mauldeath (mauldeath) wrote in linguaphiles,
2012-10-26 06:10:00

Shakespeare, Halloween, Etc.

I am posting this here because this is the only group I am a part of that I believe has read a good deal (or at least some) of Shakespeare. Pardon me if this doesn't fit, but I can't think of anywhere else to go.

My question is: Do you think it would be inappropriate to go as Lavinia from Titus Andronicus for Halloween? In case you don't remember, Lavinia is the character who has her hands cut off and her tongue removed after being raped by the Goth Queen's two sons. I adore the play (even though most scholars do not), and I think Lavinia is one of the most easy to recognize characters, but I just don't know if it would be outlandish to go as a woman who has been raped and mutilated for Halloween. Am I just over thinking this? I'm not the best in these kinds of social predicaments, so if anyone has an opinion it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Update: Thank you guys for all your responses! Just to clarify a couple things that people brought up: I am president of a film club at my college and most of the people attending the party I am going to are part of the club. In it, we watched Julie Taymor's Titus, so I think most people really remember what Lavinia looks like. If not, I'll just say "Titus" and hopefully they'll get it. It's also at a party of adults. Finally, the stumps will be a challenge to use my hands, but I plan on sneaking into the bathroom several times to whip out my garter flask. Thanks for all of these points you brought up; they are all really important to consider. I mainly just didn't want to come off as insensitive or ignorant to other people's pain.
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  • 32 comments

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keeni84

October 26 2012, 12:20:17 UTC 6 months ago

neo-PC hissies and get uptight about the fact that she was raped, or if they are intelligent enough to accept the literary character as such

This is unduly harsh.

muckefuck

October 26 2012, 12:55:03 UTC 6 months ago

You have been informally warned about making provocative comments like this before. Consider this an official warning that they will not be tolerated in this comm. If you cannot respect informed viewpoints which differ from your own, then you have no business here.

provencepuss

6 months ago

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muckefuck

6 months ago

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provencepuss

6 months ago

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acid_gloss

October 26 2012, 14:22:45 UTC 6 months ago

It is clear that you do not understand the importance of being PC and the reason it came about.

provencepuss

6 months ago

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iddewes

6 months ago

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provencepuss

6 months ago

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iddewes

6 months ago

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provencepuss

6 months ago

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keeni84

October 26 2012, 12:22:58 UTC 6 months ago

I think with Halloween, you're always going to find people dressed as characters others may not understand or may be triggered by...so it's up to you to decide whether or not you think they way you portray the character crosses the line. The way you described it, I think you should be fine.

acid_gloss

October 26 2012, 14:23:09 UTC 6 months ago

Iawtc

aygul

October 26 2012, 12:49:13 UTC 6 months ago Edited:  October 26 2012, 12:54:21 UTC

I think you'll be fine, but you might want to tailor the costume to what you're doing for Halloween. If it involves serious Halloween fans or a horror-centric event, get as inappropriate as you want to.

If you're social group is has a more casual, excuse-to-party attitude towards the holiday, or there are going to be children around, you obviously shouldn't, like, smear stage blood down your thighs.

saskiiaa

October 26 2012, 12:51:32 UTC 6 months ago

I think you'll be fine..... people wear other outlandish costumes without trouble, like zombies also madly mutilated, or female sexy versions of male characters, which in my opinion are more disturbing. And anyway, as soon as you mention "Shakespeare" your costume will be completely justified XD

alleykitties

October 26 2012, 13:18:00 UTC 6 months ago

I don't see the problem. I would find it perfectly okay to be dressed as someone with a horrible story. After all, it is Halloween.

contentlove

October 26 2012, 15:08:12 UTC 6 months ago

This.

galingale

October 26 2012, 13:20:56 UTC 6 months ago

My question is will you enjoy the party in this getup? With your hands costumed-out of existence it could be tricky to eat, drink, dance?, and use the facilities. Also, are you going to let yourself talk with no tongue?

I speak as someone who once made a mermaid costume with tail...only to find it was devilishly difficult to maneuver on my foot-fins.
And as someone whose husband once went as a toy airplane...only to find he couldn't go to any part of the house other than the living room without taking off his wings.

As for the rest, to avoid any "complications" you could just identify yourself by character/play and say she's a tragic victim if they don't know the play. On the other hand, if they do know the play, then you have quite the conversation starter.

