Star Trek, Shakespeare, and Straight Edge

A venn diagram of things that Hardcore bands hate. Help me fill...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:53:34 -0400

A venn diagram of things that Hardcore bands hate. Help me fill in some of the gaps.

Caliban, and Richmond Shakespeare's The Tempest

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:31:00 -0400

[Photo by Denise Tormey. Taken from Richmond Shakespeare’s Facebook]

Complexity and especially ambiguity are what make Shakespeare, Shakespeare. The Bard has many strengths: the grace of his verse and the ease with which he coined the perfect phrase or word, the ability to make esoteric and highly specific situations universally understandable, the prolific speed with which he wrote powerful and enduring plays, and the innate understanding he had of deepest human nature. But the biggest reason that Shakespeare’s characters are compelling is their complex and ambiguous nature. Writing one-sided characters that are either too purely evil or too purely heroic is the sign of a weak writer, so we should embrace the moral ambiguity of Shakespeare’s characters instead of trying to overlook their flaws or complain when our hero isn’t heroic enough.

So when we read Shakespeare, we should be looking for the ambiguity and embracing it. We as humans often make decisions that are impulsive, wrong, or go against their own interests, and so do The Bard’s characters.

In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the protagonist Prospero is a larger than life heroic character. It’s probable that Shakespeare based the wizard on himself in some respects so we might see some special treatment of Prospero if we look for it. He is magically powerful and sympathetic. He is given some of the best lines in the comedies, including the incredible “We are the stuff that dreams are made on” speech which scholars believe might have been Shakespeare’s own final goodbye to the theatre since it’s likely that The Tempest was his last play.

But at the same time, we can’t think of Prospero as a flawless hero. His treatment of the spirit Ariel and the monster Caliban definitely raises eyebrows. Shakespeare probably based much of The Tempest on an account of a shipwreck in the New World and it is this fact combined with our modern knowledge of how Europeans treated the native peoples of the New World that cause us to look at Prospero as part heroic wizard and part imperialist conquistador.

So it is in the portrayals of Ariel and Caliban that we find the real substance in any performance of The Tempest. Even though they aren’t given as many lines as some of the other characters, it is these two natives of the island that give us the most to chew on when we’re considering the plot of Shakespeare’s last play. In these two slaves, we get two fundamental responses to servitude. Ariel cares for his master, serves him faithfully, and while he desires freedom and asks for it, he doesn’t fight back or curse Prospero when he continually tells him “not yet.”

Caliban, however, never comes to accept his servitude. Caliban is a very complex character to begin with. We are told that he attempted to rape Prospero’s daughter Miranda and this is why he receives such cruel treatment from Prospero. Rape is a horrible crime and this is why we often don’t have any sympathy for Caliban, especially when he is played with unrepentant anger on stage. But when we have a Caliban on stage who is more pitiful we can — not exactly forgive him — but see him as a character with more than one side and defined by more than one singular action, because he is and should be. I certainly don’t mean to play down the seriousness of the crime itself, but when we consider Caliban’s punishment we should consider several things. First and foremost, Caliban probably isn’t human. We aren’t told what exactly he is, whether he’s more animal — he certainly seems animalistic — or if he is partly some kind of supernatural monster by merit of his mother being the witch Sycorax. Whatever Caliban might be, he certainly lacks intelligence, often sounding more like a whimsical child than a grown adult.

We may never like or even forgive Caliban — and I’m not sure we should — but one of the goals of good storytelling is to make us think twice about pigeonholing or stereotyping characters. A good Caliban doesn’t need to make us love him or hate him; a good Caliban just needs to make us think twice.

If we are given flat performances of Ariel and Caliban on stage, we lose the most powerful ambiguity and it doesn’t feel as much like Shakespeare anymore. Without his troublesome status as a conqueror and slaver, the story of Prospero is a revenge story about a betrayed duke. It’s still a good story but it doesn’t make you think as much and we really lose something if you walk out of a Shakespeare play and aren’t thinking long and hard about why you liked some characters and hated others.

