We should knock Iago out and lock him in a closet and we should have done it in act 1
Just to make sure I am crystal clear, I hate Iago a lot (in case it wasn't obvious).
Iago's lies and manipulations make him a very sneaky villain to the rest of the characters in the story while us in the audience can clearly see what he's doing. That's what makes this story truly frustrating so far. The characters think they can trust Iago while the rest of us are losing our heads just wanting the other's to communicate around Iago instead of through him. Iago delivers his messages and shows up in just about every conversation and even when he isn't there, his influence is. He's racist, manipulative, a liar, selfish, and just a genuinely bad dude.
I usually partake in things with villains that are at least slightly sympathetic or proudly voice that they are a villain at least. This kind of villain isn't seen often and I do think the sneaky manipulative villain is cool and unique but goodness me are they all-around unlikable. Iago, more so because he doesn't have a single redeeming quality. Even his motivations were just fueled by his own selfishness and were a little weak.
The miscommunication was genuinely one of the most frustrating things I've had to read. Iago just kept showing up and ruining things and wouldn't let people communicate outside of his influence. Conversations without him there were still set up by him and he knew just what to do to make everything work in his favor (until the very end, at least).
Since we are also more sensitive to racism and act upon it, the racism in this play made Iago even more villainous to us. This is a very racist play and all forces against Othello are mostly from a racist point of view. Even Iago how has motivations passed that is still racist and uses racism to help his manipulations.
(He's such an unlikable guy I made a specific section in my commonplace book just for him titled "I straight up just don't like you".)
It makes me also wonder if we were to interpret a modern version of the play if we would keep the racism. Racism is still experienced, of course, and we shouldn't discredit the fact that people still suffer from it, but it can also be exhausting to see and sometimes we just want a change. It really may change from person to person. I'm white so I don't exactly have a valid opinion but I know I like homophobia and misogyny to be left out of things when they can be because it sucks to see (let alone experience). It's a difficult topic but would we like Iago more as a villain if the racism wasn't there? If everyone in the play was of a single race and we scrubbed the racism out of it, would Iago be more of a cool villain or still genuinely unlikable?
Iago's lies and manipulations make him a very sneaky villain to the rest of the characters in the story while us in the audience can clearly see what he's doing. That's what makes this story truly frustrating so far. The characters think they can trust Iago while the rest of us are losing our heads just wanting the other's to communicate around Iago instead of through him. Iago delivers his messages and shows up in just about every conversation and even when he isn't there, his influence is. He's racist, manipulative, a liar, selfish, and just a genuinely bad dude.
I usually partake in things with villains that are at least slightly sympathetic or proudly voice that they are a villain at least. This kind of villain isn't seen often and I do think the sneaky manipulative villain is cool and unique but goodness me are they all-around unlikable. Iago, more so because he doesn't have a single redeeming quality. Even his motivations were just fueled by his own selfishness and were a little weak.
The miscommunication was genuinely one of the most frustrating things I've had to read. Iago just kept showing up and ruining things and wouldn't let people communicate outside of his influence. Conversations without him there were still set up by him and he knew just what to do to make everything work in his favor (until the very end, at least).
Since we are also more sensitive to racism and act upon it, the racism in this play made Iago even more villainous to us. This is a very racist play and all forces against Othello are mostly from a racist point of view. Even Iago how has motivations passed that is still racist and uses racism to help his manipulations.
(He's such an unlikable guy I made a specific section in my commonplace book just for him titled "I straight up just don't like you".)
It makes me also wonder if we were to interpret a modern version of the play if we would keep the racism. Racism is still experienced, of course, and we shouldn't discredit the fact that people still suffer from it, but it can also be exhausting to see and sometimes we just want a change. It really may change from person to person. I'm white so I don't exactly have a valid opinion but I know I like homophobia and misogyny to be left out of things when they can be because it sucks to see (let alone experience). It's a difficult topic but would we like Iago more as a villain if the racism wasn't there? If everyone in the play was of a single race and we scrubbed the racism out of it, would Iago be more of a cool villain or still genuinely unlikable?
Or, "We should have left Iago naked on Mt. McKinley" (the coldest peak in the world)
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