Poste Haste

So in an effort to fix my snafu- here are some thoughts about Romeo + Juliet. I own the Baz Luhrmann version of the classic tale. As a person coming of age in the 90s this movie is a must have in my movie collection. Not only was Claire Danes on the top of my list of awesome, Leonardo DiCaprio had my attention since Growing Pains. Not to mention the hunk of burning love Paul Rudd! I have seen Clueless close to 500 times, most of those in my 13th year, where I was introduced to Pauly Boy. 

This film was great in a lot of ways. It brought some Shakespeare into the homes of grunge loving, Nirvana obsessed teens. It also updated the story using original dialogue and with a great soundtrack. Mr. Luhrmann is known for his different camera angles and using current and awesome music in his films. The camera angles, tricks, and close-ups that this film uses really makes it fun to watch. I am not sure how else to convince you- so please go out and get this film. You will not be disappointed. 

I am sure that all of you know this story, a pair of star crossed lovers from feuding families that meet their death in a preventable set of circumstances. Hate is a powerful thing. Hate and fear coupled together among young people in love can quickly lead to disaster. The violence and death in this film all based on a feud that could not even be solved by a joyous love-at-first-sight kind of love. It is almost painful to watch a film like this when you know how it will end, I know my face must look pained for Juliet when she waits for Romeo the night of their wedding. But I suppose that is how Baz wanted us to react when seeing the cherub face of Claire Danes.

I am sure there are a lot of things that English teachers hate about this movie. Thank goodness I am not an English teacher! If I were I would no doubt have lots of good programming ideas for how students can learn from this story and film. I must be too much of the MTV generation that I can often not see past the pure entertainment. But this story that highlights a hatred that exists for years between two families and is passed on to their children, has many parallels to society today, hundreds of years after it was written. Another program around current events can be found here for RAs. The George Zimmerman trial and the Supreme Court's ruling on the Voting Rights Act are two examples that have highlighted a hatred in our country that has lasted for generations. Hopefully some good conversation will come out this program and when that conversation happens among tomorrows leaders it may influence change.