 scene 1 line 18).

            Mazursky tells the tale of The Tempest through film, and with his own modern twist. The film is set on a remote island in Greece and the only people that are there are Phillip, Aretha, Miranda and Kalibanos. Phillip is going crazy and needs to escape from the reality that is haunting him. Unlike Prospero, Phillip wants to be on this island and he makes a home out of it; he becomes a bit of a megalomaniac. He starts to believe his own ideas, such as when he “conjures” the storm he always says, “show me the magic!” Even Kalibanos starts to believe Phillip’s ideas, throughout the entire movie he calls Phillip a “god” or “boss.” Aretha is the airy spirit who reminds Phillip of the joys of life. Everything is going great on their island until the girls start to get bored and feel imprisoned. Miranda talks about how she wishes she was at a Go Go’s concert smoking pot. Any teenager who watches this movie can relate to her because we all know how it feels to be “trapped” by our parents, which is exactly what Miranda is; her father will not leave the island for any reason. I think that Mazursky did a fair job of interpreting the tale of the Tempest. He related the audience by adding comedy and romance to the story. I found myself mad when the movie ended because Phillip ended up with his wife again and not Aretha. All they said to each other was “I’m sorry” and they were back together again! It just seemed too farfetched to me; but some do say “love conquers all.”