Clearly, this movie is a modern retelling of Twelfth Night. It seems, however, that it has some basic differences, especially in the motivation for the disguise. How would you compare Viola in the play to Viola in the movie? How does (or not) the movie use the Malvolio/Malcolm character?
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ReplyDeleteViola’s character in the movie is similar to the character in the play. They both recruit someone to help them with their plans and they both use a disguise to get what they want. One difference in the girls is Viola in the play uses the disguise to get to Orsino right at the beginning, whereas Viola in the movie seems to fall in love with Orsino over time. Viola in the movie uses her disguise to get to play on a soccer game. The movie uses Malcolm as the stern dorm director that keeps people in line with the “rules”, and Malvolio is a Tarantula that controls a guy who I cannot remember the name of.
ReplyDeleteThe motivation for the Viola in the play was to disguise her until she was ready to reveal herself. Also, she wanted to get to be the servant of Duke Orsino. In the movie, Viola’s motive for a disguise was to play soccer against her ex boyfriend. Viola in the movie is kind of awkward because she’s not as comfortable as a guy as Viola in the play was. I believe that Malvolio in the movie was a tarantula.
ReplyDeleteThe disguise is an obvious difference between the book and the play. In the play Viola becomes a male servant named Cesario and Viola in the movie becomes her brother named Sebastian. In the movie, Viola disguises herself as her brother so that she can play soccer after her female soccer team's program was cut; in the play, Viola disguises herself so that she can become closer to Duke Orsino. Viola, both in the play and in the movie, is open about her feelings to Duke, but one difference is obviously the setting because it is a modern translation of the play. Another difference is the character of Sebastian. In the play, Viola believes that her brother is dead while in the movie Sebastian goes to London to play with his band. Malvolio in the play is the man who falls in love with Olivia while in the movie, Malvolio is the name of Malcolm's spider; Malcolm is character in the movie who falls in love with Olivia.
ReplyDeleteI agree with KdPeters. Viola in both the play and in the modern movie recruits someone to help her disguise herself as a man in order to obtain what she wants; in the play it was Duke Orsino and in the film it was to play soccer against her ex-boyfriend. I also agree with KDPeters on Viola's feelings toward Duke Orsino. In the play, Viola is well aware of her feelings towards Duke, which is the reason for the disguise, and in the film she did not develop her feelings for Duke until she arrived at the school.
ReplyDeleteMireya, I did not put the spider and the dorm director together. I only remember Viola and Malcolm meeting in the shower. I could not really recall who had the spider. With your list of differences between the movie and the play you can see how dark the plot of the play was compared to the happy-go-lucky plot of the movie.
ReplyDeleteThere are several differences with Viola in the play and in the movie. I've noticed that in the play Viola is perfectly comfortable with the male role and deceived everyone's eyes, whereas we can see that in the play Viola struggles so much to play the male role that is so obvious to the audience but not to the people in the movie. Viola in the play played the male role so perfectly that she had Olivia fall in love with her. The purpose behind Viola's mission is also a major difference. The modern Viola has a sole purpose, and that is to prove to others that girls is just as good as boys in soccer, and of course to play the double role while her brother Sebastian is away. The Viola in the play, however, did not have a sole purpose. She only used the disguise to protect her role as an unprotected, single female in this whole new land, and Duke Orsino's household is the perfect place to hide her identity. Malvolio in the movie is a very minor character as compared to the Malvolio in the play. The movie instead, replaced Malvolio as Malcolm, who also falls in love with Olivia and displays a very "dry" and rigid personality.I thought that the spider or tarantula was quite unneccesary for the movie, but Malcolm's role fits the original role of Malvolio perfectly.
ReplyDeleteObviously the play and the movie have their differences. In the play Viola's reason for disguising herself was for her to be Duke Orsino's tenor singer. In the movie it was because she wanted to prove herself to the coach and her boyfriend (ex) that she could play like one of the boys. In the play she goes into her disguise at the very beginning. However, in the movie she only does it when she learns that she could try to play for the school her brother was suppose to be attending. Both characters have their right hand men of whom they seek to help them with the scheme. The movie doesn't really use Malcolm's character as well as the play does...I'm guessing because there isn't enough time for his character. But Malcolm seems to be fighting for Olivia's attention right from the movie's beginning. Other than in the play where he only announces his love after the letter.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Mireya with her saying that the movie didn't really portray everything the play had to offer. Because in the play Viola did play Cesario, but in the movie Cesario was the name of a diner. And also Viola did play her brother of which in the play she thought he was dead, but in the movie he was clearly alive and a ambitious child.
