Victoria A. Brownworth and Ishita Singh have written an article for “The Baltimore Sun” examining the pros and cons of manga comic book versions of Shakespeare’s plays. Brownworth and Singh asked teens and educators whether, “Manga is the way to bring Shakespeare or other classics to the masses of kids moaning at the thought of reading beyond the YouTube curriculum.”
Here’s a sample of the responses they got:
“Not many people like Shakespeare, but I guess if they liked manga then they would like that kind of stuff,” says Alex Yang, 17, an 11th-grader at Dulaney High School. “I think [having pictures] does help because you can actually understand what’s going on.”
“Deborah Peifer, a former theater director and professor of theater in Chicago, who has also been a theater critic for decades, calls Shakespeare in manga “an appalling idea, and a significant leap downward in the ultimate dumbing down of our country…anyone who thinks that cartoons are the equivalent of live performance is really clueless about the experience of the theater event.”
“The Maryland State Department of Education supports the idea of graphic novels and comic books as a way to help reluctant readers develop a love of reading, says Bill Reinhard, department spokesman. “It’s something we’ve always embraced,” he says. “Anything that gets the kids to read is a good thing.” Read the complete Baltimore Sun article
One Comment
Anyone who thinks Manga Shakespeare isn’t a good idea is clueless about education, and not very knowledgeable about live theatre!
I used graphic Shakespeare in school way back in the 1980’s - and a fantastic response it got too - in a theatre course and in a literature course:
What a way to look at set design, colour on stage, positioning and makeup, lighting and costume!
Just how do film story-boards look?
Bring on the Manga!