My Tempest Adaptation

Often times old but true messages in classical works can be lost in the dialogue and cues of its past time; modern reimaginings of such works help to exemplify the message and even build forth based on the culture of the one adapting it.  I propose to reimagine Shakespeare's The Tempest through the perspective of a college age American Indian.

First I would set the story possibly in the southwest United States; the protagonist would be the American indian, and her struggle to ease into a national "American" identity while trying to balance the traditions of her heritage would serve as the initial conflict.  Instead of an island she could possibly flee into the wilderness, overwhelmed by peer pressure aswell as cultural pressure (much like Phillip fled his failing relationship and career).  The final confrontation could bring her family or friends that "pressure" her to come to their senses, understanding the stress of her situation.  The major theme would be the struggle to fit and assimilate into a society without losing ones personal and cultural identity.

Tempest and The Tempest

Paul Mazursky's Tempest is a modern staging of Shakespeare's The Tempest, utilizing much of the same plot and dynamics of the original.  The differences in the modern adaptation reveal Muzursky's changes in focus of the story, rather than using the frame of the story to convey an entirely different message, a technique used by Gloria Naylor in Mama Day.  One difference I quickly noticed was that Phillip (Prospero's counterpart) consciously chose to leave his job in the city (his dukedom) to travel to Greece and ultimately live on the deserted island.  This difference can be used to relate to Muzursky's modern audience, who would understand the stress of a failing relationship with Antonia and the disparity of his job situation; traveling to Greece was a way for Phillip to get away from these modern problems.  Also, the relationship between Miranda and Freddy (Ferdinand) seemed to take a lesser role of importance.  In Shakespeare's play, their relationship can be a possible source of change to Prospero, while in thin the movie it seemed to be a trivial side plot.  Muzursky used this to focus on the actual relationship and process of forgiveness for Phillip and Antonia.  These small changes reflect Mazursky's focus on the issues of contemporary life, allowing his audience to easily relate to the story.