SCREEN-L Archives

April 1996, Week 2

SCREEN-L@LISTSERV.UA.EDU

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Donald Larsson <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 10 Apr 1996 10:19:32 -0600
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (27 lines)
Peter Latham writes:
"Cross-dressing has been a standard comedic device since (at least)
Shakespeare's 12th Night. Have films treated the subject any differently?"
 
Well, we can go back even farther.  Didn't Achilles dress as a woman to dodge
the Troy draft?
 
But Shakespeare complicates things because of the stage practices of his day,
ie having only male actors.  So when a female character dresses as a man in
his plays, it's actually a boy playing a woman dressing as a man, which is
a very complicated set of arrangments that WS plays off in various ways.
Consider Cleopatra's assertion in ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA that at some time in
a future a beardless youth will speak her words--which are of course being
spoken by a beardless youth.
 
What then happens when a woman plays the female part that was written for a
young man?
 
 
In contrast, movie treatments of the theme seem downright simple!
 
Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)
 
----
To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L
in the message.  Problems?  Contact [log in to unmask]

ATOM RSS1 RSS2