Julie Taymor’s The Tempest (2010) is a film adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays “The Tempest”. Although it had been recreated by other directors throughout the years, Taymor’s decision to change the gender of the main character from male to female was unprecedented and ultimately transformed how the film was perceived by audiences. Although there are many other themes in the film, such as the theme of natural order, romance, the four elements, and magic, the theme of feminism and gender equality is most prominent. In The Tempest, the sound and visuals work simultaneously to support the unfolding of this central theme in the film. The first scene of the film involves Miranda (Felicity Jones) innocently holding a miniature sandcastle in her hands, which is quickly ruined by the outcome of a storm created by her mother, Prospera (Helen Mirren). Immediately audiences recognize that Prospera is has strong skills with witchcraft and …show more content…
Lehmann affirms that “The change of gender sends seismic shock reverberations through the play, altering its power dynamics” (47). Comparing a male Prospero to a female Prospera gives audiences the opportunity to perceive the character as a person and not particularly man or woman, which evidently encourages gender equality in cinema. Furthermore, this allows different connections between characters, such as the mother-daughter relationship, and for additional similarities between Prospera and Sycorax. Michael Freidman states, “In this version of the play, even though Prospera fervently desires to separate herself from the crimes of Sycorax, the fact that both characters are women accused of practicing witchcraft tends to collapse the distinction between them” (439). This gives Caliban, the son of Sycorax, a different perception of Prospera as opposed to Prospero. Freidman