So it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Jeremy Gershman’s portrayal of Caliban was what made Richmond Shakespeare’s recent production of The Tempest. The show was delightful overall, but it Gershman’s Caliban that gave the show its power. Gershman begins the play with Caliban’s unrepentant admission of his attempted rape of Miranda which set us up to hate the monster, but throughout all his cursing and raging Gershman kept Caliban low to the ground with fearful body language, pitiful tone and pathetic wails. We start by hating Caliban and then immediately start doubting that decision. When I heard Caliban say he would have populated the island with his descendants if Prospero hadn’t prevented his raping Miranda, I wondered if Gershman’s Caliban was truly unrepentant or if he was simply saying the most hateful thing he could just to get under Prospero’s skin, akin to a child screaming “I hate you!” at his parents.

For this reason I couldn’t disagree more with local critic Rich Griset’s contention that “The show’s only misstep is in the portrayal of…Caliban…the decision to make the character more pitiful than evil makes Raintree’s Prospero seem unnecessarily cruel.” For the reasons I’ve listed above, Gershman’s portrayal of Caliban gives us exactly the Caliban we need.

This isn’t the first time I’ve disagreed with Mr. Griset. Last summer he wrote a scathing review of Cymbeline that focused almost entirely on the text of the play and barely addressed the actual performance of the play. Mr. Griset would have been better off writing a book review if he wanted to only discuss the merits of the text and not the performance. With The Tempest, he swung the pendulum too far in the other direction and seemed to look at the performance without thinking about the text at all and this I think is why he missed the point when it came to Caliban.

As I’ve said, The Tempest was a fantastic show overall. The lighting and set design were able to give us a dreamy, magical setting and the costuming decisions couldn’t have been more perfect. The steampunk/turn of the century style was a fresh and interesting way to modernize the look of the characters in a way that refreshed them but stayed relevant. And changing the “ship” to a zeppelin was so clever it made me giggle in the opening storm scene.

While the entire cast gave strong, compelling performances, there were standouts who took the whole show to another level. John Mincks as Ariel was so energetic and moved so quickly and entered every scene with such an explosion that it required no suspension of disbelief to see him as an air spirit. And while he was loyal to Prospero, Mincks’ Ariel also showed depth when he was visibly disappointed each time Prospero denied him his freedom. Gershman’s Caliban was perfect. Thomas Bell who played Sebastian and David Janosik who played Stephano are two actors known for their comedic timing and wise cracks who are able to deliver laughs with surgical precision. Isabelle Andrews used all the strengths of her youth to play a flawless Miranda while leaving all the weaknesses at home. Her Miranda was appropriately nervous and at times overwhelmed — especially on seeing Ferdinand — but Isabelle herself showed as much confidence and looked as at home as any of the adult actors she worked beside.

Richmond Shakespeare’s The Tempest not only doesn’t disappoint; it gives a real Shakespeare fanatic the total package while keeping it accessible, magical and fun for Bard neophytes. Sometimes it’s not easy to please the scholars and the newcomers at the same time, but when you do it, that’s perfect Shakespeare. Richmond Shakes took one of the most familiar plays in the canon and made it fresh and exciting again without sacrificing any of the important themes and issues in the story. I’ve seen The Tempest performed more times than I’ve ever seen any other Shakespeare play but this production was by far my favourite.

I made a pretty dope Straight Edge mix on 8Tracks.com. 24 tracks...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:11:24 -0400

I made a pretty dope Straight Edge mix on 8Tracks.com. 24 tracks (duh) of sweet Straight Edge mosh fanaticism. Turn your speakers up and put on your spinkicking pants.

breannanicolesmith: Currently Drooling over the trailer for...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:00:22 -0500

breannanicolesmith:

Currently Drooling over the trailer for Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god

star-trek: “I’m a doctor, not a…”

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:58:51 -0500

star-trek:

“I’m a doctor, not a…”

Keep your redshirt on: a Bayesian exploration

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:09:57 -0500

Keep your redshirt on: a Bayesian exploration:

The idea of red-shirted characters being frequently killed in Star Trek: The Original Series has become a pop culture cliché. But is wearing a redshirt in Star Trek as hazardous as it is thought to be? To find out, casualty figures for the Starship Enterprise were compiled using the casualty list provided by Memory Alpha.

pbsshakespeare: DEATH & DYING IN HAMLET &...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:11:18 -0500

pbsshakespeare:

DEATH & DYING IN HAMLET & MACBETH

Hamlet and Macbeth are about a lot of things. Power and revenge. Madness and the otherworldly. But, when you get right down to it, these are plays about death and dying and murder: so that you know evil when it crosses your path.

