On December 15, the Winter Exhibition was held. We, the PLP 11 cohort, each directed and performed our modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth during the winter exhibition. Without a doubt, it was difficult and painful. This blog post today will be talking about my learning journey throughout this project and how it changed me personally.
Project Overview
Scene & Modern Adaptation
As we each took only one scene of the play, I was assigned Act 5 Scene 8, the last scene of Macbeth. Originally in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, audiences would witness the death of Macbeth and the end of his tyranny. Immediately, I brainstormed all the possible events and characters that may fit this scene; however, I was not decisive. While spending plenty of time deciding what topic to do, it turned out that all the ideas I had in mind were unsuitable for this project. Looking back, all my themes are at least 100 years away today, which may not be considered a modern adaptation. Eventually, I connected it to the 2008 Ponzi scheme, the largest Ponzi scheme in history. It was interesting how Bernie Madoff deceived almost everyone, even the SEC. Even though it wasn’t mandatory, I watched the movie “The Wizard of Lies”, hoping to understand him better. Although he was gifted, his intelligence benefited no one. Although he had great intentions, his actions took the hope of many; Although he could be another Rockefeller, he chose to be a lair. Nevertheless, we should learn from him so that past wrongs never repeat themselves. Studying Bernie Madoff, the main character of my play proved to be significant to the final product.
Final Product — A Play
Our final product of this project was a play to present live to the audience at the winter exhibition. Not only did we get one take only, but audiences were also sitting around the stage, putting even more pressure on us. I could not possibly get more overwhelmed. Despite having trouble understanding Shakespeare’s language, I struggled with pronunciation. I never felt ready for the exhibition. As time passed by, I panicked more and more. Because of how nervous I was, I messed up my introduction. But with the help of my friends, I eventually regained momentum. Looking back, what helped me the most in this project was the feedback I got from peers and teachers.
(I want to thank Randy, Dries, Jordan, Keenan, Josh and Nathan for their kind support that made this play possible.)
Click here to learn more about the project
Answers to the Driving Question
What do the timeless themes “Macbeth” reveal about our society today?
Although the languages Shakespeare used were outdated, the concepts were not. Through literature, Shakespeare inspired countless philosophical debates and wonders. After 400 years, we still cannot have a definite answer to any of them. To put it in other words, humanity improved very slowly spiritually despite significant technological advancement. Specifically, in Macbeth, Shakespeare included timeless themes like the predetermination of fate, the existence of natural justice, the necessary violence for change, etc… One of my favourite themes in Macbeth is appearance vs reality. At the first glance, Macbeth and lady Macbeth are the tyrants, the villains. But I soon realized that they were not purely evil. On the other hand, Malcolm and Macduff seem like the heroes who ended the tyranny; however, we never know what terms and agreements they had with the British to gain their support. It took me a while to realize what Malcolm did could be considered treason, betraying your country.
One simple modern connection between the theme of appearance vs reality could be fake news. I encounter misinformation from time to time. Shamefully, often I cannot identify misinformation. The tendency to believe what you see or believe in, also known as confirmation bias, can be deceitful as they ignore reality. Honestly, I seldom question the source of information on websites I visit. Looking back, it is distressing how much fake news is out there on the internet.
Reflection — Start, Stop & Continue
1. Start: What should I start doing?
Looking back, I lacked creativity throughout this unit. Although it would be easier to create a fictional story, my critical thinking often eliminate my creativity. I realized afterwards that all my ideas were based on historic events, and most were off the beaten track. I admire Randy’s final play as he creatively connected Shakespeare’s play with Kim Jung-un. While keeping the original language and message, he managed to keep the tone interesting and modern. Going forward, I will seek to learn from my peers and aim to develop my creativity.
2. Stop: What should I stop doing?
In general, procrastination was the cause of imperfections. As mentioned earlier, I procrastinated a significant amount of time on deciding themes and topics. At the same time, I was indecisive about selecting the props I needed. I thought tasks would be easier to handle with a longer timeframe; however, I was wrong. In brief, I relied on tomorrow rather than today. Considering the opportunity cost, I would’ve been more prepared if I never wasted my time. The time could be devoted to refining props, solidifying stage movements, rehearsing dialogues, etc…, which would help me perform better.
3. Continue: What should I keep doing?
If anything, curiosity was the largest motivating factor in this project. I was curious why Bernie Madoff committed such a terrible crime, even when he was both rich and famous. At the same time, curiosity drove me to learn about the philosophical debates around Macbeth. Furthermore, it enabled me to find the similarities between Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Not only does curiosity push me to learn in-depth, but it also inspires me to study diverse subjects.
Change in Personality
Lastly, I would like to highlight the shift in my personality because of this project. What I enjoy the most about this unit is the moral and philosophical debates embedded in Macbeth. After studying Manhattan Project, I was interested in all the philosophical debates as they challenged me to understand that there may not be a perfect answer to all questions. As you can see below, there are twelve well-known debates around Macbeth.
As there are no correct answers, everyone holds their unique perspective. Looking back, my answers before and after this project are notably different. Specifically, let us focus on the debate “Ambition is a virtue” as it changed the most throughout this project. Before learning Macbeth, I agreed with that statement. When we were doing a debate in class, I was the one believing this statement to the fullest. I was falling off of the extreme. People may wonder: Was Hitler’s ambition still a virtue? At the time, I immediately said yes. I thought what caused the problem was never the ambition, but rather the perspectives, ideologies, and core values. But after this project, I wondered if the statement, ambition is a virtue, is true. Virtue should be the evidence that you may go to heaven; therefore, I no longer consider ambition as a virtue. With that said, I still believe ambition, the desire to achieve greatness, is still essential in life. Knowing how stubborn I was before, it is surprising how one project changed my core perspective entirely within two months.