adaptation
Written over two thousand years ago, OEDIPUS REX continues to be adapted and reimagined in a variety of contexts and mediums. In this blog post, the third in a series of four posts, learn more about adaptations of Sophocles' play for the screen, as well as how these reimagined approaches address the enduring themes in this famous Greek tragedy.
From stage to album, Oedipus Rex reigns supreme as a frequently adapted source of creative work. However, Oedipus’ domain does not end there, as his story has been adapted for the silver screen as well.
[caption id="attachment_13094" align="alignright" width="300"]
A scene from Pasolini's EDIPO RE.[/caption]
In Italy in 1967, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s dramatic and renowned version of Oedipus Rex, entitled Edipo Re, was released, quickly gaining worldwide recognition. Pasolini narrows in on the plot with Freudian intensity as he explores the relationship between Jocasta and Oedipus. With an anachronistic prologue in 20th century Italy, it is implied that Laius abuses Oedipus because he is overcome with maddening jealousy toward his son for “stealing [his] wife’s love.” The film then cuts to an entirely different setting and time frame, jumping right into the play by showing an infant Oedipus being abandoned in the desert. The plot then closely follows Sophocles’ text, but does include some autobiographical bias on Pasolini’s part. In an interview with Oswald Sack, Pasolini said the aforementioned prologue was “a fairly particular evocation of [his] early childhood.” Why did Pasolini address elements of his private familial relationships within his presentation of this Greek tragedy? Was it simply the human desire to find oneself in a creative outlet? After all, audiences often identify with fictional characters and superimpose their own bias from experiences on their interpretation of a work. Possible answers point again to the reason the play endures. As the film trailer’s narrator says, this play is a “tragedy of today, yesterday, and tomorrow” as Oedipus is “a man both ancient and modern” in his struggles. Viewers can identify with the idea of folly as they commiserate over the shared agony of retrospection and feelings of helplessness when fighting against powerful, ineffable forces.
[caption id="attachment_13095" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Photo of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.[/caption]
Furthermore, Oedipo Alcalde (also known as Oedipus Mayor), the screenplay which was first written by Gabriel García Marquez, is another noteworthy adaptation of the play. It completely recontextualizes the work, transposing it into war-torn Colombia of the late 20th century. Oedipus is cast into the role of an embattled and weary mayor who is desperate to mediate peace between the fighting guerilla groups and Colombian army. Oedipus can be adapted to fit any time period so the themes are pertinent to a specific audience while still maintaining its age-old appeal. This property, as well as its continued power to enthrall audiences and tantalize the creative mind, serves as a testament to the true versatility and relevance of Sophocles’ play.
Beyond its literary and historical value as one of Sophocles’ few surviving plays, the question remains: why continue to perform and adapt the original play within any capacity? Oedipus Rex presents audiences with the lingering and insistent doubts that hover in the margins of daily life. In the wake of each choice lies the burning question of whether it was an act of free will or preordained folly. An intriguing aspect of the play is that all the prophecy-fulfilling action has taken place, leaving Oedipus condemned without possibility of salvation. Oedipus must grapple with the confounding reality of predetermined fate, helpless from the offset as he is forced to look back on choices already made. The excruciating agony of retrospect is such an integral aspect of conscious and unconscious human experience that viewers cannot help but commiserate with Oedipus. The play itself becomes an inevitable force, reinforcing this motif of inescapability. Thus, audiences are inevitably drawn into this enduring exploration of fate and free will. The act of viewing Oedipus’ struggles adopts an almost voyeuristic, masochistic quality because people are enraptured by their shared folly. Audiences use the play as an outlet to contemplate the nature of their own choices. The concept of predetermination is both chilling and tantalizing as the possibility of escaping fate shrinks with the rising, and inevitably confirmed, fears of the titular character. Oedipus not only reminds the viewers of the price of folly, but also asks them to question the nature of that folly in the first place. In doing so, the tragedy and its titular character remain an enduring mark of Sophocles’ continued influence on modern culture with the undeniable humanity of his characters.
Written over two thousand years ago, OEDIPUS REX continues to be adapted and reimagined in a variety of contexts and mediums. In this blog post, the first in a series of four posts, learn more about two theatrical adaptations of Sophocles' play, as well as how these reimagined texts address the enduring themes in this famous Greek tragedy.
