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?