Wednesday, October 28, 2015
And now, the Fool
Twelfth Night is perfect for where I'm gearing my research. I want to explore how the Fool is exempt from the social order, how the role is still respected despite flouting the societal norms. Feste is an excellent example of that. I'm considering incorporating Hamlet into my research since he dons the guise of a Fool in order to circumvent the expected behaviors of his station, but I don't want to overburden my project. Once I explore Feste and establish the role he plays within the social hierarchy, I want to discuss the role of the Fool in contemporary culture, specifically TV and movies. I have a few ideas, but I think narrowing in on one will allow me to really explore the idea. I hope to spark discussion on my personal social media accounts to get perspectives on how the Fool has translated to the 21st Century. I mean, there still exists characters who seem to operate outside any social norms and yet they are treasured for that or at least rarely deal with consequences. Maybe the fool is a psychological manifestation of society's id, or maybe it's the objective commentary on norms. I'm excited to delve into the theories.
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hmmmm . . . I think a good example of the fool in today's culture would be Sokka from Avatar the Last Air Bender.
ReplyDeleteYou're speaking my language.
DeleteI agree. It seems like society is somewhat obsessed with characters who can be exempt from social norms and just get away with it. The one that popped into my head while I was reading your post was Shawn from Psych. Most of the humor of that show is based on his being able to do whatever he wants under the guise of being a fake psychic detective.
ReplyDeleteShawn is a fascinating character.
DeleteThis is so cool. I was thinking about this actually because it's like there's this big circle of social niceties that the fool can step inside and step outside of. What an interesting way to force us to question everything that is happening
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