I attended the section on fairytales, as well as the one titled, "The bard, and the man." Professor Bruce Young, who was moderating the event section, mentioned that Shakespeare was never called "the bard" in his time, which I thought was kind of interesting. I wonder why people really call him that, as I've always thought it was kind of a weird name. Anyway, the first girl's paper discussed how the many interpretations of Othello have inspired filmmakers to present Othello in ways that highlight certain aspects of the character, mostly discussing the lighting in Orson Wells' film production of Othello. She also points out that Othello refers to himself as a changed man in the end when he says, "That's he that was Othello, Here I am." She uses it to support her thesis that there is a difference between the Othello who loved his wife, the Othello who became jealous, and the Othello who regrets his deeds.
Then the next person presented on "The Tempest" and how Shakespeare was critiquing humankind, which has a tendency to "play god," like Prospero, and is punished for it. Prospero learns his lesson, and gives up his powers because he cannot control the power of God, being human. The third paper was about emasculated male characters in "Peter and Wendy," and I didn't exactly see the connection between the three, besides maybe the theme of "what it means to be a man." :)
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