Nelson’s characters are very similar to Shakespeare’s only more contemporary. For example Odin and Othello, are both noble Negro men who others consider to be superior. People look up to Othello because he is victorious on the battlefields and represents Venice and people look up to Odin because he is unstoppable on the basketball court and he stars in the team the Hawks. Hugo and Iago are very similar as they are both keenly jealous of Odin and Othello. Hugo is jealous because Hugo’s father, the coach considers Odin to be more of a true son than Hugo and because Odin and Michael win the most valuable player award when Hugo thinks he is the better player. Iago is jealous of Othello because he chooses Cassio to fight with him in battle when Iago believes he is better than Cassio. Hugo puts a plan in place to destroy Odin and his relationship with Desi and Iago puts a plan in place to destroy Othello and his relationship with Desdemona. Nelson’s characters are very similar to Shakespeare’s only more contemporary and signify the lives and emotions of American teenagers.
Shakespeare’s female characters are seen as inferior to the men, they don’t get the change to say much and they are either portrayed as good innocent girls or dirty whores. Nelson’s characters aren’t seen as inferior as Shakespeare’s but they aren’t seen to be equal against the men. This is evident when Desi says to Odin “Take me as you like”, this persuades the audience to believe she is inferior to Odin and the audience might think she sounds like a whore.
While all the lines have been stripped away, the strength of the themes is still present in Nelson’s film, from Shakespeare’s play. The themes of jealousy, passion, violence, racism and trust are still present but Nelson has adapted modern versions of these themes which examine the complex lives of a group of teenagers as well as interracial dating, substance abuse (steroids and cocaine), school violence racism and parent-child relationships.
Although the music in the film reminds us that this is a contemporary American version of Othello, (when American Hip Hop is heard in the background) Opera music from the Elizabethan time is also played, during the tragedy. This opera music takes the audience back to the time of the original play and also emphasises the impact of the tragedy.
The colours used throughout the film, signify that it is an American film and an American version of a Shakespearean play. Red, blue and white are used everywhere, from the court to the coach’s office to the clothes the characters wear and the American flag is shown numerous times during the film.
The language has been changed to suit the contemporary audience and so the film can be targeted for a popular culture, not only a high culture. Yet some lines are very similar. For example, Dean says to Odin “She deceived me what makes you think she won’t do the same to you”. Brabantio says “O she deceives me past thought”.
Nelson has set the play in a high school to encourage younger people to be interested in Shakespeare. The scarf owned by Odin’s grandmother, given to Desi has taken the place of the handkerchief in Othello. The characters used in the film radiate intelligence and don’t appear to be shallow because of the actors chosen.
Film techniques like, dialogue, music, voice over, lighting, slow moving shots, close up shots, sharp and soft focus’ and different camera angles are used to make the film more appealing, especially to the contemporary audience of today and emphasise what is happening in particular scenes. For example there is tender music when Odin sees Desi and Mike together.
‘O’ is a post modern transformation of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ for the contemporary audience of today that represents today’s popular culture.