(Totally irrelevant but.... I've avoided this play like the plague since reading the synopsis. It just makes me queasy.)

iddewes

October 26 2012, 17:00:04 UTC 6 months ago

Your costume comments made me giggle :D
I know someone whose sister dressed as a mermaid for a film premiere she went to (there was a contest for best costumes or something), she actually couldn't walk at all in it and had to be carried around by her friends all over the place!

mauldeath

October 26 2012, 19:51:32 UTC 6 months ago

Thank you for your response! I was aware of that it might be difficult for me to actually use my hands when I decided to make the costume, so I plan on sneaking into the bathroom every now and then to whip out my flask garter. And I'll definitely not be in full character the whole night, so I plan on talking :)

Thanks again.

contentlove

October 26 2012, 15:07:15 UTC 6 months ago

Personally, I think it's fine. You're going as a character from a play. Unless you choose to deliberately play up the rape-aspect, how would people know your character's back story, unless they know the play and you've told them who you are playing? It's not like you are going to act out the mutilations, right? We meet the character after she's suffered them. Some are more visible (lack of tongue, lack of hands). Some are invisible to the casual observer (the fact that a rape has occurred in the past). They could find out if you explained it all, but you will have no tongue, which neatly gets you out of it. Many people choose to go as historical figures who have been at war at some point, where presumably they witnessed or participated in acts of war, but when we see a Napolean, we probably see a guy in a hat with his hand in his jacket, not a tableau of his bloodthirsty adventures. And yet I must add that the very fact you would bring this question to the table suggests that you yourself are conflicted about the costume. Why not pick something you are 1000% over the top enthusiastic about? Makes for a fun evening that way.

mauldeath

October 26 2012, 19:53:41 UTC 6 months ago

I agree, but I just so love the idea. I especially like Julie Taymor's version of Lavinia from her film Titus. I am in a film club at my college, and I played this movie there a couple years ago, so I think most people will get the reference as they will all be at the party. Also, I love Shakespeare. Thanks for your response.

majolika

October 26 2012, 15:20:56 UTC 6 months ago

please, bring a rubber hand and carry it between your teeth!

mauldeath

October 26 2012, 19:53:53 UTC 6 months ago

I did not even think of this! Thank you!

iddewes

October 26 2012, 16:11:05 UTC 6 months ago

Just curious - do you think people at the party you are going to will be likely to know the play? I can see that costume working best at a gathering of English Lit majors or something like that than just a general group. But I don't actually think there is anything wrong with the idea, other than as one of the others here commented, mightn't pretending to not have hands make it a bit difficult to eat and drink etc? ;)

mamculuna

October 26 2012, 16:22:26 UTC 6 months ago

I wouldn't like seeing that.

I think actually few people know that play, and also that few people can visually recognize most Shakespearean characters except maybe Hamlet in classic black, or Cleopatra.

lignota

October 26 2012, 16:43:57 UTC 6 months ago

My own personal opinion is that it is admirably literary but in dubious taste.

jodete

October 26 2012, 17:31:11 UTC 6 months ago

I think it would be pretty neat. It's Halloween, gore is to be expected.

laced_victorian

October 26 2012, 17:58:28 UTC 6 months ago

Honestly I would choose something else. As an English major and someone who has taken a Shakespeare class I had to research the character you were talking about, and I certainly wouldn't assume from your chopped off hands who you were even if I was familiar with the play just because mutilated bodies are pretty prevalent during Halloween - I would just assume you were a murder victim of some sort. That will lead you to explaining to almost everyone who you are which I know from experience could be a drag.

The other thing is the whole rape aspect. I don't care about PC so much (rape happens, people should be willing to integrate it into society and culture instead of sweeping it under a rug) but if children are around or if it's in a setting full of younger girls (even uni) where the probability of one of them being a rape victim is high I would steer from it. You don't want to unintentionally trigger someone who might've been date raped or whatnot... and since it seems like you are going to have to explain this costume you would inevitably be bringing up rape all night long.

duckodeath

October 27 2012, 02:31:05 UTC 6 months ago

Leaving aside whether anyone will recognize the character (because that's always a danger even if you went as Darth Vader), but plays/films are visual performance mediums. Halloween is a visual performance medium. I don't really see how the one is any different from the other in terms of turning up somewhere in a costume representing a particular character. In terms of bad taste, I can't really wrap my mind around that. After all, Romeo and Juliet costumes are pretty common, but I don't think the first thought in most people's minds seeing them would be how dare they mock teenage suicide by strutting around as two of the most famous literary examples.

keestone

October 29 2012, 01:12:01 UTC 6 months ago

"After all, Romeo and Juliet costumes are pretty common, but I don't think the first thought in most people's minds seeing them would be how dare they mock teenage suicide by strutting around as two of the most famous literary examples."

I love this comment so much.

evilstorm

October 27 2012, 04:01:47 UTC 6 months ago

ROCK ON.

Then again, I'm pretty terrible socially, too.