My last blog post was about how Romeo and Juliet was a story of humanity, this post is about fate. How fate is a big subject in the movie, a bigger subject in the real life filming and an even bigger subject in the book.
I, like many, saw the movie before I read the play. I never thought that fate was a huge part of the story, in fact I never thought about fate at all. It's probably because I could never understand the scene right before Mercutio and Romeo go to the party, where they discuss their dreams and their premonitions. It doesn't seem like fate that Romeo and Juliet meet. It seems like a coincidence. Which brings up the question, what is a coincidence and what is fate?
During the filming of the movie, there were some coincidences as well. "The dramatic storm scene on the beach in which Mercutio dies was shot during a real hurricane." I feel like having a real storm made me think was fate in control of how the movie was shot? Was fate in control when Aldo Signoretti (hair/makeup guru on the set of R+J) was kidnapped and released after paying the $300 ransom? Is fate the decider of good things as well as the bad things?
The Romeo and Juliet text has more coincedences that cause the Montague boys to get to the party. For example, the person responsible for sending out the invitations cannot read, forcing him to ask Romeo to read it to him. So now Romeo knows of the gathering and has access to attending it. But in the movie, they just somehow get invitations and crash the party. I would see the subject of fate in the movie more if there were more coincidences like the one in the text(For example, the person responsible for sending out the invitations cannot read, forcing him to ask Romeo to read it to him.). But still confused with the exact meaning of the word 'FATE', I did some follow up research/thoughts:
Merriam-Webster- "an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end"
I thought of one of my favorite movies, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. John Connor says "The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." Do you believe John or do you believe Merriam-Webster?
(Pardon my geek out- referencing a sci-fi movie and a dictionary in one question...)
