“In the late 19th century, Japan opened to trade with the West. Merchant adventurers arrived from all over the world, most of them English. Some traded in silk and rice and lived in enclaves around “treaty ports.” They brought their families and their followers and created private mini-empires where they tried to embrace this extraordinary culture, its beauties and its dangers…” (Text on screen)Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayBranagh uses 19th century Japan to imagine a culturally diverse Shakespeare play the way you like it, where the overlords are now feudal lords of medieval France in the play. lords of mini-empires created by English colonizers in Japan. These lords are not originally of noble blood but are opportunistic wealthy merchants who have reinvented themselves as royalty. Far from European societal norms, this reinvention facilitates not only the possibility of a black lord but also his union with the daughter of a white duke. Although the time period, location and races have been changed, Branagh retains the original Shakespearean language. Even though slavery was abolished in France in the late 18th century, black people were still considered an inferior race. But just as the forest escapes the conventions of the court, so too does a colonial outpost in Japan have conventional parameters and cultural hierarchies different from those of the French aristocracy. So there's a lot of cultural and racial flexibility in the film. As the opening on-screen text indicates, we see that European colonizers virtually adapted Japanese culture. But even in the first scene, as they watch a kabuki show and the military coup is staged, Oliver stands apart from the other white characters sitting in groups. There is a hint of exclusion or an imaginary boundary that he cannot seem to cross. For their part, the Japanese characters are given very marginal roles in the film and have problematic characterizations. Charles, who is a sumo wrestler instead of a boxer in the film, remains silent in his conversation with Orlando; all of his lines are spoken by a white man. Phoebe is stubborn and superficial. She embodies Nietzsche's idea of ​​women, that is: "When you go towards a woman, take your whip!" » She cruelly rejects Silvius but falls for Rosalind's criticism, which itself also becomes a problem. Although she uses the same lines as in the play, the features described as ugly are "ink eyebrows, black hair" – characteristic Asian features. Therefore, the whole scene almost borders on racism. Almost as if reflecting these racial constructs, Edward Said in his book Orientalism explains how non-Europeans are treated like others to show white supremacy and civility. William is depicted as a simple-minded Japanese peasant who is a silent bystander, ridiculed and physically abused by Touchstone until he runs away. Touchstone here asserts his manhood and rights towards Audrey not only by using his mind, but by actually using physical violence. The white court jester, who belongs to a lower hierarchy among European colonizers, asserts his superiority over an Asian character. Duke Frederick, the antagonist, like his samurai soldiers, has black samurai hair and wears black samurai clothing. But when he converts and becomes civilized, his appearance.