Monday, March 15, 2010
Day Time Drama and King Lear
The story of King Lear is full of dramatic story-lines often found in day time dramas (or evening dramas for that matter). Discuss one of your favorite juicy/trashy/soapy shows and how the drama of your modern TV series is similar to the betrayal, tangled-love web, lust for power, back-stabbing events in King Lear.
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My favorite show that is a perfect comparison to King Lear is Degrassi. It follows the same script as King Lear with love triangles, betrayles of friendship and love, and lies and scandal. Overall, it is a perfect similarity
ReplyDeleteA television show that I think is a great comparison to what goes on in King Lear would have to be one of those day time soap operas. In all of them there is always some kind of drama going on with love triangles, and violence and back stabbing. They all compare perfectly to what happens in the play. It is almost as if these creators of the shows looked into the works of Shakespeare to crete their dramas.
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ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite shows that is full of drama quite similar to the drama in King Lear is called "Make It or Break It". It is a show about four teenage girls who are training to become Olympic gymnasts. This show displays jealousy due to their strive to be the most talented and their lust for power in being the best gymnast in America. It also shows betrayal when one of the girls has an affair with her best friend's boyfriend. This causes a tangled-love web, just like the web among Edmund, Regan, and Goneril in King Lear.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm concerned all soap operas are the same. Person A cheats on person B who was also seeing person C. Or someone kills someone else who was doing the dirty with that someone's wife. Shows on T.V. like Gossip Girl, The O.C., One Tree Hill, Jersey Shore, Days of Our Lives and other soaps may have different names but they more or less all have the same plot. The drama in King Lear is very similar to that on soap operas. For example the conniving Edmund is juggling both Regan and Goneril while plotting to kill one of them. In the meantime, rather then ditch Edmund the two sisters turn against each other all for a stupid boy. Another example of day time drama in King Lear is the torture of Gloucester. His own son betrays him and pokes out his eyes all for his own selfish benefit. Clearly both T.V. shows and Shakespeare plays are just oozing with scandalous drama.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite shows is Gossip Girl. The drama in this show is extremely similar to the betrayal, tangled-love web, lust for power, and backstabbing events in King Lear. They are similar through an affair. Serena and Blair have been best friends since they were very young. According to the show, the upper east side of New York is very scandalous and everybody knows everybody’s business. One night Serena, Blair, and Nate (Blair’s boyfriend), all attend an extravagant wedding. Blair asks Serena and Nate to do her a favor since she must remain in sight at the wedding. Nate has forever had a lust for Serena and has always loved her. Since they are a little drunk, they have an affair in an empty bar. This is similar to Lear because it is once again two close girls who go for the same man.
ReplyDeleteLove the details in actually naming a show and discussing characters! Please don't simply rewrite the prompt and consider this a response WORTHY OF A GRADE! Earn your points here people!
ReplyDeleteI am also a fan of Gossip Girl. Like King Lear, Gossip Girl is filled with drama, backstabbing, lust for power and love triangles. Blair always wants to be the queen bee at her high school. She wants to control all aspects of the girls that attend the school, including their clothes and their boyfriends. If anyone gets in the way of her power she uses her carefully planned backstabbing plots to get back at the person. Another character Dan gets caught in a love triangle. While he is dating Olivia, he falls for his best friend Vanessa. He must choose between Olivia and Vanessa and who he would rather be with. This causes a big fight between the two girls. Whether best friends Serena and Blair are fighting over their past or Chuck and Nate fighting about business, Gossip Girl never fails to reveal more drama.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite TV show is also Gossip Girl. It’s filled with situations that are similar to King Lear. All the people are constantly backstabbing each other. I would compare Edmund to Blair because Blair always has a plan that will satisfy her in the end. The characters only seam to care about themselves like the Goneril and Regan. The people of Gossip Girl are all spoiled and greedy. They live for the wealthy life just like King Lear’s two daughters do. Although the girls from Gossip Girl seam to be friends, they would backstab one another for their own satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to compare King Lear to a modern day television show it would be Grey's Anatomy. There is so much involved. There's husbands cheating on wives. Flings here and there, and even Fake friends. It has it all. Although it is not exactly the same as King Lear there is the drama, and scandalous ways.
ReplyDeleteKing Lear most reminds me of the show 24. These shows are similar in their confusion between good guy and bad guy. This action show is about a secret agent by the name of Jack Bauer, as an American agent he is in charge of stopping terrorist from attacking America. In this season Jack is considered a rebel and banned from America, for going against the rules to stop the last terrorism threat on America. This is oddly similar to Lear's banning of Cordelia for supposedly doing something wrong. Also, the current president of Iran in the show has his own form of drama. His brother is secretly in cahoots with the terrorism group trying to kill him. Throughout the show the brother secretly tells the terrorists his location at all times and is able to get rid of any security he can. This form of brotherly betrayal is extremly similar to Edmund's betrayal of Edgar, Whereas Edgar most trusted Edmund the way the President of Iran most trusts his brother, but both are secretly scheming behind their brother's backs in order to gain power for themselves.
ReplyDeleteSO. Theres this show, it's called "Degrassi: The next generation." This show is one of those thrown out of porportion teen shows. This show legitimately takes ridiculous to a new level. Its all about this High School, Degrassi, and what many of the students go through, but it goes beyond just what the average teen goes through. This show has cheating, sexual orientation issues, pregnancy, drugs, murders, the whole magiulla (nine yards in yiddish). Degrassi definately reminds me of King Lear because of all the crazy twists and turns each story line takes.
ReplyDeletethe show i feel king lear relates to would be days of our lives. I dont watch this show on the reg but it is the tyical soap drama. the love triangles or hexagons and all the drama of death, betrayal are all relevant. I Have seen this show while flipping through the channels on occasion so i believe i have seen the jist of it. Lear acts as that guy whom everyone hates and conspiers over. Then men like Kent, Gloucester, Albany, Cornwall etc act as those essential heart throbs that the ladies fall over. The drama is there and most of it blown out of porportion, there are so many twists and turns the story line turns
ReplyDeleteThe show that compares well to King Lear is ICARLY. I do not watch that many shows that are dramatic, but ICARLY has the drama and the uncertainty that King Lear has. Carly, the main character, has many relationships, that usually does nto turn out the way that she hoped. Periodically, she will get into a problem with her best friend Sam over who gets the boy that they both like. Just like Cordelia and Regan do over Edmund.
ReplyDeleteThe show that I would compare the drama of King Lear to is Gossip Girl. Blair and Serena are always fighting over the same guys, and everyone else seems to be in love with the same person too. Also almost all the characters do not have a father or hate their father, Dan is the only one who actually has a loving relationship with his dad. Also Gossip Girl is full of backstabbing and revenge, which is always secretive and juvenile and usually to the person’s best friend. Another way King Lear and Gossip Girl is alike is the fight for power, all of the girls at high school want to be the ones to sit at the top of the steps and to reign of the fellow students. With the characters of Gossip Girl cruel intention their lives are a spinning image of King Lear.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to Compare any show to Lear, it would be "Niptuck". Both play the angloes of multiple love interestes and triangles. With favortism to one child being portrayed in the same manner as Lear. Niptuck also portrays the betrayal of a child against the father even when they have everything they could need from the parent already.
ReplyDeleteWell i don't really watch "trashy" televison ha..but if I had to compare I'd probably compare it to one of those soap operas on during the day. With all the backstabbing and betrayal its really brings to mind king lear and how the daughters all betrayed him..except for cordillia, who was killed.
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