Film Education -

Cultural interpretations

Cinema is easily distributed across the globe, meaning it is ‘transnational’ by nature. The availability of films from across the world provides the opportunity for us to learn about other cultures through film.

But how easily can cinema really cross cultural boundaries? For example, how might a British audience interpret a Russian film made for Russian audiences? Would the language and cultural differences make it harder to fully understand or ‘get’ the film?

Shakespeare’s plays are often considered to be a significant part of British culture, as well as part of our literary heritage. Yet this doesn’t mean that the British are the only audience nor the only producers of Shakespeare: the plays have been adapted into film in many different countries and in a variety of languages, from Bollywood cinema to Japanese samurai, as well as being repeatedly transformed by Hollywood to suit American tastes.

How might Shakespeare translate in a culture that is not British? What is ‘British’ about Shakespeare? Language is an important part of Shakespeare’s text. What happens when the language is changed? Is it still ‘Shakespeare’?

In pairs read through the Agree/Disagree Activity (pdf) to stimulate discussion about cross-cultural approaches to Shakespeare's plays.