Macduff's Netflix Queue

Macduff is a character that does not get much attention until the last couple of acts in Macbeth, but when he did deliver his arguments to Malcome and reacted with horror at the news of his family, I felt that I already knew Macduff’s actions because I had followed his archetype in so many different shows. The honest politician (though that can be seen as an oxymoron), a man betrayed by an institution he was supposed to trust, or attempting to separate personal emotions from professional position. In most of these archetypes are held some ideal of how masculinity handles certain situations like politics or being the head of the household.

Leverage is a wonderful show of a perfect five seasons filled with non-stressful plot and character dynamics that is worth every second and the good guys go home at the end of the day knowing at least they made a positive difference. As you can see, I am extremely biased. The premise of Leverage is a group of five criminals (mastermind, grifter/conman, hacker, thief, and hitman) play Robin Hood and use their illegal skills to defend their often vulnerable clients against major corporations. The “Mastermind” of the group, Nate Ford, was not a criminal until after his son died due to an illness might have been treatable by a new drug but Nate’s insurance company who he worked for and was a personal friend of the boss would not allow for an exception in the policy for Nate’s son to receive this new treatment. Nate soon lost his job and was approached for a con-job that would include revenge against his former employer as a side bonus. He took the job with the other criminals and became the leader of their group after the first episode, being reminded of losing his son when a job became too similar and struggling with alcoholism throughout the seasons. Macduff would see himself in Nate on many levels. They both seek to avenge lost loved ones and are driven mad with rage at some points in achieving those goals. Both characters encapsulate an idea of the what grieving masculinity should look like, a narrative of personal pain fueling vengeful justice.

The West Wing is well known for being about a fictional White House administration and their day to day handling of politics and crises. While there are dramatic elements to it, the characters that the show focus on are seen in pursuing believing in politics, though with a comedic style. The show feels out of place in today’s world now that our view of politics have sunk so low. West Wing reflects the ideals that Macduff tried to persuade Malcolm with and is a type of show he could have shared with his son. I believe Macduff would relate most to the characters Leo McGarry and President Bartlet. I have a feeling that their arguments and banter would remind Macduff of arguments with Duncan while being an advisor. The dynamic between First Lady Abbey Bartlet and President Bartlet is also reflective of Lady Macduff and Macduff’s relationship. Lady Macduff is angry at Macduff for leaving their family and putting their family in danger with Macduff’s sense of duty to his country. This is reflective in Abbey criticising her husband for putting his health or the safety of their children at risk by working too hard and through certain orders. Leo is also known for putting work first and gets a divorce because of it. Bartlet and Mcgarry represent the a trait that is often included in masculinity. The trait of overworking at the expense of the people around them is worth it in the end and that nobody can ever truly understand their sacrifice except for people like them.  I think Macduff would find their overall loyalty and moral commendable, even use it as a justification for his own actions, even outside of the one time where he left his family unprotected.

Blue Bloods is a show about a family of Irish-American Catholic police officers in New York City. The father, Frank Reagan, is the Police Commissioner and his children are apart of the New York criminal justice system. There is frequent bickering between one of his son, a detective, and his daughter, an assistant district attorney, disagree on what is allowed under law and to what extent the police should go. Each family member represents a different aspect of police work, allowing the show to reflect the mechanics of their jobs while keeping up family drama. Macduff would be drawn to this show because of the family as the core cast and the elements of the everyday bureaucracy that is included through Frank’s job that is not necessarily shown in other police shows. Frank would also fulfill the masculine aspect of control and justice that Macduff seeks as well, given that one of Frank’s son was killed by dirty cops before the beginning of the show.  

Continuing with the police theme in Macduff’s queue, Law and Order (the original) is up next. Though it has dramaticized elements, Macduff would appreciate its partial base on real life events and attempt to do episodes on relevant issues. All lead characters try to stick by a moral code in bringing justice, even if their code might conflict with that of those around them. Also seeing the justice system play out in a more hopeful light than that of reality would also be encouraging to Macduff, who may have lost hope in finding justice for his friends and family. The detectives also emulate the masculine quality of professional detectives until personal elements are involved and the viewer cannot help but sympathized with the character in that point of the story line, just like when Macduff finally kills Macbeth.

Witch-Slapped: Absolute Power

2. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton
To what extent would Shakespeare agree with this statement? Use the play and your own experience as your support.

Shakespeare would greatly support this statement, not only because it reflects the major themes of several of his plays, but also reflects what he must have experienced while serving under Queen Elizabeth and King James. If Shakespeare did harbor disappointment at the lack of real change that came with James’ rule, it is possible that Shakespeare saw it as James being swayed by the power he now had and how difficult having that power would become if he was to go against Parliament as well as the majority Protestant population. Which, is a situation that could also explain some of the situations between Congress and the Obama administration in American politics today. Though, Parliament and Congress exist so absolute power cannot be accessed by one individual, there is one position that is viewed as the ultimate achievement, and that position has potential to have more social or cultural power than any other singular person. Shakespeare may have also seen corruption under Elizabeth, especially with the level of censorship Shakespeare experienced when writing for her. Part of her corruption was in creating an environment that restricted any political criticisms in general and held themes that would be entertaining to the court and not necessarily the lower classes.

In the pyramid of power, the greater the distance and greater consequences come with being higher in the power structure. After Macbeth fulfills the prophecy by killing his king, he is now fearful of not only losing his position because of his actions being revealed and dying, but of also having everything Macbeth has done and agonized over be proven worthless. This is supported by Macbeth saying:

We have scorched the snake, not killed it.

She’ll close and be herself whilst our poor malice

Remains in danger of her former tooth.

But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds suffer,

Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep

In the affliction of these terrible dreams

That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead,

Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,

Than on the torture of the mind to lie

In restless ecstasy. (Act 3, Scene 2, lines 15-22)

In this way having power at the expense of his actions has not only corrupted Macbeth's morals but are corrupting his health and mental well-being. Macbeth knows that once he has begun with this violence, he cannot stop with just Duncan to secure his position as king and has to kill Banquo and Fleance, otherwise the things in the prophecy like Banquo's son becoming king will come true. At this point, Macbeth is beyond the point of believing the authenticity of the prophecy, but is now about Macbeth's desperation to hold onto his ultimate power.

Part of the absolute corruption that comes with absolute power is in the decrease in sanity in the sense that a person becomes truly desperate when trying to retain his power, especially if the power came through illegal acts. It is different when an ambitious person is trying to rise in station because they are not thinking about how much they could lose, but primarily of how much they can gain. Though there is doubt shown by Macbeth before he kills Duncan, there is less concern for his morals in killing Duncan after he does it because Macbeth then focuses in on the threat Banquo and his son poses to his new position. This is evident in how Macbeth talks about Duncan versus Banquo after he killed them. In the previous quote, Macbeth almost seems grateful that he had already done the worst to Duncan. In the presence of Banquo's ghost, Macbeth rants this:

If charnel houses and our graves must send

Those that we bury back, our monuments

Shall be the maws of kites. (Act 3, Scene 4, lines 74-76)

asking why the dead are not staying in their graves, and there is no point in burying people ever again if this is the result. Macbeth's guilt and and ability to form rational thought are getting worse. Throughout the banquet scene, Macbeth is so convinced that others can see this manifestation of his guilt that he engages in a one sided argument where he admits to fearing this dead person that no one else can see, leading the lords in the room to become suspicious, even though Macbeth thought at the time he was defending his side of the story to a Banquo that others could see. This suspicion will only drive Macbeth's acts to retain power to become more desperate and harmful to the people around him.