Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Media Guide
I have recently produced Macbeth: A Media Guide. Here is an extract from the introduction:
Although the main focus in this guide is on the most
influential film and TV versions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, other audio and web-resources are also recommended. However,
this guide begins by offering links to learning resources for younger children who are studying
Shakespeare for the first time. Contemporary re-mediation is constantly
refashioning the Shakespearean canon, drawn to the creative risk of playing
with the brand and mixing up the source code, or simply aiming to make the
drama more accessible to new audiences in a digital age.
We have moved a long way since Mary and Charles Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare was the primary
choice for children. In fact, there is a long tradition of lavishly illustrated
editions of Shakespeare, revealing that the text was seldom required to
function on its own (Richmond, 2008; Rokison 2013). For instance, high quality media
resources have been produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare Learning Zone and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),
which have been expertly matched to various levels of learning, often employing
elements of contemporary popular culture. Naomi Miller has remarked, ‘children
and young adults represent an enormous potential market for Shakespearean
material’ (2).
Yet there are now so many resources available that guidance
might be helpful for stressed-out teachers and for students driven crazy by the
constant drilling of exams. While there have been 400 reputable films based on
plays by Shakespeare, the Internet Movie
Database (IMDB) lists an astonishing 1,451 films credits for William
Shakespeare (Writer). Evidently, commercial forces have capitalised on
Shakespeare as a popular brand, just as the more media-oriented academics have
followed in their path.
Nonetheless, there are perennial concerns that children are
being denied access to authentic “Shakespeare”, if they rely on animations,
abridgements, or heavily remixed appropriations. While there are problems with
a reliance on clips that fragment the total effect of a full-length drama,
Boose & Burt (1997) argued that ‘this shift to a cultural studies approach
opens new possibilities for a kind of Shakespeare criticism with wider appeal
to a non-academic public’ (10). At the end of the guide there is a bibliography
of academic books and articles which have discussed the presentation,
appropriation and adaptation of Macbeth
on screen and in other media.
In fact, film versions of Macbeth
date back to the earliest
days of silent film (1916). Since then we have witnessed British and
Hollywood versions of the play with a wide variety of famous actors and
directors attempting to put their stamp on the Scottish Tragedy. Notable also is the global dimension as more
films, clips and resources become easier to access through YouTube.
Increasingly, live performances are also being documented and are sometimes
distributed online streaming, or via DVD.
More recently we have had animations and even robotic
versions of the play. Students can work through teacher-led exam focused close
analysis of the text, or watch short clips of amateur and professional actors
offering their interpretations.
Please help me to
expand this very rough guide by filling in the gaps with your own
recommendations. ian.mccormick@hotmail.co.uk
CONTENTS
1. Resources for
schools
2. Recordings of live
performances
3. Podcasts
4. Feature-length
films
5. Audio recordings
6. History / context /
discussion
7. Lectures
8. Other film
adaptations
9. Games and quizzes
10. Further reading
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