Othello the Movie

I really enjoyed the parts of the movie that we watched in class today.  I do think that the actor that plays Othello, though, has very little emotion which makes his role less effective in the play.  His speech to the Duke was a lot more effective to me personally when we went over it in class than when he said it in the movie.  I also find him to be a little bit creepy in the movie, and I don't see him being like that when I picture him when I am reading.  What are y'alls thoughts on the actor that plays Othello?

Othellow

When I was reading Act II, I was very confused about why Iago encourages Cassio to petition to Othellow to get his job back.  Wasn't the whole point to get him fired and out of Othellow's respects? Maybe I am missing something.  Could someone please help me figure this out?

What's Iago Really After?

I definitely agree with Julia that Iago is similar to Dorian in that every evil action he does is driven by selfish desires, and the thought that doing so will make him a better person. Iago is obviously jealous to a certain degree of the success that Othello has reached. In Iago's mind, Othello doesn't deserve to have this kind of recognition or ranking. So instead of taking his lack of promotion like a man, Iago targets Othello, the most successful one there, and tries to bring him down. Just like the Devil did in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Iago is trying to take down the most successful in order to satisfy himself with just a pinch of pride for doing so.

Othello

I am wondering if y'all think Iago has a similar internal struggle as Dorian Gray. They both create chaos, and I wonder if Iago is immune to it, or if he like Dorian has some kind of internal turmoil. Looking forward to reading a lot more of the play this weekend!

I really found our discussion today in class to be very interesting.  The thing that absolutely amazed me was the comparison between Iago saying, " I am not what I am" in Othello, and God saying "I am what I am" in the Bible.  I think the contrast between the two is really interesting because Iago is the opposite of God because he is so evil, and this quotation confirms that he truly is similar to Satan.  The thing I wonder about though is if Shakespeare meant for Iago to say those lines to contrast God saying "I am what I am" or if it has just been interpreted to be that way.

Othello

   I actually read Othello in eighth grade for Independent Reading, but like the first time I watched the Godfather, a bunch of things flew over my head.  I never really took the time to think about Iago, I just really did not like him, and I didn't really like talking about him.  Now that we are discussing him, he seems a little more interesting to me.  When we were talking about his mind set, he really seemed like a modern villain because the way he finds pleasure is so strange and hard to understand.  The way he takes everything as an insult makes him feel so nasty.

Another thing that I kinda glossed over when I read the play was the amount of racial commentary/content.  The way that the race issue seems really modern to me.  I think it is interesting that people back then found it interesting. 

The Godfather

I thought the movie was really good, and it really ties into what we are learning this year. The characterization of evil that comes through as "doing good" is fascinating. At first, I did not care for Michael, because I thought his intentions were evil rather than "business" like his father. Don Corleone focused on the business side of things and keeping the family on top.