Play First, Movie Second

     I have always been told, "Read the book before you watch the movie!"  I think this advice is very important for The Tempest and the movie made from it.  While reading the play, I had images in my head of what the island looked like, how Caliban acted, the songs of Ariel, and the power of Prospero.  Quite honestly, the movie did not match up with my idea of The Tempest.   I will admit having faces that I could associate with names was very beneficial in my understanding of the plot, but I feel that the play was enough to bring me to Shakespeare's main messages in his writing. 
     Besides not matching up with my original image of the play, the movie was a lot less theatrical than I would have liked.  I did not like the movie effects of Ariel and the music that would play in the background.  It took away from the purpose of a play, which is to take out all the extraneous sounds and actions in the background and to let the reader or viewer find the message in it all. 
     The final aspect of the movie that I did not enjoy very much was that Prospero became Prospera.  It actually led me to believe that the play was not meant to symbolize Shakespeare as he finished his writing career.  It also altered the feminist approach of the play.  I liked how Miranda was the only female character in the original play because it really emphasized the status of women at the time.  Even though the movie was made somewhat recently, I think it is important to keep the main aspects of Shakespeare's original version the same. 

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