Shakespeare Saturday: Much Ado Nothing Review

They had to know they were being inceptioned. They had to.

If you didn’t already know, I love Joss Whedon. This man can do no wrong in my book, and then he makes my favorite Shakespeare play into an amazing movie with almost everyone of my favorite actors associated with him. 

There are many things to say about this film, so I’m going to start with why Whedon choosing Much Ado means more to me than it does to other people. 

I went to a theatre high school, meaning the choir kids were the jocks because we didn’t have sports. So, yes, I am a theatre kid. I was constantly perplexed in college when other people didn’t have a favorite musical or have lines of plays memorized. My senior year of high school, in my Play Production class, we did a shortened version of Much Ado About Nothing and I played Hero. 

Beatrice and Hero. She's judging me.

I went to see Whedon’s Much Ado with my two best friends from high school (one was in the play with me), my boyfriend, and a friend from college. After the movie ended, my best friend who was in the play with me, reminded me of how long I was laying on the ground. She remarked on how Hero wakes up and is a part of the scene. I had the same thought during the movie! I thought for the longest time during the soiled woman wedding scene that Hero wasn’t going to faint. I swear that when I was in the play, I said two lines and then I was on the floor until the curtains came down. So, good job on that one Whedon. I had the hardest time not laughing every time we did that scene. Clearly, I was an amazing actress. 

Other things to mention:

FRAN KRANZ HAS SUCH A SEXY BOD. I didn’t know. I already loved him, but now I want him to have a three some with me and my boyfriend. I think my boyfriend will be down. I’m also glad he is not Claudio, because truthfully I would never get together with that d-bag.

Nathan Fillion and Tom Lenk need their own buddy cop movie. They were adorable and I loved them. Those parts aren’t memorable from my high school version; these men gave them their own life and made the movie in a lot of ways. 

I could not unhear Ashley Johnson as Ellie (see my review of The Last of Us if you have no idea what I’m talking about). 

It was heart wrenching to see Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof be together romantically in a film. FINALLY. They have great chemistry as a couple on screen and they needed a happy ending. (Watch Angel if you have no idea what I’m talking about). 

Lastly, Joss and the actors did something with Shakespeare that has never been done for me before. Without having to read line by line in English classes (boo Hamlet and extra boo to Romeo and Juliet), I understood completely what was occurring in the plot. Even acting as Hero, I did not fully grasp the meaning of every line my fellow actors were saying. But in this movie, I laughed at all the right moments during the right moment. I didn’t have to think about it and then laugh later. Everything made sense. 

Due to its impeccable directing and acting Much Ado About Nothing deserves a 5 out of 5. Also, I want Whedon’s house. I want to be his best friend and live in his home. I would be his maid just to be in his home and listen to him and his friends read Shakespeare plays. Stop me, I’m fangirling.

Women in Gaming Wednesday: Review of The Last of Us

“We’ve seen the strong or we’ve seen the weak woman.

We haven’t necessarily seen the empowered woman.”

-          Troy Baker on women in video games in:

Grounded: The Making of The Last of Us

 Spoiler Alert! 

Naughty Dog is one of the first video game companies that really caught my attention. When my boyfriend made me watch and play the Uncharted series, I was hooked. It was the true beginning of my transformation into a gamer. Needless to say, we’ve been excited about The Last of Us for a while. We even went to the midnight release where we met Neil Druckmann (the Writer and Creative Director), Ashley Johnson (voice of Ellie), Troy Baker (voice of Joel), and other game designers/developers. Most of my photos are terrible because I was shaking with pure excitement. 

Ashley, me, and Troy. We are best friends.

Before we had a chance to play the game, I read a review from the New York Times (Stupid Article by a Stupid Hipster ) . Well, I skimmed the review, fearing spoilers. I was spoiled anyway, or so I thought. The review had me convinced that Joel dies. The reviewer also stated that Ellie isn’t as big of a feminist achievement as female gamers had hoped. But after completing the game, I found the review to be incorrect.

The article claimed that Ellie was “subordinate” to Joel. After playing the game, I see what the reviewer was saying; Ellie is definitely not the one in charge. But neither is Joel, at least, in the beginning. When Ellie is introduced, Tess is the one in charge. Throughout the game, the women take the lead. Tess and Joel are mostly equal but Tess generally seems to be the one calling the shots, Marlene is the leader of the Fireflies, and Maria seems to be the head of the Dam where we meet Joel’s brother. Am I proving Ellie isn’t subordinate though? Not really. What I’m trying to say is that there is hierarchy. But I don’t believe it has anything to do with gender. It has to do with age, experience, and the ability to make tough decisions. Generally in this game, that is the women. Ellie isn’t in charge not because of her gender, but because of her age and inexperience.

My thoughts on this come from when we meet Henry and Sam. Ellie and Sam are the same age. They are both “subordinate” to the men they travel with. The difference? Sam is a male. But the dynamic between Ellie and Joel and Sam and Henry is the same. They aren’t necessarily being dominated, they are being protected. Does this prove Ellie is a feminist character though? Maybe.

What truly proves she is feminist is when Joel is injured and we get to play as Ellie. In this level, Ellie is captured by a creepy man. My thoughts were “Please, no damsels in distress. Please!” And there wasn’t. Joel realizes Ellie has been gone for too long and musters the strength to find her, but its Ellie that rescues herself. She doesn’t wait to be rescued. There’s no Joel in sight until she’s already defeated her captor.

My only issues with the game on the feminist level are that Ellie is seeking Joel’s approval, asking things like, “How’d I do?” And then in the end, neither Marlene nor Joel gives Ellie a choice about her fate. They both make the decision for her.  By then, I believe she’s proven herself worthy of making her own choices. They know it too; Marlene asks Joel, “How’d you do it?” In reference to their making it across the country; his response is, “It was her. She fought like hell to get here.” Joel shows that Ellie is capable of anything in the post-apocalyptic world she’s grown up in.

Overall, I find Ellie to be a feminist hero who is not “subordinate” or anything else demeaning for that matter. Ellie fights for her life, and for her strength, with or without men to guide her. This game deserves a 5 out of 5.

Things to note: Nathan Drake is David. That’s right. Nolan North is the voice of the creep who captures Ellie. Think about that. Just think about it.