The Lionesses and Olive Trees of Meiji-Era Japan

A Consideration of Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It

Authors

Scott Hollifield University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract

Kenneth Branagh's As You Like It: A Review Cluster

Edited by Matt Kozusko

In his film of As You Like It, Kenneth Branagh sets the action in Meiji-era Japan, incongruously situating Shakespeare's representation of feudal power struggles in a time and place noted for its relegation of feudal power struggles to the past. In this way, Branagh reduces Shakespeare's meaningful anachronism to incoherence and in the process, empties his chosen setting of historical and cultural significance.

Author Biography

Scott Hollifield, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Scott Hollifield, a doctoral candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, earned a B.A. in Film Studies and an M.A. in English Literature from Wayne State University. An intense interest in the process of adapting Shakespeare to film led by mysterious logic to his dissertation-in-progress: "'Myn auctour shal I folwen, if I konne': Shakespeare Adapting Chaucer," under the supervision of Dr. Evelyn Gajowski. His critical review of Feng Xiaogang's Ye Yan ("The Banquet," 2006) is also scheduled to appear in Borrowers and Lenders.