Perennial issues and framing

• Focus of the discussion: how timeless (perennial) issues such as gender, ambition, guilt, transgression, and downfall are continually scripted and re-scripted for new generations.
• Core aim: analyze why and how these perennial issues persist in human psychology and storytelling, particularly through Macbeth’s adaptation across different social paradigms.
• Transition path: from feudal/old-order frameworks to contemporary meritocratic and neoliberal conceptions of value and power.
• Key contrast: feudal/king-centric authority (one ruler) versus meritocratic society that values individual contribution and growth, and then neoliberal society that ties value to professional success and market performance.
• Definitions to track:
  • Meritocratic society: worth determined by what individuals contribute to society.
  • Neoliberal society: worth largely defined by professional careers and market success; emphasis on competition, branding, and individual achievement.
• Central question: how does the director reframing Macbeth reflect shifts to a secular, neoliberal worldview, and what are the implications for notions of power, morality, and legitimacy?

From feudal Macbeth to meritocratic and neoliberal societies

• The narrative moves from a feudal system (autocratic leadership, one king) to a meritocratic society (growth-potential-focused, less tied to a single ruler).
• In a neoliberal frame, social worth is codified through professional achievement and market-driven success, echoing contemporary realities where reputation and career define status.
• The talk contrasts the old chain of being with modern social stratifications and the visibility of status through media and celebrity.
• The kitchen as kingdom: a modern, hyper-competitive, Michelin-starved kitchen is used as a symbol of contemporary meritocracy, competition, and status signaling.
• Regicide in this frame shifts from sacred transgression against divine order to a secular, nonreligious act-turned-curse within a cutthroat, self-interested world.
• Duncan’s importance in this setting is twofold: wealth (economic position) and celebrity reach (media visibility); his status is earned via self-made success, aligning with modern myths of rags-to-riches through hard work.
• The director’s aim: to show how social hierarchy persists, but the mechanism of worth is different (recognition via media, branding, and consumer attention, not sacred providence).
• Conceptual takeaway: in a neoliberal era, the legitimate ruler or king is mediated through fame and economic power, not divine right or inherited status.

Witches as working-class outsiders: from supernatural to streetwise observers

• The witches are reframed from supernatural truth-tellers tied to Jacobean beliefs into working-class outsiders who observe power from the margins.
• They are portrayed as “streetwise truths” who simultaneously connect with and detach from the world they critique.
• Rather than prophesize about otherworldly walls, they identify and foreshadow power dynamics in the restaurant world (e.g., who wields influence in the kitchen, dining rooms, and media visibility).
• Visual and narrative function: the witches’ presence signals a shift from fate-and-divine causality to perceptive, contextual insight grounded in everyday life and social structures.
• Why it matters: marks a transition from determinism by supernatural forces to faith placed in ordinary circumstances and structures of daily life.
• Implication: the trigger for ambition and prophecy is now framed as social and economic circumstance rather than mystical preordination.

Faith, determinism, and everyday life in a secular world

• Shakespeare’s Macbeth can be read as a product of ambition and circumstance rather than fate alone; in the modern reframe, causation is grounded in secular, sociocultural factors.
• Rosol’s adaptation shifts ambition away from purely supernatural triggers toward human agency within a neoliberal setting.
• The moral landscape changes: courage, ambition, and transgression are understood through human psychology and social context, not divine testing or fate.
• The “Michelin-starved kitchen” serves as a symbol of modern competition, meritocracy, and media spectacle that shapes actions and decisions.
• This reframing aligns with a secular, neoliberal moral universe where ethics are situational and not anchored by eternal realms.

Regicide: religious connotations vs neoliberal ambition

• In Shakespeare, regicide is tied to religious transgression and damnation of the soul; Macbeth’s moral downfall has spiritual dimensions.
• In Rosol’s world, regicide is recast as a secular, nonreligious act—central to a world where ambition is governed by market logic and personal gain rather than divine order.
• The dialogue around Duncan’s murder emphasizes the shift away from divine condemnation toward the ethics of competitive self-interest.
• Example cue: the scene where the drunk butlers cannot recite amen after Duncan’s murder signals a move away from religious symbolism toward secular moral inquiry.
• The adaptation suggests that moral transgression is now understood through the lens of competitiveness and humanism rather than eternal doom.

Humanism and the modern gaze: potential, agency, and critique

• Shakespeare’s approach to humanism, especially under King James I, is tempered by a cautious, often Machiavellian strain; power is exercised cautiously within religious and political bounds.
• Rosol’s adaptation embraces humanism as a core driver of modern society: individuals can determine their own futures, rise from humble beginnings, and achieve self-made success.
• The narrative acknowledges a radical form of human potential in the modern era: “the sky is the limit” for those who work hard and seize opportunities.
• The adaptation contrasts the providentialism of Shakespeare with the secular, self-authored destiny of contemporary culture.
• The social order in the modern world still contains hierarchy, but entry points are different (branding, media presence, celebrity reach) rather than birthright or divine favor.
• Implications: a more expansive, less morally rigid view of ambition, but with a potential for amorality or moral flexibility in the pursuit of success.

