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Race & Otherness
Othello
The theme of Race and Otherness is significantly explored in the Shakespearean Tragedy Othello. Shakespeare constantly clarifies throughout the entire poem the social status of Othello, as he is numerously referred to as ‘the Moor’. ‘The Moor’ was a title given to individuals with a dark completion; this individual was usually from Muslim decent, from North Africa. The concept of Race and Otherness is immediately identified through Rodrigo’s implications, even before Othello enters the play. “Your fair daughter, transported, to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor”. The deliberate use of ‘fair’ when referring to Desdemona is used as a device that constantly remind the responds of the contrast between Desdemona’s pure white soul and Othello’s Dark completion. Shakespeare humourlessly defines ‘fair’ by the social norm of the 16th century, whilst claiming ‘lascivious’ when referring to Othello in order to directly correlate Othello with corruption and impurity. Additionally, Shakespeare uses the technique of Imagery to convey how Othello is portrayed as an outsider. “What a full fortune does the thick lip owe?” Rodrigo purposely attacks Othello’s physical appearance to create a set of differing factors that the audience become aware off, hence conjuring the theme of Otherness. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s usage of animal like imagery is a clear interpretation of the seclusion that Shakespeare tries to impose. Iago’s Quote “an old black ram, is tupping your white ewe”. Again, Shakespeare creates that barrier between purity and corruption. The explicit racial reference made by Iago is crude and this reiterates the racial segregation created by the human race.
'O' The Movie
Otherness is used a lot more in the film O than in the play Othello. In the film, Odin, who represents Othello’s character, is a black, star basketball player, and he is dating Desi, the dean’s white daughter, who represents Desdemona’s character. There is a scene between Desi and Odin in which Odin refers to himself as a ‘nigger’. Desi gets really upset and tells him she doesn’t like it when he uses that word. Later on, Hugo, who represents Iago, tells Odin that Desi is cheating on him with Michael (Cassio) and tells Odin that Michael and Desi call him ‘the nigger’. This adds fuel to Odin’s fire. At the very end of the film, during Odin’s last speech, he tells the people standing around that they will talk about him, but when they do, to remember him for the good things, and remember to tell people how and why he did the things he did. He says "I’m just like you... my mother was no crack head". He specifically addresses the racial prejudices that society has against black people. He looks at Hugo and tells everyone to remember that "this white, prep school guy” is the one who led him to do all of these horrible things, like kill Desi. Racism and sexism is also used in the film by Hugo to make Desi look bad. He tells Odin that one thing he knows better than Odin does is white girls. He says they are all slutty and all they want is sex, but that they are good at hiding things and keeping secrets. Hugo uses Desi’s race to make her look bad to Odin. In the end, the film is specifically about otherness. In Othello, otherness is only really used by Iago in the very beginning to make Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, angry. Apart from that, Iago manipulates Othello according to his specific weaknesses rather than his race.
Othello
The theme of Race and Otherness is significantly explored in the Shakespearean Tragedy Othello. Shakespeare constantly clarifies throughout the entire poem the social status of Othello, as he is numerously referred to as ‘the Moor’. ‘The Moor’ was a title given to individuals with a dark completion; this individual was usually from Muslim decent, from North Africa. The concept of Race and Otherness is immediately identified through Rodrigo’s implications, even before Othello enters the play. “Your fair daughter, transported, to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor”. The deliberate use of ‘fair’ when referring to Desdemona is used as a device that constantly remind the responds of the contrast between Desdemona’s pure white soul and Othello’s Dark completion. Shakespeare humourlessly defines ‘fair’ by the social norm of the 16th century, whilst claiming ‘lascivious’ when referring to Othello in order to directly correlate Othello with corruption and impurity. Additionally, Shakespeare uses the technique of Imagery to convey how Othello is portrayed as an outsider. “What a full fortune does the thick lip owe?” Rodrigo purposely attacks Othello’s physical appearance to create a set of differing factors that the audience become aware off, hence conjuring the theme of Otherness. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s usage of animal like imagery is a clear interpretation of the seclusion that Shakespeare tries to impose. Iago’s Quote “an old black ram, is tupping your white ewe”. Again, Shakespeare creates that barrier between purity and corruption. The explicit racial reference made by Iago is crude and this reiterates the racial segregation created by the human race.
'O' The Movie
Otherness is used a lot more in the film O than in the play Othello. In the film, Odin, who represents Othello’s character, is a black, star basketball player, and he is dating Desi, the dean’s white daughter, who represents Desdemona’s character. There is a scene between Desi and Odin in which Odin refers to himself as a ‘nigger’. Desi gets really upset and tells him she doesn’t like it when he uses that word. Later on, Hugo, who represents Iago, tells Odin that Desi is cheating on him with Michael (Cassio) and tells Odin that Michael and Desi call him ‘the nigger’. This adds fuel to Odin’s fire. At the very end of the film, during Odin’s last speech, he tells the people standing around that they will talk about him, but when they do, to remember him for the good things, and remember to tell people how and why he did the things he did. He says "I’m just like you... my mother was no crack head". He specifically addresses the racial prejudices that society has against black people. He looks at Hugo and tells everyone to remember that "this white, prep school guy” is the one who led him to do all of these horrible things, like kill Desi. Racism and sexism is also used in the film by Hugo to make Desi look bad. He tells Odin that one thing he knows better than Odin does is white girls. He says they are all slutty and all they want is sex, but that they are good at hiding things and keeping secrets. Hugo uses Desi’s race to make her look bad to Odin. In the end, the film is specifically about otherness. In Othello, otherness is only really used by Iago in the very beginning to make Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, angry. Apart from that, Iago manipulates Othello according to his specific weaknesses rather than his race.