For this assignment, instead of having you write one blog post and then comment on two others, I want you to write two separate posts (and you don't have to comment on any others, though you're welcome to). Your first post needs to be done by Saturday night, but you should try to write it as soon as possible while the film is still fresh in your mind. The second post is due by Tuesday night.
In your first post, I want you to respond to the film that we've just watched, Paul Mazursky's Tempest. Mazursky created the film only a few years before Gloria Naylor wrote Mama Day, but both adaptations reimagine The Tempest in very different ways. In what ways do you think Mazursky's film changes the focus of the original story (you may want to talk about Phillip, Aretha, and/or the love story between Freddy and Miranda). Did you find some of these changes particularly effective or ineffective? Why? And the most important question: How do you think the film reflects Mazursky's perspective on contemporary American life (which is very different from Naylor's, so you may find it helpful to contrast the two)?
For your second blog post (due Tuesday night), I want you to think about how someone with a different background and a different perspective on modern America might reimagine The Tempest. So for this blog post, I want you to explore what kind of adaptation you think that either a college-age American Indian or a college-age immigrant (you choose the country of origin) might come up with in response to Shakespeare's play. In other words, pick one of these personas and try to imagine how her perspective could affect her adaptation of the play. I don't expect you to craft a lengthy and in-depth narrative, but your thoughtful response should at least sketch out how such a story could rework some of the characters and their relationships with each other. You should also clarify how you think the adaptation would end.
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