Shakespeare and the cinema of excess

Includes bibliographical references. === This dissertation examines the notion of excess in film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. It takes its critical approach from the work of Georges Bataille, who used "eroticism" to describe a confrontation with excess that destabilises the ind...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Van Heerden, Jacques
Other Authors: Young, Sandra
Format: Dissertation
Language:English
Published: University of Cape Town 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11950
Description
Summary:Includes bibliographical references. === This dissertation examines the notion of excess in film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. It takes its critical approach from the work of Georges Bataille, who used "eroticism" to describe a confrontation with excess that destabilises the individual’s sense of identity. Bataille suggests that art can allow audiences to experience a measure of eroticism by presenting subjects that transgress established taboos and by undermining the formal conventions that allow the audience to interpret the text. This dissertation examines these ideas through an analysis of Julie Taymor's Titus and Roman Polanski’s Macbeth from the perspective of Bataille’s writing on transgression, taboos, and excess. By doing a comparative reading of each play and film, I will examine the meaning of excess in these plays and how this has translated to screen...