Film and Media Studies Commons^™

Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?: A Study Of Three Late Twentieth-Century Film Adaptations And Appropriations Of Romeo And Juliet, Geoffrey Way

All Theses

This thesis is an audience-centric study of the socio-political aspects of three late twentieth-century film versions of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996), Lloyd Kaufman's Tromeo and Juliet (1996), and Andrzej Bartkowiak's Romeo Must Die (2000). It explores how each film utilizes popular culture and late twentieth-century American society in tandem with themes and concepts from Shakespeare's play. It then analyzes the different techniques each director used to create a sense of recognition for the audience through the use of these various elements. It looks at how Luhrmann's film worked to bring Shakespeare's …