Examples Of Manipulation In Othello

Tragedy and manipulation is present constantly throughout Othello by William Shakespeare. Othello is the story of a Moorish general who falls in love with a young woman named Desdemona, even though he has no experience with women. The director of the film, Oliver Parker, contrasts the ideas of appearance and reality. Through the film effects, the camera angles, and the colours of clothing Parker is able to convey many different messages. Green, yellow, white and black are colours that appear many times throughtout the film because of the messages that are hidden within each colour. Desdemona is always shown to be wearing yellow or white to portray her wisdom and womanly virtue. During the play as majority of the characters experience a change
The most commonly portrayed angle is showing a character through a window, bars, or an archway. This illustrates that the character is somehow trapped or confined by an action or event that has occurred in the plot. Early in the film, Othello is not framed which could be interpreted that he is completely free from any restraints at that point in the film. However Othello is showed increasingly more framed as events unfold. Majority of the time that he is framed, Iago is present representing that Iago is the cause for Othello becoming trapped in a web of doubt. In one specific scene Othello is hiding in a dungeon cell as he listens to a conversation between Iago and Cassio. After Cassio leaves, Iago comes back to talk to Othello about what he thought he heard. As Iago approaches, the camera moves to his point of view and shows that as Iago gets closer to the cell, the bars are getting closer and further trapping Othello. This illustrates that Iago had a great influence on Othello, such as a scene in the armory also shows a lot of crisscrossing patterns around Othello as he begins to be manipulated by Iago. These patterns inform the audience that Othello may come to a crossroads in the future in which he will not know which way is the correct path to take. Another important angle portrayed through the film is the angle that shows characters above other characters. Brabantio uses this angle when he talks to Roderigo, and when he is accusing Othello of using witchcraft to make his daughter fall in love with him. Othello seldomly utilizes this angle, but it is shown that Iago is constantly superior to majority of the other characters, especially Othello and Roderigo. Iago manipulates these two men very easily, and the director may be trying to explain that they are only manipulated so easily because Iago is superior to them and has much more power than them. Angles however, are not as