Baudrillard, Hyperreality, and the Evil in Othello and The Hateful Eight

Abstract

Shakespeare’s tragedies and Quentin Tarantino’s aesthetically violent films bear striking similarities in the problematization of both villainy and reality. Such concerns reverberate the most in Othello (1604) and The Hateful Eight (2015). Although critical scholarship about both works abounds, this essay offers an alternative approach by consulting the thoughts of Jean Baudrillard on the issues of hyperreality, criminality, and terrorism. The dialogue between the three can be important in two ways. First, it establishes a link between Early Modern and contemporary culture by engaging three canonical figures. Second, it provides a novel commentary about each artistic piece by drawing on the profound ways (hyper)reality and villainy can function. The essay also discusses the (non-voluntaristic) crises of reality that follow, when opposing parties battle for the ultimate power.