The Throne of Blood: Glocalization of Shakespeare

Abstract

Akira Kurosawa’s The Throne of Blood is regarded as a classic example of how to glocalize Shakespeare around the world. The movie changes the setting of Macbeth from medieval Scotland to Japan's Sengoku period of civil wars which, with its feudal hierarchy and frequent rebellions against higher authorities, becomes a perfect background for conveying the main themes of the source play: loyalty, ambition, power, violence, etc. The Throne of Blood then employs the genre of samurai movie, which is also a good choice for glocalizing Macbeth in Japan: the samurai movie is not only Japan's native genre but a perfect medium for showing the bloody murders and battle scenes of the source play. The movie also uses the conventions of Japanese Noh drama in acting and mise-en-scene, which not only achieve a number of unique dramatic effects, but also familiarize Japanese audiences with Shakespeare's play so much that they could accept it as their own cultural content. Furthermore, the movie makes a variety of changes in the storyline of Macbeth, many of which are based on Japan's cultural backgrounds, in order to highlight the play's themes as well as increase the general effects of glocalization. The Throne of Blood, nevertheless, has its drawbacks such as its limited ability to convey the deep meanings and pleasing rhythms of Shakespeare's language; however, it compensates the defect by means of visual images, sound effects and acting skills. The movie also tends to reduce the tragic status of Macbeth and its hero, and it lacks Shakespeare's strong sense of satiric humor. One needs to remedy such shortcomings in order to have the artistic level and scale of Shakespeare's work fully maintained when glocalizing it in another culture. Such a successful glocalization like The Throne of Blood can contribute to the development of Shakespeare's plays by lending fresh meanings and forms to them. Experimenting on Shakespeare's plays with another setting and different style can help to develop their infinite potentialities and expand their diversity and universality. Learning from the example of The Throne of Blood, we need to glocalize Shakespeare in Korea with careful preparation, so that Korean audiences can experience Shakespeare's works with more relevance and significance to their own lives.