Shakespeare on Screen: Contemporary Adaptations of Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and Coriolan

With the increased number of Shakespearean adaptations in the last few years, one might perceive Shakespeare as a means of addressing the issues of modern society. By relocating Shakespeare to the context of the 21st century the adaptations, imbued with a cultural materialist reading, manage to address issues of nationhood, marriage, love, belonging and politics. Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and Coriolanus transport their characters into the context of the 21st century so as to make them more appealing to the modern-day audience. The medium of film manages to transcend the cultural differences between the original plays and the adaptations and in doing so it proves a perfect vehicle for Shakespeare's plays in the 21st century. The key issue is to prove that Shakespeare's works still continue to bear relevance; critics write about them; and more importantly - the audiences' worldwide respond to these movies positively. Since the topic of my research is on a topic that is rather new, I hope that my research will aid the up-and-coming generations of students to understand Shakespeare in a complete new context - the context of the twenty first century.