The concept of otherness in Shakespearean film

Abstract

This thesis explores the cultural project of reproducing and popularizing Shakespeare. With particular reference to Lacan's "The Mirror Stage", this paper considers various definitions of otherness and examines how they can be applied to Shakespearean film. The concept of otherness is an important one in Shakespearean film since most people encounter Shakespeare through the cinema rather than the text or the stage. The first half of this thesis thus explores the otherness of the cinematic medium before going on to discuss how various directors confront the otherness of the Shakespearean past through re-contextualization and the use of popular conventions. Self-reflexivity as an 'other' tradition, and the issue of woman as 'other' are also discussed in an effort to understand how the different definitions and implications of otherness affect our preconceptions of Shakespeare as 'self'.