The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 12.2044  Friday, 24 August 2001

[1]     From:   Richard Burt <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
        Date:   Thursday, 23 Aug 2001 09:23:13 -0400
        Subj:   Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

[2]     From:   Paul Franssen <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
        Date:   Thursday, 23 Aug 2001 18:06:13 +0200
        Subj:   Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

[3]     From:   Arthur Lindley <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
        Date:   Friday, 24 Aug 2001 09:36:20 +0800
        Subj:   Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

[4]     From:   Hugh Davis <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
        Date:   Thursday, 23 Aug 2001 21:41:52 -0400
        Subj:   Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Richard Burt <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Thursday, 23 Aug 2001 09:23:13 -0400
Subject: 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest
Comment:        Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

They are definitely two different characters.  Ariel is a runaway slave
who is loyal to Gideon Prosper, and Caliban is the white trash character
Gator Man who is after Miranda and on the side of the Confederates.

Best,
Richard

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Paul Franssen <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Thursday, 23 Aug 2001 18:06:13 +0200
Subject: 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest
Comment:        Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

Tanya Gough asks: were Ariel and Caliban conflated in the Peter Fonda
Bayou Tempest? yes and no. Ariel is a black slave--a common way of
portraying Caliban. His mother is a kind of obeah woman--and she teaches
her witchcraft to Prosper, before being murdered by his evil brother,
the Antonio character. Apart from being treated sympathetically, this
woman seems to be loosely based on Sycorax, which strengthens the
connection between the film's Ariel and Shakespeare's Caliban. On the
other hand, the "White trash" character called Gator Man has had his
bayou stolen by Prosper and wants it back, tries to rape Miranda, and
temporarily sides with Prosper's enemies. So clearly, he is close to
Shakespeare's Caliban, too.

Paul Franssen
Department of English
University of Utrecht

[3]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Arthur Lindley <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Friday, 24 Aug 2001 09:36:20 +0800
Subject: 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest
Comment:        Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

My memory was playing tricks on me, I think.  I remembered Perrineau's
Ariel and blanked out the Caliban (aka Gator Man). Complete details are
available from the IMDb. Apologies.

Arthur

[4]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Hugh Davis <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Thursday, 23 Aug 2001 21:41:52 -0400
Subject: 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest
Comment:        Re: SHK 12.2031 Re: Everglades Tempest

In response to Tanya Gough's query on the NBC Tempest film, I can say
with reasonably accurate memory that Ariel and Caliban are both evident
as separate characters.  Ariel (Harold Perrineau) is a former slave, and
the Caliban figure (an aboriginal swamp figure who lusts for Miranda) is
called Gator Man (John Pyper Ferguson).  The memory of the two
characters merging is undoubtedly because--in flashbacks--Ariel's mother
is shown, teaching Frederic Prosper (Peter Fonda) magic, thus becoming a
parallel for Sycorax.

Hugh Davis

_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook, 
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
The S H A K S P E R Webpage <http://ws.bowiestate.edu>

DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the
editor assumes no responsibility for them.