Monday, June 12, 2017

How does "Trump as Julius Caesar" reaffirm and expand your understanding of Julius Caesar and its continued relevance to a modern audience? https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/jun/12/donald-trump-shakespeare-play-julius-caesar-new-york

The staging of this play is controversial. Depicting Trump as Julius Caesar makes three distinct arguments.
One is that Trump is a dictator in the making. Those agreeing with this could point to Trump's embrace of actual dictators Putin, Kim Jong Un, and the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia. They could also point to Trump's admiration of authoritarian figures in democracies like Bolsonaro of Brazil and Duterte of the Philippines. A further argument could be Trump's constant referral to the media as the "enemy" and threats to sue them or shut them down.
Another argument of the staging is that dictators or tyrants must be stopped, even by killing them. That, to many, seems irresponsible, promoting assassination. It's here that the staging may have the most relevance for a modern audience, though. It asks the question "What should good people do in the face of evil?"
The final argument is perhaps the weakest. The real-life Julius Caesar was an acclaimed military hero, while Trump is not. Trump avoided the Vietnam War by a dubious medical deferment. His insulting veterans and POWs, especially Senator John McCain, is well known.
Those favoring the staging of the play this way argue that this is an attempt to show how issues Shakespeare wrote about are still relevant today and that his plays can be adapted endlessly. Others argue that the staging was a cheap political stunt and shows how the artistic community is biased against the president.

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