Macbeth Playlist

This is a playlist for songs that relate to Macbeth. All of the songs are from Disney movies I liked to watched when I was young.


http://open.spotify.com/user/1219288516/playlist/2CTKyb4P57HMNHlCxDDcff

1) I Just Can't Wait To Be King from The Lion King

 

I chose this song because it talks about how much Simba wants to be king, much like Macbeth wants to be a king.

2) I’ll make a man out of you from Mulan

            I chose this song because Lady Macbeth made Macbeth more of a man when she convinces him to kill Duncan even though he doesn’t want to at first.  

3) Be Prepared from The Lion King

            I chose this song because it talks about killing a king, which is exactly what Macbeth did.

4) Go the Distance from Hercules

            I chose this song because it is about pushing yourself to be successful, just like Macbeth is putting all he has into becoming the king.

5) Devil in Disguise from Lilo and Stitch

            I chose this song because it talks about someone looking innocent like an angel, much like Macbeth looked to Duncan before Duncan was killed.

6) I Always Get What I Want from Princess Diaries 2

            I chose this song because it talks about how everyone always wants something even if it’s hard to get, just like Macbeth wants to be king even though he has to go out of his way to do it.

7) Can’t Take it In from The Chronicles of Narnia

            I chose this song because it talks about how some things are difficult to take in, just like it was hard for Macbeth to take in the fact that he killed someone.

8) I Want It All from High School Musical 2

            I chose this song because it talks about having everything go your way, which is what Macbeth wants.

9) Anything Can Happen from Mary Poppins

            I chose this song because it talks about how everything has its consequences, so when Macbeth commits murders, he will have to live with the consequences that go with his actions.

10) One Jump Ahead from Aladdin

            I chose this song because it talks about how we always have to be one step ahead in order to be successful, much like how Macbeth needs to be one step ahead in his plans to commit murders. 

Do women have to act like men to be successful?

For a very long time, women have seemed inferior to men, and men are always overpowering them. This is true especially when it comes to politics. For example, women were not allowed to work outside of the home or vote until the 19^th century, while men could do almost anything. As women’s’ rights progressed, it became easier for them to have positions of power. However, as women became more powerful, they seemed to acquire male traits when holding important leadership roles. This is seen all around the world through many different cultures. Today, more and more women are assuming roles leaders, and a study about this was done by Professor Paula Nicolson from the Department of Health and Social Sciences in London. The study shows that women are using the stereotypical male traits, aggression being a prominent one, in order to be successful. If a woman wants to be successful, she has to let go of all her emotions and think about the bigger picture. Nicolson said, "It's almost like women feel that they must 'act like a man' and overly develop traits often more associated with power-hungry city traders.” This study shows that the statement “For a woman to be considered a legitimate leader, she seems required to dial down her emotions and act the part of a man,” is very true.

            In the United States government, every president, from George Washington to Barack Obama, has been a man. However, women are beginning to step up to the plate to run in presidential elections. For example, Hillary Clinton is one of the most powerful women associated with the government. She not only ran in the presidential election, but she has been very successful in her career. Even though she has been a successful leader, the media did not fail to show her in a time where her emotions overtook her, when she cried during the campaign. This shows that the media pictures woman leaders to have manly qualities (such as not showing emotion), and when the media sees emotion in someone, they take that person down. Clinton said, ““If you get too emotional, that undercuts you. A man can cry; we know that. Lots of our leaders have cried. But a woman, it’s a different kind of dynamic.” It is as if societies expects women to act like men, and when they show qualities natural to a woman, there are mixed reactions.

            I think that when women see men becoming very successful, they want to be just as successful, so they look at men as role models for success. They take on many traits when put into a position of power, but it does not mean that we should treat them as men. Emotions can play a big part in a woman’s success, but even though those emotions are associated with women, they are only a stereotype. Men have emotions too, so society shouldn’t be taking women down for showing their emotions. To be a successful leader, one has to use emotions and logic, not one or the other. This is how Clinton, as well as many other extremely powerful women in our history, have been such successful leaders.

Can You Learn Anything from a Void?

In the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth kills the king, causing he himself to be the successor. As king, Macbeth makes many people, all of whom have much less power than him, commit multiple homicides in order to prevent anyone from stealing his title as king. He shows no sympathy towards his new kingdom, plotting to kill many people, and no one can step up to stop him, fearing him. Macbeth can greatly compare to the article mentioned above, especially with the idea of being powerful.

The article Can You Learn Anything from a Void” by Adam Kirsch considers two different scenarios that occurred during Holocaust, both considering men who chose to be involved illegal or questionable acts. In one scenario, a man named Victor Capesius is depicted as a “stocky” man in a bathing suit waiting for his swimming lessons. He was a sales representative for “the pharmaceutical company Bayer,” and according to a girl, Ella Boehm, he was a very sweet man. However, when the disaster called the Holocaust began, he was one of the men who directed people to the Auschwitz concentration camp. After Ella and her family were deported from Hungary and taken to Auschwitz, they encountered Capesius for the last time, as he directed her family toward the gas chambers, and Ella toward the camp. Ella and her family were not the only ones to see Capesius at the camp, directing them toward their death. His friends and neighbors went through the camp as well, and unfortunately he directed them gas chambers also. All throughout the Holocaust, Capesius acted as though he was happy and did not mind sending thousands of people to their deaths. “Capesius could not even claim to be blinded by ideological anti-Semitism.”  When he was tried in 1964, his prosecutor said Capesius should have gone through a terrible emotional state, confronting people he knew who trusted him, and the prosecutor compared his actions to that of a monster’s.

The second scenario contains a selection of letters written by Konrad Jarausch. Jarausch is depicted as a bookish and introverted man, and “one of the least soldierly soldiers of Hitler’s army.” He was a Protestant and a trainer of Christian teachers, who also edited the journal, School and Church. He was too old for the army so he was sent to guard prisoners of war in Poland, later moving to Germany to train new recruits. His letters tell readers that the last six months of his life were desperate and depressed. Jarausch believed Hitler’s war was a disaster. Jarausch found sympathy toward the prisoner of war he was guarding, finding much in common with them. He found a sense of respect for them, with incredibly different views compared to Capesius.

In all three cases, the main character is in a state of superiority over his community. In the case of Macbeth and Capesius, they are taking it a bit too far. People are responsible for stepping up and facing them to fix the problem that is occurring. However, it is a matter which can be left up to the onlooker. He or she can either act in an evil way to save him or herself, or choose the opposite and deal with the consequences. Those who carry out unfair executions and murders are just as guilty as anyone else, because they chose evil to save themselves. By fighting for their beliefs, bystanders can fight the evil and overcome it.