"The Tempest" in the 22nd Century?

To begin, I’d like to start off with admittance. I am a massive nerd. Shakespeare, sci-fi, classic film, superheroes, you name it. That being said, last year- when we were studying The Tempest at SELAH- I couldn't help but think I’d heard that story somewhere before. It bothered me.

I looked around for a while, but gave up my search to find out where I heard it. A few weeks later, after we had gone to see the play, it finally clicked. The revelation came on my couch, while I was watching the 1956 film, Forbidden Planet, one of my favorites. That was it! The story I had been searching for- right in front of me! After the movie was over, I got my notes from the play study and started my comparison.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself… I imagine a lot of you have never seen this movie- so I will answer the question you've been asking yourself. What is this film about, anyways?!

“When an Earth mission arrives on Altair IV, they find that Dr. Edward Morbius and his beautiful daughter Altaira are the only survivors from the original expedition that had arrived some 20 years before. Morbius isn't exactly pleased to see them and would have preferred that they not even land their spaceship. He does his best to get them on their way but Commander Abrams and his men soon face an invisible force leading them to believe that Morbius and the girl are in danger. Morbius claims to know nothing of other life on the planet but does reveal there once existed a far superior race, now extinct, that left a huge subterranean industrial and scientific complex.” (~IMBb)

Prosper and Airel; Miranda sleeps.

So what do we have? An intelligent group of people stranded in a foreign environment. Commander Abrams, the Ferdinand character, sets out to find other humans. He is contacted by a robot, Robby (representing Ariel). Abrams and his closest friends (Ferdinand’s court) are taken to meet Robby’s creator, Dr. Morbius (Prospero) and his daughter, Alta (Miranda). Robby was created by Morbius- though Ariel was captured by Prospero, and both characters can be easily terminated by their “owners”.

We also have the comic relief. Stefano and Trinculo, the silly and perpetually plastered duo from The Tempest are represented by the cook- who just as Stefano and Trinculo- has the first brush with the supernatural monster in our story.

Caliban is shown as “The Monster from the Id” and is a mental extension of Dr. Morbius. The Monster attempts to destroy Commander Abrams (and in turn, ends up killing a few members of the crew) as a result of the secret but very present hate that Morbius has for him.

If you know The Tempest you will already know that Abrams and Alta will ultimately wind up with each other. The way they are joined, however, differs from The Tempest - but not without some subtle similarities. In the play, Prospero sacrifices the one thing he really, loves - Miranda - to Ferdinand. In the movie, Morbius makes a different kind of sacrifice. With his subconscious monster destroying and killing all in sight, he allows his own death so the survivors, including his daughter, can leave safely.

The only major differing theme between these stories is the replacement of magic with graduated science. Morbius is trying to rediscover the sciences of the extinct civilization that lived on the planet before him. Robby is created using this method, and Ariel is controlled and manipulated with Prospero’s magic. Most of the characters in The Tempest are manipulated by Prospero's magic at some point, and in the film Morbius's sciences affect and inhibit the abilities of the crew.

This all goes to show you that Shakespeare really is timeless, and will go on to inspire generations and generations.

Submitted by Spotlights student, Emma Knabe