O

Before we started watching O I thought it was going to be an interpretation of Othello similar to the ones we looked at last week in class and on YouTube. I was happy that it is much more modern; I actually really enjoyed it. I like how this interpretation puts the play in a context that is familiar to us as students- I think that is definitely a reason why I like it so much. Having read the play ahead of time it was fun to make the connections and see the similarities it has with what we read. Watching this film has given me a better picture already of what happened in Othello even though it is a little different.
I thought it was helpful that the names were similar in both the play and the film- it helped me to follow the story line right from the beginning. I paid close attention to the color of the handkerchief (scarf in the movie) and the sheets because we spent alot of time in class talking about the symbolism of those things. I was surprised that the sheets were not completely white nor was the "handkerchief" at all like I imagined- i guess this is where interpretation comes into play. The sheets of Desi's bed were white but they had flowers or some kind of pattern on them. The handkerchief was more of a mauve than white. I thought this was interesting because this was a difference from the play.
I liked how they portrayed Iago in a similar light in the play and in the movie but did so in much different ways and contexts. Whereas we were able to get into the head of Iago through his asides in the play we were able to get into Hugo's head and know what he was thinking based on his facial expressions. I still feel annoyed of Hugo in the film because I can not stand what he is doing to Odin and Desi. He uses Michael Cassio and Roger. He is portrayed as sneaky and it is hard to trust him.

While looking at movie reviews I saw the tagline for the movie which is: "Everything comes full circle." I thought this fitting as it also said Trust. Seduction. Betrayal. Trust and betrayal are opposites and throughout the course of the movie we go from trust as Hugo and Odin are teammates on the same basketball team to betrayal as Hugo uses others to hurt Odin and Desi and ultimately lead to the demise of many. We are turned a full circle as we sit and watch what happens- it is hard to believe the amount of harm Hugo is going to cause. I see the title as fitting with this tagline, or this tagline as fitting with the title of the film. The title (the letter O) is a complete circle which I think has an underlying meaning and is not just for Odin-like Othello. Instead of representing the main character it represents the complete cirlce, three-sixty, that happens throughout the film.