ReplyDeleteThe play and the movie, while similar in many ways, are very different in others. For example, in the play, Viola decides she will disguise herself as a man in order to keep her identity and social class hidden from the people of Illyria. In the movie, this disguise is undertaken in order for Viola to play on the boy's soccer team and defeat Cornwall to get back at her ex-boyfriend. In the play, Viola disguises herself as a completely made up person named Cesario, with whom the people of Illyria confuse with Sebastian in the later acts of the play. However, in the movie, Viola decides to disguise herself AS her brother, Sebastian. Also, within the play it is seen that Viola is very comfortable within her disguise, and is able to speak freely and without consequence. In the movie, however, Viola second-guesses her actions many times and seems more uncomfortable with her disguise. The character of Malvolio IS used within the movie, but is named Malcolm rather than Malvolio. This is most likely due to the fact that Malvolio is the only name in the play that does not seem to fit in with other more common names of this present age. As a result, the movie makes the connection between Malcolm and Malvolio by naming Malcolm's spider Malvolio. This way, the audience is able to quickly understand the relationship between Malcolm in the movie, and Malvolio in the play.
ReplyDeleteI would say that my image of Viola in the play is that of a sophisticated, elegant young woman. The movie version of Viola I find to be the opposite of Viola in the play. Viola in the movie is a sporty girl who would go out of her way to avoid wearing a dress. I am not sure about her intelligences but, she seems like a typical teenage girl. I would have to say I like Viola in the play much more.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm reminded me of Malvolio except for the fact that in the movie Malcolm knows that Olivia is not into him. Unlike Malvolio in the play who was tricked into thinking that Olivia liked him. I did think it was funny that they named Malcolm's pet spider in the movie Malvolio.
I agree with Mireya Gallegos because these are some of the differences between the play and the movie. Viola in the play becomes a male servant named Cesario and Viola in the movie becomes her brother Sebastian. The setting in the movie and the play is different. Thus the reason why things are different in both the movie and the play.
ReplyDeleteThere are similarities and differences between the play "Twelfth Night" and "She's The Man." Viola's character in the play compared to Viola’s (Amanda Bynes) character in the movie differs in the way that they become disguised. Although they both had help from another character, Amanda Bynes had to learn how to speak and walk like a male, where as Viola in the play immediately started acting like a male without practice. Another difference that is more obvious are the reasons they disguised themselves. Amanda Bynes disguises herself to be part of a boy’s soccer team, whereas Viola in the play disguises herself in order to work for Duke Orsino. They both apply characteristics that allow the play or movie to be humorous and they also add in confusion. Malcolm is used in the movie to take on the role of Malvolio in the play. In order to make the comparison clearer they use a pet spider that belongs to Malcolm in the movie and name him Malvolio.
ReplyDeleteOne of the differences that stuck out to me in the movie was that there was no major joker going around pulling pranks. Especially on Malcolm, who is the character after Malvolio. In the play there is a lot of things going against Malvolio, but nothing in She's the Man.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mireya as well. While there were close similarities the true plot of Twelfth Night was not portrayed in She's the Man.
ReplyDeleteViola is different in this play, because she lies a lot. She doesn't really lie about her disguise in the Twelfth Night. Oh Malvolio wasn't he the pet spider or rat or something. All I know is he got lost in the movie. I don't think he was as important in the movie as he was in the Twelfth Night. Anyways the basic of disguise is the same, but the movie is completly different than the play it self.
