Macduff was a down to
earth, good person at the beginning of the play but as time drags on, his
morals go out the window in order to take revenge. A recent look at his Netflix
queue shows that these shows might have shaped his life and gave him skills
that others do not possess. These shows have a similar theme as Macduff models
his life after one of the main characters of each show and is very similar to
them.
Watched by Macduff:
1. Lie To Me-
this is a show about a behavior scientists who uses his knowledge of human
behavior to determine if a person is lying and informs the police. This man
studies human behavior and can easily tell if a person is lying. This show
reveals some of the techniques that he uses and can be used by common
individuals to determine lying patterns. I think Macduff would have watched
this show because he quickly suspected Macbeth of the murder of Duncan, before
other caught on. He must have been studying Macbeth’s behavior in order to
determine Macbeth was lying. Macduff quickly heads to find Malcolm and they
plot to overthrow Macbeth as king.
2. Revenge-
In this show, the main character, Emily Thorne, returned to the Hamptons at the
beach and plans to take revenge on the Grayson family, who wronged her and her
father. This resulted in the death of her father in prison by the Grayson
family who framed him for a crime he did not commit. This backstory is very
similar to that of Macduff later in the play, as his family is murdered by
people hired by Macbeth, and that is why I believe Macduff would love this
show. We are naturally drawn towards television shows that are like our lives
or like what we want our lives to be. Macduff, similarly, is seeking revenge on
Macbeth and achieves it in the final act killing Macbeth.
3. Arrested Development-
This a Netflix original show is about a wealthy family that loses it all and is
held together by a central figure, Michael Bluth. At the beginning Bluth has sound
morals and was not the bad guy. He was always trying to keep his family
together and would do everything in the best interests of his family. As the
show progresses, Michael throws morals out the window and makes some poor
decisions including sleeping with is son’s girlfriend. He is lying and scheming
at the end of the show, much like Macduff. At the beginning Macduff does
everything right but after he loses his family, his everything, his morals turn
south for the remainder of the play. He begins to scheme to overtake a leader.
While it may be warranted, at the beginning of the play Macduff would have
never killed a man and the play ends with Macduff taking Macbeth’s life.
Macduff would watch this show in order to remind himself that sometimes people
turn south and encourage himself before killing Macbeth.
4. Dexter- This TV show is
about an average man who by day works as an analyst for the Miami police but by
night is a mass serial killer that is targeting other murders. Dexter continues
to murder criminals who do not match his father’s “moral code” and have slipped
through the cracks of the justice system himself. Macduff would love this show
because Dexter is much like himself. Also Macduff would learn that it is okay
to murder those who deserve it, and he would learn how to get away with the
murder of Macbeth. Macduff would model his life and his end-of-play decisions
based on this show.

Dexter is a great comparison! It would be interesting to know if Shakespeare envisioned Macduff embracing his vengeful attitude and continuing to kill. I also agree with your connection to Lie To Me (freaking awesome show). Regardless of how scientifically inaccurate the show may be, it seems like a very strong candidate for Macduff's watchlist.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really liked your choice of the show Lie to Me. You provided a great connection on how Macduff would have used some of the same tactics as the behavior scientist to discover Macbeth's lies.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, I can't even believe how well you connected Macbeth to Michael Bluth. They both have that very drastic decline from being fairly admirable to completely corrupt. Also, it is interesting how they both go through this change in the process of becoming the most powerful individual in their domain. In this comparison, his family members could sort of represent both the witches and the thanes and others in power in the play. They both influence Michael to move into morally grey territory and are the victims of his actions.
ReplyDeleteLie to Me is 1. a great show 2. similar to Criminal Minds as it analyzes the psychological aspects of criminals. I think these two shows are very relatable to Macbeth and can relate to the deteriorating mind of Macbeth. Dexter and Arrested Development both seem to take the same kind of plot as Macbeth by taking an ordinary character and putting them on a path to power where they will stop at nothing until they achieve it. Good explanations, seeing as I understood everything but have only watched one of these shows.
ReplyDelete