Orson Welles Doesn't See Color In Othello
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Orson Welles Doesn't See Color In Othello

How have film perspectives on race changed over time?

389
Orson Welles Doesn't See Color In Othello
Flickr

Othello is a tragic story of love twisted into an all-consuming revenge. The titular character, Othello, is a decorated war hero from the Moors. Even though he is highly accomplished, he is still isolated from the rest of society, mainly due to his race and foreign background. Othello is led falsely to believe his newfound wife Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio by the less than honest Iago, a man under Othello’s command hell-bent on bringing him down. He spirals into a jealous rage, further ostracizing himself from the rest of society.

Throughout all of this, Othello’s ethnicity, the not so quiet elephant in the room, influences the course of action of the play and the way that the characters, including Othello in the end, view him. Orson Welles’s 1951 version of Othello almost completely erased the theme of race that is so prevalent in the play and as a result warps the original meaning.

Othello’s race precedes him. It is one of the first things that the audience learns about him before he physically enters the story. Iago awakens Brabantio, a Venetian nobleman, to tell him his young daughter Desdemona has eloped with Othello. Iago refers to Othello as an “old black ram…tupping [Brabantio’s] white ewe” . Even though he is well-decorated with accomplishments, Othello is reduced to an animal. He is portrayed as a ram, an aggressive horned male sheep, while Desdemona is a white ewe, the pure, more docile sheep counterpart.

He openly discusses their sexual relationship in a disgusting way, dehumanizing their love and marriage. Iago then further threatens Brabantio with Othello’s race, saying “the devil will make a grandsire of you” . In accordance with the previous horned accusation, Othello is directly portrayed as the devil, something that shows society’s fear of foreigners at the time. Iago insinuates that this black stain on Brabantio’s family will continue indefinitely through the children that Othello will sire. Iago is aware of the racist undertones of Venetian society and uses it to his advantage.

By the end of the play, Othello fully accepts the racist ideas of society, showing his internalized racism. When he first suspects Desdemona of cheating on him he refers to her name as now “begrimed and black as mine own face" when it was fresh before. Othello associates blackness and his own face as something stained and grimy, echoing the previous racist statements of Brabantio, Iago, and the Duke of Venice. By associating Desdemona’s white visage with freshness, Othello starts to show his obsession with white purity and his internalized self-loathing.

He again shows his fixation on whiteness when he prepares to murder Desdemona and refuses to “shed [Desdemona’s] blood, nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow”. Othello further shows his negative association of blackness when he says “arise, black vengeance, from the hollow hell”. His internal self-loathing becomes external after he kills Desdemona and realizes that she was innocent of cheating all along. He describes himself as a “base Judean [who] threw a pearl away”. This account shows that he sees himself as a base savage ignorant of the true value of the pristine white woman in front of him. By the end of the play it is obvious that race plays a key role in Othello, something that Orson Welles completely ignores in his film.

The film is shot in black and white, which is the first decision that Orson Welles makes to eliminate color from Othello. Welles plays Othello himself, showing his blatant disregard to staying true to the racial nature of the play because simply: Welles is not black. Welles appears to be slightly bronzed, something that is not exactly blackface, but still is offensive.

The most that the film does to address Othello’s origin is to repeatedly call him “the Moor”. In fact, the racial remarks said in the play by Brabantio, Iago, and Othello are omitted or not focused on. Brabantio alludes to Othello using witchcraft to enchant his daughter, but this is never tied directly into ethnicity. Welles portrays Othello in an entirely self-confident way, ignoring the internal struggle Othello has over his blackness that appears in the text. In creating the film version of Othello Welles must have decided that the prevalent issue of race in Othello was something not important enough to focus on, which is derogatory and inaccurate.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

54094
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

34816
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

957191
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

182325
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments