- Mad Max (1979)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
- Taken (2008)
- True Grit (2010)
Suggestions to get you started:
- How does this revenge narrative play itself out in both your chosen movie and in Titus Andronicus?
- How does the figure of the "vigilante" work in both of these texts?
- Whose side are you on in both the play and the movie? Why?
I watched the movie “Taken”. I have not seen the movie before. When I heard it was about a father who works to find his kidnapped daughter, I assumed that the daughter would be at an age around eight. I was surprised that she was actually seventeen. This made the daughter of the character much more similar to the character of Lavinia. The characters are also very similar because it was referenced that they are both virginal, making them innocent. This makes the sexual abuse done to them seem more dramatic. Both stories are about revenge, but I think “Titus Andronicus” is even more about revenge. This is because in “Taken”, the father wants his daughter back and to kill her abductor. He wants revenge on the man but also wants a tangible reward, being his daughter. Titus kills Chiron and Demetrius as revenge for killing Lavinia. However, he already has her and there is nothing that can be done to repair her injuries. There is no benefit to pursuing the situation, making his lone motivation revenge.
ReplyDeleteI found Lavinia to be a more likable character than the daughter in “Taken”. The reader doesn’t know much about Lavinia besides she is pure. The daughter in “Taken” is more developed as a character, however instead of being more attached to her character I found her character unlikable. This is because I think she is a brat since she gets very upset if she doesn’t get what she wants on the drop of a hat.
I chose “Taken” since I watched the second “Taken” a while ago but I never watched the first one. I knew what to expect when it came to the story line because of watching the second movie first. I liked the movie and the plot. The movie was about a father who was an ex spy trying to find and save his daughter Kim who was abducted in another country. Much like the play, the father Bryan killed many people in order to find his daughter and seek revenge on those who had hurt her or had been involved in hurting her. Tamora, as an act of revenge on Titus for killing her son, she sent her other sons out to rape Titus’ daughter Lavinia. Titus then seeked revenge for his daughter by killing Tamora’s other two sons Chiron and Demetrius and baking pies with their blood to serve to Tamora. Both the movie and the play were quite similar in the sense of revenge but the way the two daughters were displayed were different. I didn’t like Bryan’s daughter Kimmy so I didn’t really care whether or not she survived. I thought she was a spoiled brat who should’ve listened to her father in the first place. However, I liked Lavinia’s character in the play. I think Kimmy deserved it but Lavinia didn’t. She was caught in the crossfire between Tamora and Titus. Her character in the play was very petite, gentle, and pure whereas with Kimmy she seemed to be a sneaky, unappreciative, brat who put herself in that situation. Additionally, the two girls were both seen as innocent or pure because of their virginity. I think the revenge in the play was more dramatic because Lavinia didn’t deserve what happened to her. The movie was dramatic but it would’ve given the audience more anxiety if Kimmy didn’t ignorantly put herself in that situation.
ReplyDeleteI watched "The Lion King" for the revenge film. I found some similarities some being obvious and some that I would not have thought of after reading Titus Andronicus. The obvious similarity is the revenge of Simba on Scar and and the revenge of Tamara who wants revenge on Titus for killing her son. Now, although Simba eventually seeks revenge on Scar after finding out that Scar was the real murderer of his father the central revenge theme is prominent and shown through families. People or animals in "The Lion King’s" case will seek revenge for people they love (family). Another similarity between "The Lion King" and Titus Andronicus is that Lucius flees from Lavinia because he thinks shes crazy. This is somewhat similar in that Simba flees the pride lands because he thinks he is at fault for his father’s death and also leaves Nala someone who has a tight relationship with him. This is where I get confused because from what I understood Lucius joins or already is with Titus because he is his son so this seems to be similar to Simba and his family and group of lionesses who fight Scar and his pack of hyenas at the end. The clown in the play although I’m not sure what he’s there for, seems similar to Zazu bringing messages to the people. I am still confused with the plot in the play which is why I found it somewhat hard to find examples of similarities. Also, I’m not sure if my comparisons are correct. Overall this play was confusing to understand but once I started to see some correlations between "The Lion King" and Titus Andronicus it was somewhat easier to understand the revenge theme. When there is something easy to understand such as the movie "The Lion King" and comparing it to something difficult such as Shakespeare it helps clarify themes that are relatable.
ReplyDeleteI watched Lucky Number Slevin, I loved this movie I’m so shocked I never seen promotions for it before it was great. The movie was very suspenseful and kept me guessing the whole time. Slevin was a very crafty young man and took seeking revenge to a whole new extreme, for a person to dedicate their life to finding and killing the people who murdered everyone they loved that takes courage. I do think it was crazy that he had held on to that grudge for so long but I have to say I’m happy he was able to get his revenge and find love at the same time. The biggest shocker to me was that the cop used to be a gangster, I think that was the ultimate twist and great ending. Two words for Bruce Willis, bad ass I love movies with Bruce and guns he never ceases to amaze me.
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