After watching Michael Almereyda's modern version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, I wondered what other plays of his had been turned into contemporary versions. I decided to look at my favorite Shakespearean play of all time, Othello. I know that there was at least one version made, O, which starred Josh Har Mekhi Phifer and Julia Stiles. The reason I"m writing is to find out if this adaptation of the classic play by Shakespeare worked better for the critics. Many critics do not like modernized versions of classics, so I was intrigued as to what they thought about the new version of Othello. Did they find the modernization successful? Were the critics happy or disappointed with the actors performance? Were the critics unhappy with any omitted material? These are the questions I hope to answer in this I-Search paper.
II. What I Knew and Didn't Know.
Before I started writing this paper, I knew a lot about the play Othello in general. I took a year Shakespeare class and studied the play very thoroughly. The play is about a General, Othello, who marries the senator's daughter, Desdemona. Othello goes to war in Cyprus and throughout the play, is poisoned with ideas of adultery from his trusted friend, Iago. Iago makes Othello believe that Desdemona is cheating on him with fellow soldier, Cassio. Tim Nelson's 2001 adaptation, "O", moves the story from 1500 Venice to 1990s America. Othello is not a general, he is the captain of the basketball team and his name is Odin. His girlfriend, now Dessie, is the daughter of the Dean. Iago becomes Hugo and Cassio becomes Mike. The movie does not keep the original Shakespearean language, instead it simplifies it into modern day English. "O" keeps to the basic plot line and keeps basically everything important in the story. What I don't know is how the critics feel about this adaptation. That is what I am looking for.
III. The Search.
The search was not nearly as long, tedious, and frustrating as my previous I-Search paper.
