There are definitely a few stereotypes supported and destroyed in the play Much Ado About Nothing. The stereotype of class is definitely brought into play. The issue of class is brought into this play through Hero and Claudio. Hero is the daughter of a very well established man, who is well off and wealthy, owning a lot of land. Claudio is a heroic figure. He helped a lot in the battle of Don Pedro vs. Don John, coming out on top and being looked upon as totally awesome. I find it interesting that the daughter of one of the most well off men in the county and the war hero end up together, being "in love" and finally getting married. I think this is a little bit of a stereotype that people of the same class should be with other people from similar classes. I don't believe in any way that Shakespeare is trying to tell the world to only marry people that make as much money as you do, but this message is definitely slipped in just by the slightest bit. This is an unfortunate stereotype to support because I feel like everyone should be free to be with anyone they want to. It's not as if there was a poor woman that Claudio loved as well but instead he picked Hero because she's betting off, but the message is none the less somewhat existent.
On the other hand we have the stereotype of race in this movie, but instead of being supported it's being torn down. In the film at least, the character of Don Pedro was African American. I think this decision was made because they felt that Denzel Washington was the best person for the part, and that his race didn't matter. By having the Prince be black instead of white like the majority of the cast it is being portrayed that race is not an issue, and shouldn't be, in any aspect of life. This stereotype is a wonderful one to smash, and I'm glad it was decided to do so.
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3 comments:
The title of your post was extremely creative, and deserves an A+. I agree with your analysis of Hero and Claudio's love. Perhaps it was just an assumption/ stereotype that Shakespeare had, people of the same class marry eachother. I also agree that having Denzel Washington as the Prince in the film tore down stereotypes. He is a great actor ( a whole lot better than his brother in the film at least....), and added a bit of diversity.
Kelly,
This post was the stuff. Your ideas were well thought out, and I understood each one. Nice use of vocabulary words. The title got my attention although I was a little let down, because it wasn't completely loyal to the writing.
John
See, I don't seem to get the whole 'stereotype of class' thing. People keep saying that by having different classes act a certain way, Shakespeare is stereotyping. I have to disagree. All that is is the actual social classes living there lifestyle. Typically, a stereotype is something that is not always true. But the separation of classes in Europe throughout the ages has always allowed the rich to live lavishly, and the poor to live a life of disatisfaction and resentment. That's not a stereotype, it's the gosh darn truth...
wow, what a rant.
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