ReplyDeleteI agree with trista, I forgot about the joker. There isn't one in the movie. Wow now that I think of it there isn't anything that has to do with a joke in the movie.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in this play the character viola verses in the movie the character viola differ because the intentions behind the desguise. In the play the character wanted the duke but also wanted to get closer to olivia because they had things in common but in the movie it wasnt like that viola wanted to just get back at her ex boyfriend but then when she saw how hot duke was she decided to kill two birds with one stone. hey why not though. In the movie non of her intentions was to befriend olivia.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hanh with several things. Viola in the movie does seem less comfortable playing a guy than the Viola in the play and it is quite obvious. The purpose of each disguise was different. The Viola in the movie wanted to prove to her ex-boyfriend that girls can be just as good as or even better than boys. Malvolio was not a major character in the movie as he was in the play, he even got replaced with a different name, Malcolm. He is also desperate to get Olivia’s attention.
ReplyDeleteThe character of Viola for both the play and the movie is the same in the aspect that she disguises herself until the very end and they both fall in love with Duke Orsino. However, Viola from the play and Viola from the movie have different motives for why they disguise themselves in the first place. Viola in the play disguises herself so she can become Duke Orsino’s servant while Viola in the movie wants desperately to get onto Illyria’s soccer team so she can beat her old school’s soccer team and prove that she is actually worthy of being on their team despite being a girl. Malvolio in the play seems like a man that really just wants his love to become mutually felt and ends up the center of a cruel joke. Malcolm (Malvolio) is very in love with Olivia but is willing to do anything even really mean things to get the girl. I don’t really believe Malvolio’s character in the play to be as mean as the character in the movie. The other thing that makes you know for sure that he is 'Malvolio' is that he has a pet Tarantula named Malvolio.
ReplyDeleteI think these two stories, while sharing the same baisic plot, are very different. The motivation of Shakespeare's Viola was grief then eventually love, while the movie's Viola is motivated by revenge on her ex and her wounded pride. Malvolio/Malcom in the movie is much more envolved in the plot instead of being more of a sub-plot.
ReplyDeleteWhile the play and movie contain the same theme, differences are present. The most prominent difference is the motivation behind Viola’s disguise and actions. To begin, in the play Viola goes into disguise not only to keep a quiet profile but to win the love of Duke Orsino. Viola goes into disguise knowing of her love for Duke Orsino; it is already present and fully developed. In the movie, Viola goes into disguise to prove her talent for the game of soccer. She also has no idea who Duke Orsino is, much less of the love she has for him. In the movie, we are able to see the birth of her feeling for Duke Orsino. We are able to see her feelings take shape and grow whereas in the play we don’t get much of a history at all. Another difference is in the way the character Viola carries herself. In the play, Viola is quite comfortable with the role she has taken on. She is completely honest and never once is in fear of being discovered. In the movie, Viola is in constant fear of being discovered and has to hide her true feelings in order to stay in disguise. The themes are indeed the same but the drive behind the main character is quite different.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that the movie used the character of Malvolio much at all. He is present merely to satisfy all characters present in the play. The only connection I seem to make between Malvolio in the play and Malvolio in movie is their air of arrogance. It is clear that Malcolm believes himself to be better than everyone else, just as Malvolio did in the play.
I agree with what was stated by Hanh Do. In the play, Viola is very comfortable with the disguise she is attempting to convince others of. As Hanh Do stated, she does this so well, that she causes Olivia, a woman bound to a vow preventing her from being in the company of men, to fall in love with her. Therefore, it is obvious that in the play, Viola is able to conform to her identity very comfortably, and very well. However, within the movie, Viola finds that trying to disguise herself as a man proves very difficult. Multiple times throughout the film we see Viola second-guess her actions, resulting in her wanting to give up on her task altogether. Also, as Hanh Do stated, the Viola in the movie has a meaningful purpose behind her decision to disguise herself as a man; she wishes to be able to play on the boys soccer team in order to enact revenge upon her ex-boyfriend. However, Viola within the play simply takes on the disguise in order to hide her true identity from a village of people who would not have known her otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI have only seen about 25 min of the movie from the beginning. I can already see that Viola in the movie and in the play are very much alike. The story line is very close to the play at the beginning of the movie. Viola, I think is more out going in the movie. In the movie it brings out her character before she goes under disguise. In the play, her character isn't very developed before she turns into Cesario. We only really know her as Cesario. Also, there are different meanings behind the costume. In the play she is not wanting to be noticed, and in the movie she is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grace. The plot is very similar, but the two Violas were motivated for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteViola in the play is a woman who is restricted to speak her mind and doesn’t really have the free will to choose who she wants to marry. So she takes this motivation to disguise as Cesario to do just that. To speak her mind and to get to know if Duke Orsino is someone she would want to share the rest of her life with. The end result they marry.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Viola in the movie has a different motivation to get what she wants; and it’s to play soccer on the boys team since the girls soccer teams was cut from the school’s extra-curriculum activities. But as we can predict, she is not allowed to play alongside because 1) she is a girl and 2) she will not be able withstand the aggressive nature the boys’ team play by. Giving her and the other girls on the team the idea the boys are superior to them. And uses the disguise of her brother to show her boyfriend and his teammates they were wrong. In the process, she falls in love with the soccer team captain, Duke, who happens to be her home school rival.
