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Akira Kurosawa's Ran

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In 1985, Akira Kurosawa created Ran, a Japanese film adaption of Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear. The women in Ran are stronger and portrayed more feministically than in Shakespeare’s original play. Although Kurosawa changed the three main female characters to men, it was an action taken to accurately portray Japanese culture and should not be taken as offensive or antifeminist, in addition Kurosawa adds strong female characters that were not present in King Lear. In Shakespeare’s play, the three sisters were symbols of strength, the play is known for it’s feministic attributes but the women generally just watch the men do the ‘masculine’ jobs from their place. Meanwhile in Ran, Lady Kaede (played by Mieko Harada) is a strong female character …show more content…

“Give me thy sword.—A peasant stand up thus? (takes a sword, runs at FIRST SERVANT behind, and kills him)” (III.vii.80). However Lady Kaede, the most feminist character in Ran is much stronger than Regan. In Ran, Lady Kaede pursues Jiro after the death of her husband Taro. Although at first we are lead to believe she seeks vengeance the really seeks refuge. Kaede demands what she wants which often results in violence, Jiro, as the equivalent of Regan in the movie falls and puts his kingdom at stake for a woman. Kurogane often tries to reason with Jiro but Jiro’s ultimate downfall is Lady Kaede’s strength. Regan, instead of being a strong leader, lets her kingdom fall as she pursues a man. “Now, sweet lord, You know the goodness I intend upon you....” (V, i, 3029). Lady Kaede only pursues a man for her own glory and safety, Goneril and Regan however pursue a man at the risk of their glory and safety. This implies that women will blindly follow men at the risk of health which is anything but feminist. Switching the roles of men and women partially in Ran may have actually improved the feminism in the

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The changes in gender roles weren’t making everyone happy for examples in the story of The Kingdom of Matthias, Robert Matthews started a religious cult in New York during the 1830’s he came to believe that he was indeed not Robert Matthews, but instead he was Matthias, Prophet of the God of the Jews. Matthias was not happy with any of the changes that was happening in the roles of women, and he was not going to support any of it. His wife Margaret was suffering from the person he had become, he was extremely controlling and once told her that, “She had no God, that the husband was the savior of the wife, that as man was not whole without woman” (Johnson and Wilentz 80). Matthias was bitter because the women of this time had changed into

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During the Renaissance, many people began to support the idea that woman should be able to have the same rights as men. “I am amazed by the opinion of some men who claim that they do not want their daughters, wives, or kinswoman to be educated because their mores [morals] would be ruined as a result… Here you can clearly see that not all opinions of men are based on reason and that these men are wrong”(Document

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The male hierarchy would be thrown into chaos as not only would women be demanding to have equal rights as men women would want to be given high ranking jobs, legal rights and having the same privileges’ as men, using Joan as an example of women being able to stand their own not only within the battlefield but amongst noblemen and

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Baldassare Castiglione wrote about how a woman's sole purpose is to amuse and entertain men (3). Castiglione’s ideas reflect the patronizing attitude towards men that was seen throughout the era. This book is a reliable source because it is aimed at women seeking to become the proper lady as it gives advice on how to achieve that status, while showing historical truth because the author genuinely wants all women to behave in this manner. John Knox attacked women in positions of power by saying that they are cruel, weak, and insulting to God (5). This idea is not an uncommon one as female leaders were continually mocked throughout history.

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In comparison to the movie, the play undermines male dominance by focusing on women’s efforts to solve their own problems. First of all, there aren’t even men in the cast of the play,

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Olivia Lynch Mrs. Butterfield AP Lit 5/1/16 When you are ready to dive into the vast world of Shakespeare, you can begin by using what is known as a critical lens. The lens that may help you understand the background details of one of Shakespeare’s plays would be the Historical lens. Although there are many different lens that you can use to interpret a story, the Historical Lens is a great lens to dive into to find what really influenced the great ideas of William Shakespeare as he wrote Hamlet including the role gender plays, the comparison of Elizabeth Tudor, and the religious incorporation throughout the play. First, we can take the Historical Lens and dive into the idea of how gender roles were highly represented in Hamlet

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It’s no surprise, that Shakespeare’s Macbeth was clearly constructed as a rebellion against femininity roles of the time. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to believe they were inferior to men since men obtained desired masculine qualities such as strength, and loyalty, whereas women were viewed as figures of hospitality (1; 6; 28-31). Obviously, not being tempted by the luxury of subservient women, William Shakespeare rebuked this twisted belief, applying that women deserve more respect than their kitchen tables.

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Although the perspective of women in the Elizabethan era was much different from the perspective of manhood, it was also similar in a sense that manhood and womanhood both played an essential role during their era. The thought of men being the ones to do things such as commit murder and be ambitious is still prevalent today. In our society we view women as people who are soft and not quite as ambitious as the opposite sex. The notion that women are incapable of committing murder is obscure as they are physically capable of doing harm to any human body as well as being able to have ambition such as

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Each female character is treated by men as a possession. However, there are also moments when they are presented as confident and challenge a male authority. This would have been exiting for Shakespeare’s female Elizabethan audience as women

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Traditional gender roles in today’s society are very different from what they once were. Shakespeare had progressive views on gender and gender roles in his time period, which he expressed through his writing. In MacBeth, Shakespeare showcases both his views and unusual roles through Macbeth and Lady MacBeth, MacDuff and the witches. Gender roles in the relationship of MacBeth and Lady MacBeth are probably the most obvious correlation between masculine traits expressed through female characters. Lady MacBeth belittles MacBeth and frequently challenges his manhood.

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Equal treatment of the sexes is a cause many have been fighting for, for decades, and in this case, centuries. Slight rebellious acts of women bending gender norms can be seen as far back as Shakespearean plays, in particular, Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. Olivia from Twelfth Night, and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing showcase characteristics of being opinionated, assertive, and strong-willed; qualities that were rarely seen during that time period. Much Ado About Nothing was written around 1598 and Twelfth Night was written around 1601, which was the Elizabethan era. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to think that they were inferior to men.

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It may seem like Shakespeare treats his female characters worse than his male characters, but it is his female characters that drive the plot

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Furthermore, Feminist Criticism provides a better view of literature because it shows that women can be powerful. When Emilia finds out that her husband has been plotting an evil plan she says,” Tis proper I obey him, but not now”(Othello V.2.195). Emilia refuses to help her husband after she finds the cruel intentions he has despite the expectation of women always being submissive to their husbands. Women also have a voice and feelings, they are capable of defying their husbands commands when they know what he expects is simply wrong. In a literary article,The Role of Women in Othello: A Feminist Reading states that,” Society weighs heavily on the shoulders of women; they feel that they must support the men and defer to them, even if the actions of the men are questionable” (Literary Articles).

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Clearly, Shakespeare has shown that the women in Hamlet and during his time, were seen as worthless and irrelevant to society than men. They have these traits because they could not do anything without the presence of a dominant male, they would always do what their male authority wants, and would not think twice about the intentions others have for them. Even though, in today’s day women are looked upon as equal to men, there still are some aspects present from decades ago that show that women are still second to men. The task is to make women stronger than ever before, but the

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