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MacBath & Body works
From the start we wanted to make our project something fun and creative, but also something that didn’t go too far from the idea of Macbeth. After brainstorming a few ideas, we settled on self care products that satirically copy the ideas throughout the book, like something that could just clean the guilt from the murder, or some potion that could heal someone’s mental illness. We then came up with a idea of a knock-off Bath & Body works. We figured that Macbeth sounded a lot like bath so, we combined the words together; thus MacBath & Body works was born.
We started off by finding products that correlated with quotes from the play. We came up with names that give a glimpse from the play, or that described the product. We found quotes in the play that corresponds with the products to stay true to the play Macbeth. We divided the work equally by assigning different task that we had to do. I bought the products while Leo worked on the logos using Photoshop.
We settled on making perfume, hand sanitizer, bath bombs, candles, and essential oils. We settled on hand sanitizer because Macbeth talks about having blood on his hands after killing King Duncan; therefore we made a product that could clean the blood, named after one of his quotes. We have the perfume for a similar reason. Lady Macbeth talks about cleaning the smell of blood from her hand, so we made a perfume just for her. We also made candles for people like Lady Macbeth, for anyone who a needs candle light by their bedside. Finally we have the essential oils and bath bombs. We advertised them as “mentally curing”. This is a joke off of Macbeth’s orders to the doctor. He just wants Lady Macbeth to be cured, but has no explanation about how he would do that. We made these magic mentally curing products just for Macbeth, no matter how hard they’d be to make in real life.
Macbeth the Documentary
MACBETH the Documentary Feature
For this project, I worked with my good pal Aracely
One of the greatest questions of Macbeth was, what was the real truth behind it? Before we get to that let me introduce you to Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In a nutshell, it is about a Lord turned King who made some wrong choices on his way to the top. It is a tragedy, thriller and sometimes a comedy, you egghead! Keeping that in mind and that burning question we asked in the beginning, we decided to do a documentary, a Macbethamentary!
The purpose of the Macbethamentary was so we could answer, what was the real truth behind Macbeth. We also decided that to add a twist of comedy to it, so it could not all be just grey, like most of the settings in the book. What was the end product was a film that embodied both the main characters in the book and the actual life of the people.
We achieved this by interviewing the characters and the real life version of the characters, for example we interviewed Macbeth, the main character of the book and Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, the real King of Scotland that actually lived. To add that twist of comedy we reenacted some scenes that we thought were important and most importantly, funny.
Together, we had all types of ups and downs in our decision making, with decisions that stuck and some the crumbled. Some of the decision we kept that stuck like a leech were the interviews. Which we added to answer the main question and let the audience know what the real and fake version of the character thought about the book and aspects of it. As a team we added the comedic and important scenes so we could lighten the mood. Also, while reading the book we saw comic relief in a serious book, which reminded us about a certain show, the Office! That is why we added both the interviews and the scenes, which made a dynamic duo in our film.
When you watch the film, keep the question in mind and when you finish it, try to answer it based on what was shown. Try to think about how the real characters felt about being portrayed a certain way. Do not though try to be serious throughout the film, because the other main goal was to add a comedic twist you egghead!
Blog post by Aracely
Video editing by Jane
Macbeth Creative Project
For our creative project Jingyu and I made a poster and playbill acting like Macbeth was being played at a theater. We made it as if William Shakespeare was still performing Macbeth and included the actual location where one of them took place. Our playbill includes a plot summary, actors, and key scenes of the play. Our main inspiration for the poster was Macbeths soliloquy “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”. We felt that this pretty much summarizes the whole play which is that everything that Macbeth did ended with him being left with nothing. In the poster is displayed different recurring motifs and major themes of the play going through an hourglass representing loss.
We thought is was best to use and hourglass for this poster because people can easily associate it with loss of time or just loss in general, which is what we want people to see. In the little bubbles are displayed the motifs and themes. The eye goes back to Macbeths quote “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires”. The heart represents a tainted heart and how he is no longer noble or kind. The z’s show Macbeths lack of sleep. The other three are self explanatory showing witches, Dunsinane hill, and being king. The biggest part is where it shows a hand getting stabbed with a dagger. The dagger is supposed to be the one that killed the king. This shows how Macbeth has “stabbed” or hurt himself by killing King Duncan. The background with the splattered blood just builds off of this and show how things for Macbeth got really messy. Overall we just really wanted to show that what Macbeth had done and sacrificed was not worth it in the end through art. By looking at this a whole and not in individual pieces Macbeths losses can be seen on a bigger scale.
Macbeth Creative Project-The Ornament of Life-By: Nadiya Weld & Solomon Stone
Hocus Pocus podcast: Author's intent
Contribution and Honor
Macbeth Tarot Cards- Grace Karlen and Alonso Lai
Alonso and I created Macbeth themed tarot cards for our Macbeth creative project. We did this through studying the practice and concepts behind tarot, applying the meanings associated with the cards to motifs, significant ideas, plot, and characters from Macbeth. This can be seen in the original illustrations on all 78 cards, each of which show a character, scene, significant plot point, and more.
