“All the
world’s a stage,” as Shakespeare had claimed before in his play: “As you like
it”. Alas, the Elizabethan Age, when the social values and political ideals of
the people were communicated through the theater. Their world was then
considered a stage; their life then, was considered a play, but ‘tis not the
same today. The present world of Justin Bieber, singing cheesy love songs does
not revolve around politics anymore. It’s at times like this, when civilized
members of our society like I ponder upon the compelling question: was the
theatre of the Elizabethan Age yesterday a mere reflection of the social values
and political ideals of the people? And if so, does it remain the same today?
Simply answered, yes, the entertainment industry in the Elizabethan Age did
revolve around the politics and social values; today albeit, the entertainment
industry hardly interacts with the political ideals and social values.
Similar to how the tranquil lake
reflects the crisp glowing moon up above our heads. The Elizabethan theatre was
reflected by the social values and political ideals of those that the people
then held. Every play was bound to have been impacted by the politics and
social that has been apparent in the society. The play of King Richard the III,
for example, was considered quite grand of a play and was carefully structure
off his tragic history. This play is based around the politics at the time and
played a huge role in establishing certain values. In other words, in the Elizabethan
Age, entertainment revolved around politics; no theatric play would be complete
without it. The people back then really fed on tragic stories, people liked it
and decided to act it out to help communicate their history and showcase their
art. Really, acting plays then weren’t done for the sake of becoming famous or
rich (like it is today). We can also take a look at the oh so famous play: Romeo
and Juliet; throughout the play, their society’s social values were very
obvious that arranged marriages were the trend and the daughter (in most cases)
had absolutely no say for their future; or for say we could tell that men held
a significantly larger role and had more power to do what they wanted. Yet
another example would be the tragic story of Hamlet. It’s based around the
Kingdom of Denmark and talks about the dangerous competition of the fight to become
the heir of the royal throne.
There are the beautiful plays
back in the Elizabethan age, and then there’s today’s entertainment industry.
Like Venus and Earth, politics/social values and the present entertainment industry,
there doesn’t appear to be a solid relationship between them. For the most
part, they go on their own orbit around the sun and only meet up once in a long
time. Which means that politics and (ex) Hollywood stay somewhat isolated and
do not have a direct relationship with each other. The people of today
practically feed off what the paparazzi say of the entertainment industry. “BEYONCE’S
PREGANT? NO WAY!” To be harsher, it seems as if the sole purpose of the show
biz today has lost it’s purpose to entertain and entertain only; now, it’s all
about the money and fame. What has happened to our society? Has Hollywood taken
over our world?! Nonetheless, it is still possible for some politics to come
into play in the entertainment business. Even stranger, the popular members of
politics are slowly becoming prominent idols in the entertainment realm we live
in today.
Long story short, before the
political idols and social values were reflected in the threatre during the
time of the Elizabethan age. Today, politics in general and the entertainment
industry pretty much live in their own little worlds; seemingly completely
oblivious of each other with minimal interaction. Throughout the past four centuries,
the way we viewed our world, or vice versa the way the world viewed us has
changed drastically. Howbeit, we cannot stop time from ticking past us; and
with each tick or tock, changes are evoked and the world is therefore different
from before. As human beings we are better off the accept the reality of today
and hope for the better for tomorrow!
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