Julius Caesar is causing a bit of a stir right now and we should talk about why
The controversy around Julius Caesar is causing a lot of outrage around the country and we don’t know why since they’re missing the point of the play.
There is a lot of talk about Julius Caesar recently because of the controversy with the Public Theater’s production. For those who don’t know, there were protests at the play last night in Central Park.
Basically, this specific production shows Julius Caesar as a Trump-like figure. So, his supporters have been showing their anger on the internet and saying “What if a production showed Obama being assassinated?” Which is funny because there was a production like that.
In fact, the production with an Obama like Caesar toured the country and even went up in Washington D.C in 2012. But here’s the thing about this play: It teaches us that violence against the powers that be are not a means to a peaceful empire. In fact, using violence means a few leads to the fall of the Empire. That’s the message of the play.
Everyone feels angry about a play that tells us that assassination is bad. Everyone jumps the gun without looking into the play itself and figuring out exactly what the message is.
Political tensions are high right now. And anything to do with Donald Trump usually sends either side into a fighting match. Whether you support him or not, he brings out a lot of emotions in people.
So with this production, having the Trump-like Caesar getting killed has sent his supporters into a tailspin. The thing about the play is this: It tells us that killing the man in charge leads to the downfall of the entire republic.
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So you’d think that they’d be into this idea. I think the main probably is that people don’t know what the play is actually saying, so maybe we all need to stop and listen to each other.