We decided to create tarot cards for a myriad of reasons. We initially thought of how tarot cards, and the idea that they can inform about a person’s future connected with Macbeth, and the themes of fate. We also found that the suits fit well with motifs in Macbeth, demonstrating core conconcepts of the book. Through reading about the meanings behind cards, we also found that many of them related to characters, relationships, and events in Macbeth. This includes a change in fortune, internal battles, ambition, intense relationships, and more. We also use the cards to expand upon our thoughts and connections to the book, such as illustrating a character’s role and beliefs through the images on the cards. We created all 78 tarot cards, with a full list of instructions that you can find here. Now, you can use these cards and ask questions so that you can be lead to your fate, just as Macbeth was! (We’re not responsible for poor decisions made due to tarot readings)
Uptop Books Water for Elephants Podcast #3
- The name of your podcast
- The names of the group members
- The title of the episode
- The podcast logo
- A brief blurb (a paragraph) about your episode
(make sure this includes the title/author of the book)
- A list of the evidence used (with page numbers) for listeners to locate as desired
“But there's nothing to be done about it. All I can do is put in time waiting for the inevitable, observing as the ghosts of my past rattle around my vacuous present. They crash and bang and make themselves at home, mostly because there's no competition. I've stopped fighting them.” (Chapter 1)
"She reached for something. A giraffe passed between us – Its long neck bobbing gracefully even in panic – and when it was gone I saw that she'd picked up an iron stake. She held it loosely, resting its end on the hard dirt. She looked at me again, bemused. Then her gaze shifted to the back of his bare head" (Prologue)
“"Look here," he says, blowing smoke. "I was hoping we could let bygones be bygones. So what do you say, my boy – friends again?" He extends his hand.” (Chapter 20)
“This is home” (Chapter 25)
Children of the Night Podcast Episode 3
Children of the Night Episode 3
Amado, Ethan, Aden, and Shilo
Infectious Dracula
In this episode we discuss the reason why Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. What he intended Dracula to represent to how people preserved it and how it was later interpreted in modern day society. We discuss how diseases were common during the era of Dracula and how vampire culture came to be. Along with the whole monster genre in general.
Pg. 40
Pg. 41
The Eye Openers- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Macbeth Missing Scene: The Three Murderers
"Keeping up with the Macbeth's" Episode 5 Part 1
“Keeping up with the Macbeths” is a reality show of Macbeth where two people film the happenings of Macbeth and document all the drama that occurs. We wanted it to seem like a real reality show, so when the video first starts, two people introduce themselves and give a summary of the upcoming episode and leaves the viewer wanting to continue watching. We wanted to dramatize the scene and try to make the movements and settings show the exaggerated feelings. Similar to the beginning, the outro is the same two people giving a preview to the next episode. All of these components create the reality show “Keeping up with the Macbeths” that mirrors the original play.
One main choice we decided on was to have the doctor and gentlewoman looking at Lady Macbeth from a desk in qan official way. We decided to do this because we thought that in reality shows people often talk behind people’s backs to observe them and so that Lady Macbeth could have a space to herself. It looks like a professional consultation with the doctor and gentlewoman looking at Lady Macbeth from the side. Lady Macbeth is constantly moving around the room and she is even on the ground at this point. This happens to dramatize her movements since reality shows are often dramaticized to be more interesting to the audience. Lastly, we added a "recording" filter over the video to enhance the reality show theme.
Kurt's Krew #3: Bokonon's Last Laugh
On this week’s podcast, we unfortunately come to a close on our reading of the Cat’s Cradle. We attempt to discuss the ending without spoilers, and not surprisingly, fail. The theme of this episode is Author’s intent, and come to a conclusion that Cat’s Cradle was a critique mainly on the conversation of science vs religion and the development of nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Lastly, we discuss the winners and losers of the book and our major takeaways.
Some evidence we used
“I bought myself a job, just the way you bought yourself a tomcat husband, just the way Newt bought himself a week on Cape Cod with a Russian midget” (243)
“When there are such men as Felix Hoenikker to give such playthings as ice-nine to such short-sighted children as almost all men and women are” (245)
“The mountebank told them that God was surely trying to kill them, possibly because He was through with them, and that they should have the good manners to die.” (273)
“He always said he would never take his own advice, because he knew it was worthless.” (273)
“and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who” (287)
Podcast 3, Giggling and Gabbing: Author's Intent
Mask Off: Episode 3
The Color Purple - Episode 3 - Mindy, Aysha, Autumn, Sharron, & Alan
Literary Dynamite #3
Members: Wes, Tai, Lei, Waverly
Episode Title : Alas!
In this episode of our podcast, we discuss the nuances of the novel with regards to how Yaa Gyasi intended the book to be read/interpreted. We have disagreeing dialogue about the book not having any true good people. We also briefly discuss our impressions of the book as a whole.
Akua and Fire - page 177
Death of Akua’s mother - page 180
“Wicked Man” - page 181
“War may be over” - page 158
The Line - The Fishermen Episode 3
Podcast 3: Brendan Hall & Barnes, Sean Johnson, Justin Stewart
"Keeping up with the Macbeths" episode 5 part 1
Audio Silence Podcast #3
- Government brainwashing (10-15)
- Ignorance and following the government blindly (56)