When I first succumbed to my curiosity regarding the Shakespeare-sci-fi connection, I did what any good researcher would do; I looked to see who was writing what about the topic. Shakespeare and sci-fi is not a popular topic, or at least it is not one that has garnered serious academic attention and discussion, with one exception: the sci-fi rendition of The Tempest...aka The Forbidden Planet (1956). Not only is The Forbidden Planet a direct reinterpretation of a Shakespeare play, it is also been labeled as a science fiction classic. Regarding the movie’s creation and connection to the play, Simone Caroti explains that “Scriptwriter Hume and director Fred McLeod Wilcox wanted to make a film based on The Tempest that can preserve the play's sense of wonder, together with a few other themes the two happen to be keen on” (1). No wonder any discussion of Shakespeare and science fiction must necessarily incorporate The Forbidden Planet.
Now because The Forbidden Planet is a reinterpretation of The Tempest and not a retelling; the plot does differ. For example, the beginning tempestuous storm has been replaced by scenes and explanations of the technological advancements on the United Planets’ ship—discussions of light speed, rations, and stasis chambers. The metaphorical storm begins after the crew lands on Altair IV to discover why the colony sent there 20 years ago has seemingly disappeared. Upon arrival, the crew meets Dr. Morbius (Walter Pideon), a professor of philology and the sole survivor of the colony. Morbius is joined by his daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis) who was born after Morbius and his wife moved to Alataira IV, and his trusty mechanized companion and servant, Robbie the Robot. Robbie is interesting, not just because he is the first humanoid robot with a personality to be depicted in a movie but also because he is a strange combination of Ariel and Caliban. He is able to perform seemingly magical deeds, creating plants and animals from raw information, like Ariel; and is led astray by a drunken cook who cons Robbie into making 60 gallons of malt whiskey.
While trying to discover what happened to the rest of the colony, Commander J.J. Abrams (Leslie Nielson) and his men are attacked by an invisible monster that is more destructive and frightening that Shakespeare’s Caliban. The Commander, with the help of Altaira, Robbie, and the ship’s doctor, discover that Dr. Morbius, himself, is responsible for the monster wreaking havoc on both the new arrivals and the previous colonists. However, Morbius is unaware of his involvement. As he was stranded on the planet, Dr. Morbius discovered the remnants of an extinct—but technologically advanced—race called the Krell. Within the underground Krell environment, Morbius finds schematics to build advanced technologies, like Robbie, as well as equipment to strengthen and test the mind. While improving Morbius’ overall intelligence, the neurological technology, as the characters discover, creates a “monsters from the id”: violent physical, but yet invisible, manifestations of a psychological phenomenon.
As can be gathered, the plot of Forbidden Planet is highly divergent from Shakespeare’s original text. In fact, the movie does not even credit Shakespeare or officially cite the Tempest text. Film critics, writing contemporaneously with the original movie release, criticized the movie’s subversion of the Shakespearean text. However, this subversion does not necessarily need to be interpreted negatively. As Sara Martin reminds us, Shakespeare often reappropriated texts and stories for his own ends: “Shakespeare was unencumbered by the weight of textuality and authorship of his sources” (2). Plus the goal of Hume and Wilcox was not to recreate or retell The Tempest in space-age setting. Instead, they wanted to deal with the Shakespearean themes; they also hoped, that the loose association with Shakespeare would bring credibility to the genre of science fiction without changing the motifs of the genre (2).
At first when contemplating this post, I felt obligated to offer up my own analytical spin on this specific cross-genre connection because it is one of the few explored topics in Shakespeare and sci-fi, especially since many of the articles I looked at were (at worst) overly involved plot summaries that contained surface comparisons of the two texts and (at best) limited analysis of the cultural history of the movie and Shakespeare connection. At this point, I thought it might be interesting to ruminate for a moment on why, when asked to explore Shakespeare and sci-fi, most academics create a one-off (dare I say throw-away) article about The Forbidden Planet instead exploring deeper issues.
I) This rehashing of (or, to be a bit nicer, building on) old arguments is easier than rethinking the way we conceptualize Shakespeare through science fiction or science fiction through Shakespeare.
II) The Forbidden Planet’s status as a “classic film” allows for more academic credibility than something more mainstream like Star Trek, Doctor Who, etc.
III) Perhaps, this phenomenon is a result of the academic dabbler; in other words, an academic in Shakespearean studies must only dabble or indulge in these moments science fiction cross-pollination.
IV) Perhaps, not enough Shakespearean’s are sci-fi super fans.
Trying to find an answer to this question might be pointless, but it seems to me that the Shakespeare/sci-fi connection is ripe with possibilities. Possibilities that ARE being explored but not by academics. Ever since starting this blog, I have been inundated with shared links, book/movie/TV suggestions, chance encounters and discoveries of Shakespeare/sci-fi paraphernalia and cross-over goodies, but they all come from pop-culture presses and modes of entertainment.
Now that I have fulfilled my obligation to the academic standby—the Forbidden Planet essay—I can move on to something with a bit more depth. I want to go where no academic has gone before.
To give you a sneak peak, I am currently working on a post about Shakespeare and dystopian fiction. The working title is “Shakespeare and the voice of dystopian unrest.” I will be looking at, specifically, V for Vendetta and Brave New World as my sci-fi texts, but, dear readers, if you have any suggestions for sources, please feel free to send them on.
(1) Simone Caroti, "Science Fiction, Forbidden Planet, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest" CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 6.1 (2004): http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol6/iss1/11
(2) Sara Martin, “Classic Shakespeare for all: Forbidden Planet and Prospero’s Books, to screen adaptations of The Tempest.” Classics in Film and Fiction. Eds. Hunter and Whelehan. (London: Pluto Press, 2000). Pg 34-53.
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