Darmok

“Throne of Blood”, a play from Ping Chong, had a great story line but a lack of excitement. The only part of the play that really caught my attention was the scary ghost and the annoying voice of Lady Asaji. I thought it was interesting how the play was an adaptation of a film; hopefully in the future upon viewing it I may be able to compare the two.  My favorite part of the play was the amazing display of the ghost in the forest. I think I can speak for everyone that was sitting near me and say that the goal of setting the spooky mood was a success. From the costume to the sound effects the atmosphere was just perfect for these ghost scenes. The play over all I felt was a bit rushed, I got a bit confused at some points and if I had not had previous knowledge of Shakespeare’s Macbeth I may have not been able to understand what was going on. Especially towards the end of the play I was very confused and I strongly believe it was due to the fact that it was rushed. The beginning of the play was much more slow moving and easier to follow.

Charles Isherwood, the theatre critic for the New York Times, recently reviewed “Throne of Blood” and definitely did not hesitate to incorporate his many strong disliking’s of the play. He felt that the stage was too bare, the language was not all there, and basically the costumes were the only thing he saw as beautiful.  Isherwood mention that, “The kimono first worn by Lady Asaji (Ako), Washizu’s wife, features a design of rich red dripping off the shoulders, foreshadowing her murderous ambitions.” I had taken notice to the red on the kimono because it was so vibrant, however I did not realize it was foreshadowing towards what was to come. It is interesting now to think back and understand that indeed it was. The highlight reel that was above the stage he felt was barely noticeable and not able capture the necessary atmosphere and I cannot argue against that. Isherwood felt that the ghost “…with his stark, kabuki-style makeup and waterfalls of white hair surrounding a tuft of bangs, the spirit seemed to me a vision of the quirky fashion designer Betsey Johnson in her dotage, more kooky than creepy.” I found this to be hysterical because I love Betsey Johnson, but I could not agree more!

Overall, I agree with Christopher Isherwood that the play was not all there. However, my disliking’s were definitely not as strong as his. I did enjoy the play and am very pleased to have seen it.



Charles Isherwood review of The Throne of Blood was a failure to identify the play as an independent from the film. Throughout the entire review he bashes the play for not being able to produce the same results as the original movie by Akira Kurosawa. His opinion lacked to mention how innovative they were for being pioneers  to bring a Japanese Samurai movie to the theater.

One of his arguments is the lack of use of space on stage, most of the time having as Isherwood says “a … dark and bare stage” and “dominated by a stone wall stretching across the back”, a statement that can be supported. Indeed, the most interesting scene in The Throne of Blood include large stage props such as the forest scene with the spirit, and including more frills it would have made a better piece.

The play was a new experience for me, and story line was easy to comprehend. In all the play was beautifully put together, giving the viewer and detailed story of a man who comes to power and a prophecy that can’t be escaped.

The New York Times on October 13^th featured an article, “Across the U.S. Long Recovery Looks Like Recession”.  Currently we are making a slow recovery from the recession in the United States. They have done as much as they can do already, but what more can be done? And if the government steps in and does more, will that just make the economy worse? At the moment there is still a low unemployment rate and not enough jobs to go around. Foreclosure although improving is still pretty high and the housing market is still down as well. The best thing at this point for the Fed to do is to wait it out.

In the scene of the Odyssey with Circe and Odysseus we see a comparable situation. Odysseus learns from Circe that he has 2 terrible encounters ahead of him and that he must choose one. The choice is between Scylla and Charibdys. No matter which path Odysseus chooses these two monsters will lead to impending death. Circe advises Odysseus that the best choice would be to steadily row straight through Scylla because, “[b]etter by far to lose six men and keep your ship than lose your entire crew.” (A, 402) If he chooses Charibdys the entire ship would be engulfed by the whirlpool. Odysseus initially questions his ability to fight of Scylla, but Circe advises him that the best course of action is to just row straight along through the monster. This is similar to the situation spoken about by economist Barry Eichengreen of the University of California: “But we’re going to be living with the overhang of our financial and debt problems for a long, long time to come.”  These unavoidable hardships we are to face in the U.S. as a result of the recession create a great parallel to the previously mentioned situation from the Odyssey.

           In The Odyssey, readers are introduced to a great Greek hero, Odysseus. After fighting an infamous war in Troy, most of the warriors returned home, all except the king of Ithica, Odysseus. Ten years elapsed and most of the townspeople gave up on the hope of Odysseus’s arrival. However, Odysseus’s wife , Penelope, and son, Telemachus, still believed he would return home. Meanwhile, suitors from all over Ithica were trying to take over the kingdom and court. During this time, Odysseus faced many obstacles in order to return home. He had to battle with the Cyclopes , Polyphemus, who was held captive by the Goddess Calypso and survived a brutal storm sent by Poisdon as punishment for blinding the Cyclops while he was at sea. Even through all these unfortunate events, Odysseus was determined to be reunited with his family. In book nine we read “So nothing is as sweet as a man’s own country”. Odysseus had a great longing to return home and would do go through even more hardships if it would mean he could return to his kingdom and family.

      We can compare Odysseus’s determination to the recent headlines of the Chilean miners. Since August 5^th, 33 Chilean men had been trapped in an underground mine. At first, no one had known if they were alive. After a starteling discovery of two notes sent by the trapped miners, rescue missions began. The mission was seen as a challenge from the start since no one had ever attempted to go so far underground. Engineers worked day after day to build a hole that would bring the men back to safety. On October 12th, after much aniticipation the miners were finally rescued. Much like Odysseus, the miners had undergone a struggle to return home. Most of their resources were limited, they were living in poor health conditions and couldn’t see their family for 68 days. However these men were determined to get home and kept positive that their life wasn’t over. In a quote from the New York Times article “Trapped 68 days, first Chilean miners taste freedom” written by Alexei Barrionuevo and Simon Romero, we read “during their more then two months confinement, the miners and their determination to survive have inspired this country and riveted the world”. Both the story of The Odyssey and the 33 Chilean miners teach us that once you set a goal for yourself you can accomplish it, and even though you might have to go through some obstacles, the reward will be that much greater.