Othello

What choices did Andrew Davies make to change the meaning of Shakespeare's Othello? How does time play an essential role in this change?

Andrew Davies gave Othello a good guys lose bad guys win ending. But Shakespeare shows a nice guys finish last scenario. Davies changed the setting from Venice to London. Gave each character an awkward but familiar name, and twisted the plot giving the movie an undesirable ending.

Race is a big part of Othello. In the book, Othello is looked down upon because he is a moor; he is called numerous names and is not welcomed into the family by Barbantio. But in the movie Othello gained his commissioner position because of his color, he was respected and treated no different then others.

Lago is evil, cynical, two faced and untrustworthy in both the book and movie. But his motivation is different; in the movie he wants revenge against Othello because he received the position that Lago wanted. In the play he wants revenge against Cassio because he was passed over by him.

The play turns sour because of the hallucination Lago plays into Othello's head about Desdemona. In the movie and book it is rumored that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair; but these actions are played out differently. In the movie Desdemona needs Cassio as protection. In the play Cassio needs Desdemona to get his position back. They spend time together are seen together which gives Othello the conclusion to kill both Desdemona and cassio.

In the movie race plays a big part; because it's the reason for their war. In the book race has nothing to do with their war. The war is between nations. In the movie the war is between the citizens and the police system.

Andrew Davies did a good job with his movie inspired by Othello, but it's not close enough to the book. Shakespeare gave Othello more of a storyline; filling it with drama and despair but leaving you with a meaningful ending. Davies turned the book upside down giving it a witty plot but unruly ending.

In Shakespeare's Othello time is quickly passed. We start with a war to a party and before you know it half the characters are dead. The play is supposed to be a monthly affair but it seems to take place in a week. In Davies movie time goes by quickly as well. To me the movie took place in a week but that's probably because that's how long it took the class to