Have you ever watched a movie and thought it was really giving Shakespeare vibes even though it wasn’t based on one of his plays? In this episode we are playing fast and loose with the meaning of adaptation by looking at two movies that are in conversation with Shakespeare but aren’t adaptations in the traditional sense.

Join me and Gabbi Miller as we talk the scandalous and shocking Saltburn and the English class staple that is Dead Poets Society. Both movies grapple with A Midsummer Night’s Dream in one way or another and hold up Shakespeare in some way although one does so a little more obliquely than the other.

We discuss how both movies reference and represent Shakespeare, how we can see elements of his work creep into the movies even when not explicitly referenced, and how both also manage to be in dialogue with queer interpretations, although some of that was maybe by accident.

If you haven’t seen Saltburn yet, please be aware there are massive spoilers afoot. There are for Dead Poets Society too but that one’s been around for awhile and probably already traumatized you in high school.

Further viewing

Saltburn (2023)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

Were the World Mine (2008) (This is not discussed but is an additional recommendation from me if you want more modern takes on A Midsummer Night’s Dream!)

Further reading

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (obviously)

Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes offers up some excellent looks into overlooked or misinterpreted women from Greek myth and offers up a scathing look at Theseus and what a jerk he was.

Credit where credit is due

Podcast art by ⁠Halie Branson⁠

Music recording by ⁠josdvg⁠