Caged Bird
Taming the Shrew compared to The Birdcage
In The Birdcage and in Taming the Shrew, the people and couples that are presented show various similarities and differences. In The Birdcage, one couple stands out among the rest. But for one reason, they are are both men. Albert and Armand both run a Drag Queen show in South Miami Beach, but they are also together and this may seem a bit awkward to other people. In some parts of the movie, Albert and Armand use deception to make it seem like they are friends and not together, other times they use honesty and take pride in being together. While in the Taming of the Shrew, the elaborate plan to take both Bianca’s and Katherine’s hands in marriage shows a lot of deception tactics and honesty seems like a thing of the past, Almost as if it does not exist then.
The Birdcage and The Taming of the Shrew contrast dramatically because of the ways that the couples present themselves. They are more different than similar because one uses honesty more than deception. Over the centuries people started caring more about each other than money. The Birdcage reflects this belief because the couple really cares about being together.
“Be patient, gentlemen. I choose her for myself. - I will be sure my Katerine shall be fine.” (Act 2. Sc. 1 Pg. 97 NOTE: My ESP allowed me to choose this quote by calling on the cosmos to help me find the perfect quote and I opened the book and the Cosmos lead me to this quote.)
The quote above justifies the deception in the Taming of the Shrew fully because Petruchio’s speech is complete deception without a hint of honesty.
“And woo her with some spirit when she comes! Say- But here she comes––and now, Petruchio, speak.” (Act 2. Sc. 1 Pg 87)
This quote shows how Petruchio uses deception to get what he wants. He lies to get Katherine to like him and also lies to the father about invalid deals that never existed in the first place. Petruchio is like me, I like to mix Lies and rumors into stories full of deception. I can brew the most believable lies but also the most extreme tales. Petruchio is a cunning liar, twisting people’s words, beliefs and thoughts into stories of deceptions and false realities
The screenshot above shows the deception in The Birdcage but instead of continuous deception as in Taming of the Shrew, it’s deception with redemption. Albert pretends to be the mother, which is deception, but then when the real mother shows up, it becomes deception with redemption. Which then becomes honesty and that is the main difference between Taming of the Shrew and The Birdcage.
The second screenshot shows the scene where the elaborate plan of marriage takes place, Val is getting married with a Senator’s daughter and Val needs Albert to take a vacation for a few days until the marriage is over. Because the Senator is very conservative and gay people back then were not accepted as well. To avoid a long explanation of the plot, the senator’s ally dies in bed and the news are all over him, and his safe haven is the drag club where the senator’s family and Val’s families are meeting. The senator does find out that Albert and Armand are gay and that is where deception with redemption stands out the most.
Taming of the Shrew is a play of complete deception without redemption while the movie, The Birdcage is deception with redemption. This also shows that honest is more valued in modern times than back then in medieval times. With such differences, the play and the movie prove the relationship between Honesty and Deception.
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