See Shakespeare’s dark world illustrated and how each character came to their bloody end.

For more Shakespeare stuff, go to PBS.ORG.

RICARDO GALVEZ & TOM McNAMARA

pbsshakespeare: Dust off your old Elizabethan English...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:09:28 -0500

pbsshakespeare:

Dust off your old Elizabethan English dictionary and you’ll see that “wood” – as in forest – meant “mad” back in Shakespeare’s day. Enter Shakespeare’s enchanted forests of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “As You Like It” and see all the comedy (or madness) that ensues.

This American Life Episode 218: Act V

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 22:26:48 -0500

This American Life Episode 218: Act V:

This American Life is a weekly radio show on NPR that pieces together stories — primarily real life stories but also fictional stories — surrounding a particular theme. Most episodes contain multiple stories — sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always interesting — but this episode focuses around one event, namely a production of Act Five of Hamlet by William Shakespeare in a prison.

I have been a huge fan of TAL for almost ten years now and many episodes have moved me to tears but this episode destroys me every time I listen to it. This is one of my all time favourite episodes. There’s an amazing moment when one of the inmates performing in the play talks about how being involved in the production and reading Shakespeare and understanding it was the first time he realized he wasn’t stupid, just uneducated.

The cast of Star Trek talks with a real astronaut in space via Twitter.

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:13:36 -0500

The cast of Star Trek talks with a real astronaut in space via Twitter.

Starfleet Dream Team

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:45:00 -0500

I’ve been thinking for a long time about who would make the best crew for a starship. After extensive research, I think I have come up with my dream team.

Captain: Jean-Luc Picard.

This is really no contest. Jean-Luc is the paradigm of leadership and Starfleet principles. He believes fully in the guiding philosophies of Starfleet and is willing to break ranks with the Starfleet brass if they are violating those philosophies. Jean-Luc is a master diplomat and deep thinker who prefers to avoid a confrontation if at all possible, but who has no fear of a fight. It speaks for itself that Jean-Luc is one of the only humans widely respected by Klingons. There’s a reason Picard commands the Starfleet flagship, he’s the best. Period.

It’s hard to name a runner-up because all of the captains were great. If I had to choose I would say Janeway for being principled but tough in the same way as Picard and for being so hands on. Janeway was always physically working on the projects with the crew and not simply delegating authority. Sisko would be next for being the ultimate pragmatist, even though I don’t generally like the-ends-justifies-the-means types. Kirk would definitely clock in before Archer.

First Officer: Spock.

This is a tough choice but Spock came out on top for me. Every bridge needs a vulcan, preferably high up the chain of command to keep careless, passionate mistakes from being made. Spock is a half-vulcan genius who retains just enough of his human emotions to cultivate absolute loyalty and trust as well as to follow the occasional hunch. Top runner up would be Riker for sure, that man was made to command. Chakotay would be another good pick. Both men have commanding natures who have no problem breaking bad on subordinates who step out of line, but both also have softer compassionate sides.

Chief Engineer: Tie: Geordi LaForge & Miles O’Brien.

There’s no question that Geordi and Miles are the best engineers in all the series, but picking between them is impossible because their specialties are so very different. Geordi is the master of getting unbelievable results from the best equipment in record time where Miles is the MaGyver of the 24th century who could get a Radio Flyer wagon up to warp 1.5 in a pinch. So my pick for this one would depend ultimately on whether I was on the Enterprise E or stranded on a 80 year old Bolian freighter low on dilithium.

Chief Medical Officer: Julian Bashir.

It’s not necessarily fair to pick a human who is genetically enhanced but when you’re dealing with a playing field that includes other species with superior strength and intelligence as well as androids, you just have to acknowledge that some contests won’t be fair. Not only does Bashir possess superior capabilities but he also has the heart of a doctor. In the episode Hippocratic Oath, Bashir is willing to risk his own life to help the Jem’Hadar break free of their drug addiction. Julian Bashir truly believes in helping people no matter who they are, even if it means risking his life or saving that of an enemy.

