Parallel Themes Of Speilburg And Shakespeare example essay topic

Good afternoon audience and adjudicator Todays topic: That Speilburg is the Shakespeare of modern times. Now, the negative team will attempt to undermine Speilburgs talents, his gifts. They will try and persuade you that Speilburg is merely another Hollywood director, not even closely capable of the grand achievements that William Shakespeare accomplished in his lifetime. But we the affirmative will prove otherwise.

Steven Speilburg does infact fit the mould for the Shakespeare of modern times. Speilburg does for modern times, for our time, what William Shakespeare did for his time by tapping into the basic human condition, exploring the big issues and interests and providing overall, entertainment for a mass audience. Yes indeed, Speilburg is the Shakespeare of modern times. I assume that everybody has heard of both Speilburg and Shakespeare. Speilburg is a famous director producer, one of the most famous and sucessful directors in history, producing films of an extremely high standard and Shakespeare is a famous writer director, a great icon of english literature.

We define modern times as being the contemporary era of today. Of course both have broader abilities, but we most focus on the topic, not on the miniscule details which are of no relevance to this debate. We the affirmative believe that Speilburg is, like Shakespeare, a genius who possesses a unique insight into the human condition. As Shakespeare did it with words, words, words, Speilburg does it through the language of film. A different medium in a modern context. Today as first speaker I will be discussing the parallel elements of style and technique from Speilburg and Shakespeare and also the appeal that both had in their times, to not only the majority groups, but also those minority groups, such as the Jews.

Our second speaker, Marina, will be exploring the parallel themes of Speilburg and Shakespeare, such as the horror of war, racism, which includes anti-semitism, mans place in the universe, the supernatural and also man tempting fate, which are the big issues of interest of their times and the unique ability Speilburg, like Shakespeare, had in tapping into the basic human conditions. Now we are not here to say that either Speilburg or Shakespeare are better or worse then one another, because that is not what todays debate is about. This debate must primarily focus on proving that Spielberg fits the mould of the Shakespeare of modern times, which, we will prove, he does. It is not about popular culture vs. classics, because even though Shakespeares plays are viewed as classics while Speilburgs are the popular culture of today, we must note that in most cases for something to become a classic, especially stories, movies and plays, they must usually be the popular culture of their time. Shakespeares plays were the pop culture of his time, so to speak, and it is yet to be seen if Speilburgs movies will become classics for future generations, although the re-release of ET at the cinemas, celebrating its anniversary, may suggest a push in that direction. Even though we cannot prove that Speilburgs movies will become classics for future generations, the negative cannot disprove this in any way.

Both Speilburg and Shakespeare have striking ingly similar elements of style, such as the emphasis on a simple yet strong story line and the use of special effects. Both men utilise the technology of their time. We see that Speilburg uses ground breaking special effects, in such movies as ET - the Extra Terrestrial and AI - Artificial Intelligence. Shakespeare, although disadvantaged in the sense that the technology of his time was limited, was able to enhance visual effects in his plays, by using such techniques as trapdoors which enabled such characters as the witches in Macbeth to appear on stage as if by magic and gunpowder, for the effect of smoke or mist. Speilburgs special effects rely not only on computers but also models and robots, for example the Shark from Jaws, which was not computer generated and even ET himself. Both Speilburg and Shakespeare use lighting cleverly and most certainly to their advantage to create certain images and emotions among their audiences.

As mentioned before, both men have utilised the technology of their time, therefore it can be seen that Speilburg fits the mould of the Shakespeare of modern times. Another parallel style of both Speilburg and Shakespeare, which most importantly caters to the mass audiences of both men, is the use of large amounts of action with plenty of blood, guts and violence. The loss of a limb here and there, watching witches being hanged, people being murdered, adventure, action, excitement. All these features are those commonly seen in Speilburgs movies and also Shakespeares plays. The style of both men reflects the desires of the audience and is one of the main reasons both Speilburg and Shakespeare were so popular in their time.

The skilful manipulation of the audiences response and the ability to capture the audiences attention and enteral them in the plot of the movie or play is another technique common of Speilburg and Shakespeare. With such parallel elements of style one could not deny that Speilburg is the Shakespeare of modern times. Speilburg does for our time what Shakespeare did for his time, by tapping into the human condition, exploring the big issues and interests and also providing entertainment for a mass audience. Another striking similarity between Speilburg and Shakespeare is the memorable characters created by both and also the use of relatively unknown actors for important roles in their productions.

Both men have the ability to create characters that are unique and unforgettable, such as Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, ET, Oscar Schindler and many more. One may make the assumption that it was only the rich and respected that would go and watch Shakespeares plays, although this is far from the truth. Just as Shakespeares plays were attractive to all walks of society, from the rich and respected, to the common man, so are Speilburgs movies. Both men provide entertainment in the highest for all types of audiences. "A thousand townsmen, gentlemen and whores, porters and serving together, throng" This quote is taken from a man of Shakespeares time, describing the types and perhaps number of people who would attend the playhouse to watch Shakespeares plays. A similar statement may be made about Speilburgs audience, although a more modern tongue may be used.

Speilburgs films appeal to an extremely large audience, even those minority groups, such as the Jews with Schindler's List, a masterpiece which portrays the horrors of the Holocaust in realistic detail, while still retaining the appeal of personal aspects. Shakespeare did this with the Merchant of Venice, which is also about anti semitism. Steven Speilburg is not only a famous director, loved by a wide audience, he is also recognised by his peers as an accomplished and talented man. This was also the case with Shakespeare.

He has won Oscars for his movies and for best director which proves he is up there, with the best of the best. Speilburg does for our time what Shakespeare did for his time by tapping into the human condition, exploring the big issues and interests and providing entertainment to a wide audience. Steven Speilburg fits the mould. He is the Shakespeare of modern times, without a doubt.