Shakespeare and the Army

What a successful day! We had a lot of good experiences that helped us realize what we are doing will have the intended impact.

Project Progress
First, we sat down and cranked out the story board. With the lines set, we went through each page and decided what shots to shoot, assigning each person with shots they could do over the next week. Cutting, adding, expounding, and pulling ideas from past and present, we finally finished and raced over to the ROTC we we had set up a meeting with the soldier over PR.

A Well Rounded Soldier
When we got there we explained to Cadet Hess that we wanted film of different soldiers quoting lines from King Henry V's famous St. Agincourt rally cry. He jumped for excitement. "I've got the whole thing memorized!" I was astounded to see that this man had learned the whole thing by heart. Before filming though, we had to go and talk with one of the Majors.

Shakespeare. Love and Roses?
When we went in he was a little hesitant and seemingly opposed the idea. "What on earth does Shakespeare and music videos have to do with the army?" he asked. Both Kara and I knew he had asked the perfect question, the question we wanted our audience to ask so we could uncover the truth.
Kara began to explain how we wanted to show clips of soldiers reciting a speech by Shakepeare that glorified war. When we left, he realized not only that we had a good motive, but also that Shakespeare is not all, "love and flowers," as Kara phrased it.

Another Unexpected Shakespearean
Finally while sitting in the hall, waiting to follow the fifty to one hundred soldiers to their training site, one of the officers exploded with emotion. "St. Agincourt speech?! What about 'O God of battles; steel my soldiers' hearts!" I was in awe. There was a stark contrast between these two US soldiers who knew Shakespeare so well they could quote it, and the one who thought the only connection between Shakespeare and the military will be demeaning.

Evidence Toward Our Analysis
I don't blame him, it is the understanding of the general public that Shakespeare is feminine. Thus my point, and the point of our music video. WE WANT TO SHOW SHAKESPEARE IS MORE THAN LOVE! (Check out the first search result when I typed in 'What is Shakespeare's message?')
I feel like our group as a whole contains a diverse understanding and wide variety of knowledge about Shakespeare in order to get our point across.