his plot, almost as an accomplice.
Certain Shakespeare purists will probably dismiss Parker’s Othello because of its sex scenes and liberal cuts. Such a reaction might be a mistake, however, since this director’s view of Othello’s tragedy has an unusual slant. Parker is careful to play up the love affair between the title character and his wife so that when the inevitable occurs, it has a more profound impact. When Othello declares, ‘My life upon [Desdemona’s] faith’, you believe him.
With this version of Othello, Parker wanted to create a Shakespearean film that anyone could see, relate to, and enjoy – a degree in English literature not being required. In many ways he has accomplished this. Othello has never been my favourite of the Bard’s plays, but, at times, I found myself engrossed by this adaptation. Using the visual aspects of film to enhance certain story elements, Parker has crafted a fine motion picture.
[Adapted from James Berardinelli, used with permission]
Post-reading:
1.Discuss the following questions with your partner.
a. What is different about this version, in terms of characters, to previous versions?
b. Does the reviewer tell the whole story of the play? Why or why not?
c. What is the reviewer’s view of the film and what are the grounds for his view?
2. Make a list of the elements of a review as shown in this example.
Your teacher will read through the review a second time so that you can check on your answers, and will then go through the answers with you.
Reading for comprehension
Do you know what a biography is? It is a book written about someone by an author who does research on that person’s life. An autobiography is a book written about one’s own life by oneself. You are going to read extracts from the biographical sketches of three famous South Africans. These are very brief and don’t go into the detail that a biography would. They do, however, record important events in South Africa’s history.
When answering comprehension questions one needs to read intensively. Your aim is to gain an in-depth understanding of the text. Note that you often have to reread parts of the text a few times to gain a full understanding. Reread and review each answer to ensure that you have interpreted the question correctly, and given an appropriate, well-phrased answer. When you answer comprehension questions you are expected to find or deduce the answer from the text. Do not give your own ideas unless specifically asked to do so.
Activity 3.2 - Read about a famous South African (individual and pair)
As pre-reading activity, think about what you know about Desmond Tutu. Read the extract, confirming and expanding your knowledge (during reading).
Desmond Mpilo Tutu
7 October 1931 –
1 Archbishop Tutu is best known for his belief in the possibility of ultimate interracial harmony – a conviction that becomes a feat when considering his personal history.
2 In 1962, apartheid reached the church. White academics could no longer teach black clergymen, and black academics were needed to fill the gap. Tutu’s teaching experience, his two degrees and his conscientiousness made him an ideal candidate for this duty, though he lacked a Master’s degree. In order to fill this gap, he left South Africa in 1962 to pursue a Master’s degree at King’s College, London University.
3 He returned to his homeland in 1967 and continued with his mission of teaching black clergy. In 1976, Tutu reached religious prominence and was consecrated as the bishop of Lesotho, an independent enclave within South Africa. The positive events in Tutu’s life were not matched by events at home. A month before his consecration, Soweto, a black community near South Africa’s commercial capital, Johannesburg, exploded in violence as 15 000 schoolchildren took to the streets. They were angry that Afrikaans, instead of English – their typical language of instruction – would be used to teach some of their classes. More than 600 people were killed.
4 Tutu did not return to South Africa until 1977, when he was asked to speak at the funeral of black activist Steve Biko, who died in police custody. Biko’s death was a turning point for Tutu, and he came to the conclusion that the church had to play a political role if apartheid was to be conquered without bloodshed.
5 In 1978, he accepted a position as general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), a 10-year-old organisation with a decidedly political bent. The position gave Tutu increased media exposure, and he began to speak on talk shows around the world, pushing for economic sanctions against South Africa. In reaction, the South African government revoked his passport in 1979.
6 Tutu was just one of many voices in South Africa and abroad who called for sanctions, but his support for them helped legitimise what some considered a radical form of protest. The sanctions, eventually supported by much of the world, had a strong effect on South Africa. By the 1980s, the country’s economy was stagnant due to a critical shortage of investment capital, and diplomatic pressure led to the dismantling of apartheid. In 1982, Tutu’s isolation became a worldwide embarrassment for South Africa when Columbia University’s president had to travel to South Africa to present Tutu with an honorary degree. It was only the third time this precedent-breaking event was allowed in the famed university’s 244-year history.
7 ‘Your president is the pits as far as blacks are concerned. I think the West, for my part, can go to hell,’ said Desmond Tutu, after US President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1986 called proposed sanctions against South Africa a ‘historic act of folly’.
8 Tutu found himself in the spotlight once again in 1984, when he became South Africa’s second black Nobel Peace laureate. He once more used the increased exposure to push for sanctions. South Africa’s first Nobel Peace laureate, 1961 winner Albert Luthuli, had been restricted to his remote Zululand village immediately on his return from Norway. A month after winning the Nobel Prize, Tutu was elected the first black Anglican bishop of Johannesburg. In 1986 Tutu was elected Archbishop of Cape Town, the highest position in the Anglican Church in South Africa.
9 Now South Africa’s highest-ranking Anglican cleric, Tutu denounced the White government’s failure to make fundamental changes as another wave of violence swept his nation. As the country went into elections in 1989, Tutu boldly engaged in a nationwide defiance campaign, leading a march to a whites-only beach, where he and supporters were chased off with whips. Soon after, F.W. de Klerk was elected the new president of South Africa on the strength of his pledge to speed reforms and abolish apartheid.
10 At the end of 1993, De Klerk’s promises came to fruition as South Africa’s first all-race elections were announced. On April 27 1994, South Africans elected a new president, the country’s most prominent black man, Nelson Mandela, and apartheid was finally over. But Tutu’s job continued. In 1995, he was appointed chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a group that investigated apartheid-era crimes.
11 He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996 to devote his full energies to the commission. In 1997, Tutu announced that he would undergo several months of treatment in the United States for prostate cancer. He continued to work with the commission.
