The Intergalactic Edition

1) As Mark Antony goes over his war plans with Octavius and Lepidus, he finds a chance to talk about Lepidus behind his back:

"Octavius: You may do your will;

But he's a tried and valiant soldier.

Mark Antony: So is my horse, Octavius..."

He sees Lepidus as just the sidekick or henchman, a beast of burden who can do their bidding. He's like The Clown in The Winters Tale. Check out this post to read more about the henchman/sidekick/doofus character.

2) Even though it comes out that Brutus is just in a bad mood because Portia has committed suicide back in Rome, I think he was right to chastise Cassius for supporting bribery. I agree that, if the message they want Romans to understand is that they were acting out of honor when they killed Caesar, then they have to show honor in every aspect. By allowing bribes, Cassius compromises that honor and undermines their mission. He's just another corrupt assassin if he exhibits any major moral failings.

I think nowadays, what might seem like "undermining a mission" is just portrayed as irony. Like Newt Gingrich calling for Bill Clinton's impeachment back in the '90s, when he himself was having an extramarital affair and ended up divorcing his wife and marrying his mistress. Was Gingrich really one to talk? Just like is Cassius really one to talk about honor and preserving Rome's dignity?

3) So Mark Antony is threatening to kill senators now? Is that really a good idea? Is it because all the senators are on Cassius' and Brutus' side? Or maybe he just thinks they're on Cassius' and Brutus' side?

Either way, it seems like Mark Antony is going on a superfluous rampage. I think he is a little power hungry.

Do any of you think of the battle in the Galactic Senate? Or is that just me?

4) Interesting that the ghost of Caesar introduces himself as "Brutus' evil spirit." So is it really Caesar coming back with a message for Brutus? Or is it just a vision and representation of Brutus' dark side?

Clownin' Around

(Whoops! Sorry this blog post is late!)

While reading Act IV of The Winter's Tale, I was thinking a lot about the Clown as a stock character. When you think of a "doofus" character, he's usually on the antagonists' side. He's not necessarily evil himself, but for some reason he's been recruited by the villain. He just does what he's told, and seems to have nothing better to do than to do his master's bidding. Also, almost always the doofus/henchman is larger in size than the villain. I think typically, the villain is the brains behind the operation, but he is physically weak, so he/she has a big brute to do some of his/her dirty work.

Now, in the case of the Clown, his "master" is his shepherd father, and so there's nothing strange about honoring and obeying his father. And, the Clown and his father are not villains. In a way, they're both "doofuses" (or "doofi," haha), because they're both simple country folk. But I still imagine the Clown to be a big guy, especially in comparison to his older, somewhat doddling fool father.

Here are some examples of this stock character that come to my mind:

http://nukethefridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/igor1.jpg

• Igor from Frankenstein - Although Igor's and Dr. Frankenstein's plan isn't intentionally nefarious, it does involve from questionable ethics from the get-go. Breaking into a lab and stealing brains? Imitating God? But Igor mindlessly goes along with it anyway. I haven't actually read the book, but from what I can tell from the various representations I've seen, it doesn't even seem Igor recognizes the scientific ambition of the experiment. He doesn't seem to have much of any thought.

• Pinky from Pinky and the Brain - Basically the same as Igor, but more of a doofus. (To go to my favorite Pinky line, skip to :59 in the video.)

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsM/10949-1401.jpg

• Lenny from Of Mice and Men - Is Lenny a good guy or a bad guy? His violent tendencies are usually an obvious sign of evil, but in his case he doesn't know any better because he's a "doofus." Even more than just a "doofus," really. That doesn't mean he avoids getting in trouble though.

 

• Kronk from The Emperor's New Groove - Another comical take on the chief henchman character, only this one is so "doofusy" that he seems like a good guy. Which makes him the highlight of the movie.

http://www.hotflick.net/pictures/007ENC_Timothy_Spall_004.html

• Nathaniel from Enchanted - I love the scene when he realizes that he's been a pawn in Queen Narissa's plan, and decides that he deserves to be his own man. It was one of my favorite modernizations of the classic fairy tale in Enchanted.

http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/109536_1219475040688_full.jpg

• Little John from Robin Hood - Little John is a good guy sidekick. But he doesn't seem too much like a doofus, just somebody who honestly believes in the same cause as Robin Hood does. But, because he's the larger and more jovial of the two, he becomes the right-hand man.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/76/76-h/images/c14-112.jp

• Jim from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - More than just a doofus sidekick, I think he's the actual driving force of the plot, because he's the reason Huck goes on his journey. Only, Jim doesn't seem to realize he's the focus.

What other examples can you think of?