Film Screening and Discussion
Join us for a screening and discussion of the feminist film Ophelia from 1-3:30 pm on Tuesday October 4th in Corcoran Hall 103. This is an in-person event. Snacks will be available at this student initiated event! Here is a trailer of the film Ophelia.
Corcoran Hall is located next to the GW Textile Museum. The address is 725 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20052. Please do not confuse Corcoran Hall with the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design.
The film Ophelia is a feminist retelling of the famous character from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Directed by Claire McCarthy, the film is based on Lisa Klein’s novel and stars Daisy Ridley (of Star Wars fame).
As a rebellious and motherless child, Ophelia falls in love with Prince Hamlet in this adaptation. When Hamlet’s father is murdered and the prince begins to unravel, Ophelia sharply navigates the rules of power in Denmark.
Professor Alexa Alice Joubin will be on hand to discuss the significance of feminist filmmaking and recent uses of classics, such as those of Shakespeare, for social justice causes.
This adaptation is significant in the history of Shakespeare on film. As Melissa Croteau writes, this film “takes one of the most important Anglophone plays ever written, Hamlet, and essentially tell “his” story from the point of view of his doomed female love interest, usurping the voice of one of the most durable and privileged characters in all of Western literature. In addition, a female director and screenwriter, McCarthy and Semi Chellas, were heading this adaptation of a female-authored young adult novel aimed predominantly at young women.”
