ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the traditions of Shakespeare on film in four parts of the world: Africa, the Middle East, Australia/New Zealand, and Latin America. It identifies unique continuities and discontinuities within those traditions, arguing that, in a discrete fashion, Shakespeare serves as a means of confronting issues of national identity at times of, variously, revolution, independence, and political change. In this way, Shakespeare becomes a means to an end: a marker of a nation-state’s relation to its global neighbours; an instrument to utilize in the transition from one order to another; and a body of meaning that signifies the embrace of perceived cultural value. Interestingly, what emerges from the discussion are the gaps and fissures where the engagement with Shakespeare is concerned. For example, where one part of the world may demonstrate a well-rooted history of Shakespearean production, another shows a more limited and short-term set of encounters. Such inconsistencies may be linked to questions of imperialism and post-colonialism, which themselves are manifested in educational policy and the presence (or lack) of film industry infrastructures. Exploring Shakespeare on film in the four designated parts of the world also gives rise to methodological considerations and, as I argue here, enables us to revisit key questions touching upon balance, coverage, access, terminology, and our own critical responsibilities.