Don’Asia White
12/13/2020
ENG 2400
Final Essay
Are you aware of what it means to show empathy? Empathy is defined as the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. The film “O” directed by Tim Blake Nelson (2001) and “Othello” written by William Shakespeare (1604), both tell a story centered around jealousy, manipulation, love, and betrayal. Empathy, ethics, narration, and tone are all characteristics that provide readers with an understanding of what the director or writer’s goal is when creating a piece of literature or film.
The modern film “O” shows the dynamics of Desi and her boyfriend Odin, who is the star athlete who has a lot of popularity amongst his peers. Hugo hatches up a plan to destroy Odin and ruin his relationship with Desi, by insinuating that she is cheating on him with Michael. This version seemed to be less empathetic to Hugo, but more empathetic to Odin because of his confusion and somewhat innocence in the entire film. The ending scene showed Odin pleading about his love for Desi and this grasps the audience’s attention because he talked about how he knew his life was over and that he truly did love her, but Hugo has messed with his mind and thoughts. Odin appeared to be struggling with himself and the choices that he made. His ethics and morals weren’t clear anymore, which was a major development in this film.
The treatment of women in both the film and the text were negative. The women were viewed as property and the men treated them like they were owners of the women. For example, the name calling and the other forms of abuse that they experienced, at the hands of the men. Women were called whores, liars, and many other derogatory names that put them down. It was also revealing in “O” when Hugo shoots his girlfriend Emily because she exposes him and his scheme. The violence against women was apparent and visible there. Hugo wanted to shut her up and the only way he could do that was by killing her.
Hugo’s narration, word choice, and tone at the end when he was arrested, contributed to how ethics were displayed in the film. While in the back of the police car, the narrator’s voice becomes soft and he explains how one day, everyone will be paying attention to him, the irony of how now all the eyes were on him. It was also noticeable how while the narrator spoke about that, there were people taking pictures of him and the director zoomed in on that. Hugo always felt like he was second best because of his father, but now the roles were actually shifted, due to his own actions. His ethics and morals were twisted because he didn’t care about who he hurt, he was just seeking attention in any way he could get it, and now it was all about him. The audience could also be empathetic towards him because it was as if he was desperate to get the attention he was looking for and he found it, but at the cost of people losing their lives.
William Shakespeare’s use of different language created a tone that could be felt throughout the entire text. When Iago was being sarcastic or there was a fight scene, the reader could pick up on that almost immediately because of the character’s shift in tone or the language that they used. The movie version “O” deemed to be much more violent because of the shooting of Emily, how Odin shoots himself in the head, and also the murder of Michael and Roger, at the hands of Hugo. After shooting Roger, Hugo appears to be shaken up and frustrated with what he did, but Iago didn’t seem too bothered by all the chaos he had caused everyone. The violence towards the women was clearly shown but there was much more violence in this version, compared to the text version and other film versions.
In Summary, the text version and film version of “Othello” show the dynamics between men and women and how they were not equal. The film version “O” showed more empathy towards Odin but not as much to Hugo, the mastermind behind all of the drama that took place. Examining both sources was necessary because there were some key differences in how the story was told, especially in the Tim Blake Nelson version. Morals, values, and personal ethics were also components that were challenged through this story because there was so much tragedy and heartache.