There really are no bad doctors in the Star Trek canon the same as there are no bad captains. It would be difficult to choose a runner up but if I had to I would say Dr. Phlox from Enterprise. Phlox is to medical what O’Brien is to engineering. Phlox had very little supplies when he set out with Enterprise but he managed to cook up home remedies for the worst illnesses from plant secretions and animal dung. The EMH Doctor from Voyager has a huge advantage of being a walking encyclopedia of medical knowledge but his being a hologram is an enormous disadvantage, his mobile emitter notwithstanding. Crusher would come in ahead of Bones. I had to put Crusher and Bones at the bottom of the list even though Beverly will always be my number one Star Trek crush and McCoy might be the coolest character ever on any of the shows.

Chief of Security: Tuvok.

I should say up front that my first choice for this post would have been Odo. But as Odo is not a member of Starfleet he would be ineligible. I should also say that even though Tuvok has been roundly ridiculed for his job performance given the amount of intruders that were consistently finding their way on board Voyager, it should be noted that Voyager was dozens of lightyears from home in hostile territory with no backup. Tuvok consistently showed a dispassionate, almost Holmes-esque quality to solving crimes and approaching dangerous situations. As a vulcan he not only possesses superior strength, intelligence, and psychic abilities, he also would not be prone to the fits of passion and temper experienced by other noteworthy Starfleet security officers.

Not to demean Worf in any way; he was a great tactical officer. But as a security chief he lost his temper too often, and Odo made him look embarrassingly rash when he first came aboard DS9.

Helmsman/Flight Controller: Tom Paris.

This was another no-brainer. Tom Paris is the best pilot in all of Starfleet. The man lives to fly. I wouldn’t trust anyone else at the conn.

Operations Officer: Data.

This is also another no-brainer. Who would you want interpreting your sensordata other than an android named Data? Data is the quintessential Ops officer. He is a walking computer who is perfectly suited to quick calculations, interpreting information, ensuring the normal operations of the ship, and overseeing the main computer. He would also be my pick for a second officer.

Communications Officer (Optional): Hoshi Sato.

I feel bad that the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 was so underrepresented on this list but it’s hard given that their series was so short and was set so far in the past that it lacked the technological advantages of later series. In later series, the duties of the Communications Officer were mostly given to Ops but in the event that a Communications Officer was needed, there would be no other choice but Hoshi. She speaks 40 languages and can learn new ones overnight. In a desperate situation without a universal translator, someone like Hoshi could mean the difference between first contact and last rites.

So that’s the Starfleet crew I’d most like to serve with. What’s yours?

Star Trek Bridge Officers via ChartGeek.com

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:20:01 -0500

Star Trek Bridge Officers

via ChartGeek.com

My coworker bought me the awesomest Enterprise D ornament for...

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 01:50:50 -0500

My coworker bought me the awesomest Enterprise D ornament for Christmas. This beauty is up on my tree right now. It plays the music/monologue from the opening credits when you press a button.

http://instagram.com/p/TEH109qkuo/

Questions Enabled

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:49:00 -0500

I’ve enabled an Ask page so you can ask me questions related to Star Trek, Shakespeare, or Straight Edge.

I will only answer questions related to those topics, anything else will get deleted. Currently anonymous questions are allowed, but that may change.

Have fun.

Ask Questions!

Chi Chi Chi, Straight Edge til I die. I’ll have Xs on my...

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 11:22:00 -0400

Chi Chi Chi, Straight Edge til I die. I’ll have Xs on my hands til there’s Xs on my eyes.

Star Trek Fans Tie the Knot in a Klingon Wedding

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 11:16:13 -0400

Star Trek Fans Tie the Knot in a Klingon Wedding

Last wishes.

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 17:38:34 -0400

Last wishes.

Love it.

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:30:35 -0400

Love it.

lewilewi: My submission for the Ahoy, Booty! buttzine. Hope it...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:29:01 -0400

lewilewi:

My submission for the Ahoy, Booty! buttzine. Hope it gets in! I had a lot of fun with it, although I’m pretty sure the Australian government will be tracking my internet progress for a very long time after what I had to search for the references…

It was worth it.

Bad guy Shakespeare villain.

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:57:58 -0400

Hamlet

Macbeth

Tempest

Coriolanus

As You Like It

Pericles

Cymbeline

The Winter's Tale

Bad guy Shakespeare villain.