As Viola keeps this charade going, Malcolm/Malvolio starts to envy Viola because Olivia is falling for Viola so he comes up with everything he can think of to get Olivia’s attention, but he fails. To compensate for the joke played in the play, the movie uses Malcolm/Malvolio as entertainment by illustrating him as a victim of a student being hazed.
I agree with Hanh with what she said; more so with the tarantula not need to be in the movie.I have never seen this movie, so it’s interesting how this movie is a remake of old ideas set in modern times. Yet serves as a great mechanism to get the visual perspective that some readers don’t entirely get from just reading it off pages of a book, some of us are not fully train to imagine such actions taking place, therefore missing the entire plot of the story being told. This shows how much we depend on visual aids, and possibly is a start to a less creative society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteShe's the Man is an updated version of The Twelfth Night in that Viola's initial motivation for disguising herself as a man is not to get close to a man (Orsino in the Twelfth Night), but to play soccer when her soccer program is cut. It does involve a man, though, because she wants to take revenge upon her ex-boyfriend and beat his team. Viola disguises herself as Sebastian rather than Cesario (Cesario's is a diner in the movie). Malvolio is not as important in the movie as in the play - in the movie Malvolio has a cameo appearance as a spider. Perhaps the producers of the movie didn't want to portray the very cruel joke upon Malvolio that Shakespeare creates in the play?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hahn Do's blog, except for the necessity of the spider in the movie. I believe it would be strange to have a student named Malvolio in American (although it could probably be done). The producers didn't want to exclude the name since he was such a big part of the Twelfth Night, so they named Malcolm's spider Malvolio.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Wiley in that Viola does lie in the movie, but never lies in the play. Viola in "She's the Man" is honest most of the time, but Viola in Twelfth Night is honest ALL the time.
I thought it was really funny that in the movie Viola was disguised as a guy, but pretended to be a girl when she was helping Duke learn how to ask out Olivia. It reminded me of a movie entitled "Victor Victoria".
Both the movie and the play Viola are disguised as men. The Viola in the movie dresses as her brother Sebastian, only to play soccer, which she loves. In the play Viola dresses as Cesario to get closer to her love Duke Orsino. The main difference is the movie is a modern version of the play. Both Violas share the same plot, they're both disguised as a man to get what they love. In the play Sebastian and Viola are separated and think each other is dead. In the movie they live togather. In the play Malvolio is a man that loves Viola. In the movie Malvolio is a pet spider that belongs to a boy named Malcolm. Malcolm loves Viola in the movie. There are differances, but both are very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI agree with PrecVRob, Viola is in disguise at the first part of the play. The Viola in the movie is disguised later when she finds out she can dress as her brother to play soccer. The disguises are different ecause of the times. They both have help from a friend. Malcolm's love is revealed at different times and Malvolio the spider is mentioned very little. In the play he has a real part.
ReplyDeleteThe movie and the actual play are very different. Viola in the movie and Viola in the Twelfth Night both disguise themselves. Viola in the movie disguises herself as her brother and in the play she is disguised as Cesario a male servant. Viola in the movie disguises herself as her brother because she wants to play soccer for the school his brother is suppose to go to (Illyria), because her school which is Cornwall cut the girls soccer team. In the play Viola disguises herself as Cesario because she wants to be close to Duke orsino. In the movie and in the play Viola speaks the truth and tells Duke Orsino how she feels.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm in the movie is like Malvolio in the play they both are in love with Olivia.
