The Key
- Historical
- Cultural
- Social
Othello
Othello is set to be based in Cyprus where the Turks were attacking this Venetian outpost. Shakespeare shows this as he uses the war in his scene to portray Othello as the returning hero. Othello is a Black Honorable person who is known as 'The Moor'. This word was commonly used for Africans from other regions. In the late 16th and early 17th century, every non-European citizen was regarded as a 'Moor'. These people were referred to as 'devils' or 'villains'. Moors were commonly stereotyped as sexually overactive, prone to jealous and were known as savages from their poor acts. The public, from religious perspective, saw the blackness of Africans as moral corruption and believed that the whiteness of their people symbolized purity. Although, Queen Elizabeth granted the Moors with Honor as they helped conquer Spain, she deported many as they were accused for wicked acts. However Africans were not fully entitled as slaves until the late 17th century. This allowed Shakespeare to use Othello, a moor, as a soldier who was victorious from many battles. Shakespeare also sets this in Venice as the according to the Venetian law, the Venetian republic's army general was required to be a foreigner.
The film 'o'
In this play we see a change in context from the 16-17th century to the 20th century. The film is directed by Tim Nelson and he modernizes the film into today's youth. Odin, who is the only black person in the society, is portrayed as a single force who is acknowledged only due to his experiences in the basketball team. However African Americans are known to be 'dirty' due to the stereotype portrayed from past history. In this context we portray Africans as people who commit many crimes such as robbery, sexual abuse and drug dealing. This evaluates into the word "nigger", which is commonly described for Africans in any society around the world. The audience also recognize themselves with the sports, basketball. In america basketball is a core sports which provides the athletes with fame all around the world.