As with any enduring work of literature, Oedipus Rex conjures the inevitable question: why are audiences still drawn to this age-old tale? Why does it hold such a notable place in modern culture to the extent that it is still referenced and adapted so people from all backgrounds know the term “Oedipus Complex” without reading the actual text?
This play bounds away from any label of antiquity to land squarely in the realm of revitalization and enduring relevance within modern culture. This is due to the practice of adaptation and audiences’ continued desire to explore the namesake of one of literature’s greatest tragedies. Oedipus Rex upholds its title as a frequently referenced tragedy because Oedipus is an undeniably sympathetic victim of the gods’ will. He never had a chance to avoid his assigned fate, doomed to complete the cycle without ever initially knowing he is confined to a path. Such a crushing phenomenon contributes to the play’s appeal and malleability to fit any era or audience.
[caption id="attachment_13035" align="alignleft" width="250"]
Book cover.[/caption]
In the stage play The Darker Face of the Earth by Rita Dove, Oedipus is the son of a slave and a plantation owner’s wife. Dove’s Oedipus leads a revolt and engages in a relationship that is not only taboo because it is with his mother, but also due to its interracial aspect during the Antebellum era. Applying this contextualization to the tragedy reflects the motif of struggling against a preordained fate. It also underscores the play’s adaptability as the concept of inevitability is easily brought over to and can carry throughout any tale.
Furthermore, in Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus El Rey, the play is reimagined for the stage within the context of a prison system that targets minorities. This compelling adaptation embodies the core of Oedipus’ original struggles: trying to escape his fate while applying this broader motif to a pressing modern day issue. In Alfaro’s rendition, Oedipus is a young Chicano man caught up in the gang culture of Southern California. About to be released from prison, Oedipus hears advice from another inmate, Tiresias, who tells him to escape the barrio, move to Nevada, and get a job. The proud Oedipus dismisses him and goes to LA, where he, inevitably, kills his father and beds his mother. Notably, a promotional trailer for one production included a controversial scene where Oedipus spray paints a crown across an image of the Virgen de Guadalupe. This action exemplifies Oedipus’ fatalistic pride and his scorn for prophecy in a modern religious context as Alfaro’s Oedipus blatantly disrespects this prominent idol. The shared contempt accentuates the mistake both make in disregarding warnings and higher forces, like fate. Placing it in a prison setting emphasizes the inability of every version of Oedipus to escape from a system or prophecy as all are imprisoned by inescapable destiny.
[caption id="attachment_13040" align="alignleft" width="250"]
Freud meme.[/caption]
A contributing factor to the play’s longevity arises from Sigmund Freud’s analysis and application of the play to psychological interpretation. Why did he use literary characters to defend his claim? And why do we not only acknowledge, but value, his work if he based it off imaginary creations? These creations embody and reflect the human psyche, since literature and theatre act as vehicles to examine the human condition. Freud, recognizing this power, utilized a renowned medium through which a near universal audience could contextualize and understand his theories. In turn, Freud lent renewed life to the play as an enduring cultural and psychological reference.
Although the message of Oedipus Rex may seem familiar to audiences before they even step foot into a theatre, viewers still return to watch the unraveling of a once lauded hero. As with any culturally significant work, there are underlying layers of complexity to the tragedy. Why does Oedipus scorn a divine prophet but believe Apollo’s words? Why does Jocasta dismiss Oedipus’ concerns about the prophecy, particularly the part about bedding his mother (as she says every man dreams of doing so), yet kills herself when discovering the truth? Is Creon truly guileless? What is the meaning behind the Chorus? Not only does the relevance of these thematic elements ensure the play remains a cultural fixture, but the opportunity to analyze the tragedy from different angles also enraptures audiences. Rereading the play from the perspectives of the Chorus, Jocasta, and even characters like the Shepherd or figures like Apollo who never actually materialize on stage, presents new dimensions to the tragedy, revitalizing it within different contexts and viewpoints. Adaptation is a method by which works are reexamined through a modern perspective and reapplied to the endeavor of understanding an individual’s place in the world. As such, Oedipus lives on, not only on stage, but via multiple mediums that further perpetuate the play’s legacy.