Duncan in the neoliberal kingdom: wealth, fame, and merit

• Duncan’s royal status in this adaptation is tied to both wealth and celebrity reach, not just lineage or position.
• He embodies self-determined success: he narrates humble beginnings (from Farm Boy to global celebrity), reinforcing the modern myth that anyone can make it through hard work.
• The dynamic between Duncan and Joe (the modern Macbeth figure) crystallizes the tension between real power (ownership, leadership) and symbolic power (public image, media presence).
• The “great chain of being” is replaced by a modern hierarchy where credit and authority are linked to visibility and profitability rather than ordained order.
• Features that underscore the meritocratic injustice: even in a meritocracy, privilege and connections persist (e.g., execs described as siblings in a nepotistic network).
• Joe’s dilemma: is Duncan’s royalty a function of merit, or is it a product of the public’s gaze and media ecosystems?
• The director highlights that recognition, not just money, can define status in a modern kitchen-kingdom and in contemporary power structures.

Moral relativism and the collapse of clear absolutes

• The modern frame rejects strict moral absolutes (good vs. evil, god vs. devil) in favor of moral relativism: morality is situation-dependent.
• People are capable of both good and evil; judgments are tempered by context and psychology.
• Visual cue: the lighting on Joe’s face (half in light, half in shadow) signals this ambivalence and moral dimensionality.
• The shift from a religiously charged moral order to a secular, context-driven ethics changes how transgressions are perceived and judged.
• Virtue is still present (e.g., Joe’s initial care in butchery shows respect for the food and craft), but the same person can exhibit moral lapses under pressure.
• The milk of human kindness motif from Shakespeare is literalized in the film: a visual representation that foregrounds a core virtue, reframed for a global audience.

Visual motifs, symbolism, and narrative devices

• The kitchen as microcosm of society: a cutthroat, media-saturated environment that mirrors broader capitalist structures.
• The “Michelin-starved kitchen” symbolizes scarcity, competition, and the high-stakes game of reputation and survival.
• The alleyway observers (the working-class outsiders) offer a distance yet remain connected to power, illustrating the tension between peripheral insight and central authority.
• The half-lit, half-dark face during the critical moment (Joe ascending to kill Duncan) visually encodes the moral ambiguity and complexity of contemporary ambition.
• The transformation of archetypal motifs (witches, milk of human kindness) into modern, tangible visuals emphasizes accessibility and global reach of the story.

Ella vs. Lady Macbeth: gender, power, and the glass ceiling

• Ella is a modern counterpart to Lady Macbeth, but with a different route to power that foregrounds gendered labor dynamics in male-dominated industries.
• Ella’s manipulation of power leverages femininity within structures that historically limit women’s advancement (the glass ceiling).
• She operates as Duncan’s right-hand figure on a media panel, sharing control and visibility in the public sphere, contrasting with the traditional Lady Macbeth who seeks to subvert through private influence.
• The modern gaze presents Ella as an actor who navigates, negotiates, and uses gendered perception to her advantage, while maintaining parity with male counterparts on high-profile platforms.
• The question raised: does the modern portrayal empower female leadership within patriarchal systems, or does it simply repackage power with gendered optics?
• The dialogue hints at a shift in how female influence is exercised and perceived in the era of media spectacle and celebrity-driven ethics.

Connections, assignments, and practical takeaways

• The lecture refers to a worksheet intended as homework to consolidate analysis, suggesting a structured approach to examining the adaptation’s major ideas.
• The teacher emphasizes that the worksheet covers the main points of analysis without requiring excessive detail, aiming to prepare students for deeper discussion.
• The takeaway prompt for Ella vs Lady Macbeth invites students to compare how female characters navigate power—through manipulation of gendered expectations in contemporary institutions.
• Practical implications for study: understanding how adaptation reframes Macbeth through modern social theories (neoliberalism, meritocracy, humanism) to analyze power, ethics, and identity in a global context.

Key terms and concepts to review

• Perennial issues
• Feudal vs. meritocratic vs. neoliberal society
• Meritocracy and recognition-based power
• Neoliberal aspiration and the culture of celebrity
• Working-class outsider as observer of power
• Secularism and moral relativism
• Provodentialism vs. secular causation (religious tone in Shakespeare vs. modern framing)
• Regicide: religious connotations vs secular ambition
• Humanism and its representation in Shakespeare and modern adaptations
• Great chain of being (contrast with modern social hierarchies)
• Milk of human kindness (literalized in visual narrative)
• Visual motifs: lighting, mirrors of moral ambiguity
• Ella vs Lady Macbeth: gender, power, and the glass ceiling
• Neoliberal ethics: competition, self-determination, media branding
• The role of Duncan: wealth + celebrity reach as modern sovereignty

Exam-focused summary points

• Explain how Rosol reframes Macbeth from a Jacobean, providential view to a secular, neoliberal one.
• Describe how the witches’ role shifts from supernatural omens to social observers who map power in a modern restaurant economy.
• Analyze Duncan’s status as a modern king: how wealth and celebrity shape royal authority and how this differs from Shakespeare’s divine-right framework.
• Discuss the concept of meritocratic injustice in a modern context, including the persistence of nepotism and the branding of power.
• Compare moral frameworks: Shakespeare’s moral absolutism and divine judgment versus the modern’s moral relativism and situational ethics.
• Evaluate how the motif of milk of human kindness is reinterpreted on screen to communicate virtue in a contemporary setting.
• Contrast Ella with Lady Macbeth in terms of gender politics, agency, and power within male-dominated industries.
• Reflect on the implications of a world where ambition is framed as self-determined success, not predestined fate, and how that affects audiences across cultures.

Post-lecture actions

• Copy down the worksheet referenced by the teacher as a reference point for topic sentences.
• Review the distinctions between the original Macbeth and its modern adaptation in terms of power, morality, and social organization.
• Prepare to discuss: to what extent does the modern framing empower or critique contemporary meritocracy and neoliberal values?