In the play, Viola is portrayed as a much more elegant, "girly girl" who disguises herself as a guy in order to be able to sing for Duke Orsino. In the midst of being "Cesario", Viola falls in love with Orsino. The movie carries over the same basic plot. Viola in the movie is a soccer player who wants to play on a boys soccer team, which is unconventional for women to do so. She then becomes Orsino's roomate as well as buddy only to later fall in love with him. The movie uses Malvolio, as Malcom, in the play as the annoying sidekick of Olivia who is concerned more with snitching and being obnoxious than actually lusting after Olivia as we saw in the play.
ReplyDeleteI agree with S.Rodriguez that there are some differences in the play as well. I definitely agree with the difference of how Viola carries herself in the play and in the movie. In the play Viola doesn't seem to worry about being discovered and is confident that her disguise is foolproof. However, in the movie Viola is much more nervous and cautious with her disguise for example, showering, changing, and the tone of her voice. I like the fact that S.Rodriguez also pointed out that there is a difference in Viola's actions in wearing the disguise. In the play, Viola goes into disguise to be able to sing because women weren't allowed to do so at that time, and in the movie Viola disguises herself in order to play soccer on a boy's team, which she wasn't allowed to do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Precious agreeing with Mireya, because that is the first difference I noticed between the play and the movie. In the movie Viola wants to play soccer and dresses as her brother, and in the play Viola disguises herself as cesario because she thinks her brother Sebastian is dead. In the movie Viola doesn’t expect to fall in love in with duke Orsino and in the play she says she wants to get close to him. So the movie really didn’t portray everything the play had to offer.
ReplyDeleteI’ll have to agree with Kyle. In the play Viola is disguised as a totally made up person who then is later confused with her brother Sebastian. In the play, Viola’s intention was never to play the part of her brother; the confusion was a complete surprise and unforeseen by the characters. In the movie, Viola is pretty much impersonating her brother Sebastian. Her goal is to get people to believe that she is Sebastian. While the confusion was also unexpected, it was more probable than in the play.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Hahn Do when she says, “Malvolio in the movie is a very minor character as compared to the Malvolio in the play.” In the play, Malvolio is present a lot more. He is one of Olivia’s servants and is ultimately near her for some time in the play. In the movie, Olivia pays no attention to the character of Malcolm/Malvolio. She is completely indifference and openly expresses her dislike for him.
I agree with Leigh about Viola's character. I find it surprising that Shakespeare did not develop or introduce to us the characteristics of Viola before she decided to disguise herself as Cesario. Although the audience can see some of that characteristics of Viola when she is in disguise as Cesario, such as when she speak of her true feelings towards Duke Orsino. She did not lie at all but instead, she told the whole truth. I think that we know of Viola's characteristics less than the other characters, such as Malvolio, Olivia, or Duke Orsino.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Trista, as well as everyone else since we all pretty much said the same thing. But I totally agree with Trista about their not being a specific joker messing around with Malcolm. Although, in the late night shower scene Channing Tatum does slap him with his towel which shows how he's not well liked.
ReplyDeleteBoth Viola in the movie and play are the same in that they both tell Duke the exact truth about their feelings. The duke in the play and the movie never find out though, because they think she is actually a he. It's true that in the movie Viola dresses up as her brother to beat the opposing school's soccer team, where in the play she dresses up as a servant. All in all, though, it's the same general story outline, other than a semi different motive. Malvoilio in the play just desires to be with Olivia to maybe get himself ranked higher in the social system. In the movie, he's a crabby dorm director. Both Malvolio's portray characteristics of melancholy and strictness.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the two Viola's from the play and movie had different motivations for their disguising themselves. I agree with Donna Becker for the Malvolio comment. The producers or whoever of the movie didn't want to have the name Malvolio in the movie because it's probably too old school for modern day America.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mireya's example about how sebastian is different in the play and also about her explanation about the difference when Malvolio falls in love with Olivia. I also agree that the movie is a mondern translation, i believe they altered these details in order to appeal to a different audience when the movie was made.
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