The presence of Carnivalesque is an important factor for understanding the production “Romeo + Juliet” by Baz Luhrmann. The Carnivalism concept was devised by Mikhail Bakhtin, who said it embodied life taking form of a typical carnival. It is essentially the way things can be obscured in life, or rather what is normal in life being turned inside out (Welsh, 152), which can easily be applied to Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Without the elements of Carnival, it is likely this love story would have never been possible.
Due to the overwhelming amount of Carnivalism in this film, many perceive it as though the true nature of Shakespeare’s tragedy has been lost in its exuberant elements and that “the film’s spectacle constantly overpowers and overwhelms the poetry” (Welsh, 152). Despite this common belief, Luhrmann was brilliant to use Bakhtin’s ideas to enhance the hidden undertones that were present in Shakespeare’s play. Carnivalism makes “the world of this film perverse and confused... The lines are often right, but the context is most peculiar” (Welsh, 153) so that we are no longer able to …show more content…
What this means is that individuals are changed from what is typical of them as is expected by society (Hennelly, 103) which happens repeatedly at this point in the film. “Juliet’s angel appearance at the party shows a contrast to her daily life, where she is unable to enjoy any such freedom” and Romeo is presented as a knight (Johae, “Bakhtinian Carnivalesque” 305). Luhrmann picked these costumes in such a way that anyone really paying attention could see the true representation of their appearance. Both of these examples go along with Bakhtin’s idea of crowning the low in Carnival. Without their new identities, which make them much more empowered than they are in real life, Romeo and Juliet would not have had such an opportunity to find each