Trends in Popular CultureShakespeare and Reality Television

Popular Form of Entertainment

Simulate Real Life

Reveal Truths About Human Behavior

Trends During the Time of Shakespeare:

What has Changed?-Humans had potential for development.-The idea of medieval Christianity, that this world is a preparation for eternal life, was questioned. Instead, people began to see everyday life as meaningful and an opportunityfor noble activity.-This was a time for heroes. The ideal Elizabethan man was a talented courtier, adventurer, fencer, poet, and conversationalist. He was a witty and eloquent gentleman who examined his own nature and the causes of his actions.-Marriages were arranged, usually for wealth.-Women had a lower social status than men.

A Competition for Power with Rules

• Nature: Physical and Mental Challenges• Law: Legal Restrictions• Culture: Social Mores

How Rules Affect a Story…

• Come up with examples of how characters in works you have read are affected by rules of nature, law, and culture…

Audience Involvement

• Side conversations provide clues that only the audience is made aware of.

• Characters speak directly to the audience and reveal still more details.

Language of the Discipline

Shakespeare• Aside• Allusion• Soliloquy• Divine Right• Tragedy• Comedy

Reality TV

• Blindside• Chopping Block• Back Door• Immunity• Alliance

Language and Details

• Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date…

How does Shakespeare’s use of language give us details about how the speaker is feeling?

Global Connections…

• Settings in exotic locations and close to home• Involve Religion, History, Sociology, Philosophy,

Politics, Economics, Warfare, Human Relationships… sometimes even the Supernatural

Relevance?

• In what professions (besides English teacher…) would the ability to read and analyze works by Shakespeare be useful? What skills does literary analysis require?...

Diverse Characters

Random people put together:• Wealthy/Poor• Privileged/Uneducated• Males/Females• Young/Old• Wise/Foolish• Strong/Weak• Innocent/Conniving• Hot/Homely

Causes of Conflict

• Discuss a literary work where the divergent perspectives of the characters created conflict in the story…

Structural Patterns (with Surprises)

Shakespeare• 5 Acts• Suspense• Rising Action to Climax• Tragedy: Characters Die but

Who?• Comedy: Characters Wed

but Who?

Reality TV• Formulaic• Cliff Hangers• Culminating Events• People Lose but Who?• People Win but Who?

All The World’s a StageAll the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players:They have their exits and their entrances;And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages.

At first, the infant,Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel(stages 3-6)…

Last scene of all,That ends this strange eventful history,Is second childishness and mere oblivion,Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Do patterns make life more or less interesting? Why?...

Appearance versus Reality

• Lies and Deception• Trickery• Secret and Shifting

Alliances• Hidden Agendas• Good versus Evil

Ethical Question

• Why are we fascinated by evil characters who do violent and despicable things?

The Tragic Hero

• Difficult Past• Family Relations• Trust and Loyalty• Fear and Paranoia• Betrayal• Dramatic Exit

Tragic Hero: A Paradox?

• We tend to think of heroes of being infallible, impenetrable, and victorious. Shakespeare’s heroes, however, often do not win. They lose- and they lose badly… Can such a character still be considered a hero if, rather than protecting and saving victims, he becomes one?

Legacy

• In his times, Shakespeare’s plays were widely popular with audiences from all socio-economic backgrounds. Today, often his work is seen as reserved for the highly educated. Is it merely due to the difficult language or are there other reasons for this?

• In centuries to come, what will be the legacy of reality tv? Garbage or art?...