65 VOL. 2, NO. 1, JUNE 2017: 65-84 WHEN SHAKESPEARE TRAVELS ALONG THE SILK ROAD: TARDID, AN IRANIAN ADAPTATION OF HAMLET By AZRA GHANDEHARION*, BEHNAZ HEYDARI JAGHARGH**, and MAHMOUD REZA GHORBAN SABBAGH*** Media has become an inseparable companion of 21st century culture, exerting immense influence on our daily lives. This article aims to reveal how cultural aspects and media in a particular part of the Silk Road have adapted Western cannons. Iran has redefined and transformed Western culture through the modern Silk Road by the method of cinematic adaptation. Karim-Masihi employs the general plot of Hamlet, the well-known drama by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), in his movie Tardid (Doubt 2009); however, he transforms some of the characters to reflect the current socio-cultural aspects of Iranian society. One of the characters is named Siavash, whose life is similar to Hamlet. In passivity, he awaits his imminent death and other tragic consequences. Yet, the movie ends differently. It is not an Elizabethan tragedy in a strict sense, although the final scenes abound with corpses. This article aims to find the similarities and differences between the two works, while reasoning the significance of the alterations. It concludes with how different cultures react to the same themes. * AZRA GHANDEHARION is an assistant professor at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. ** BEHNAZ HEYDARI JAGHARGH is an M.A. graduate of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. *** MAHMOOD REZA GHORBAN SABBAGH is an assistant professor at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. 66 Acta Via Serica, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2017 Keywords: Tardid [Doubt], Hamlet, movie adaptation, Iranian cinema, Silk Road, Varuzh Karim-Masihi, William Shakespeare INTRODUCTION: THE ADAPTATION OF HAMLET IN IRAN The ancient “Silk Road has seen precious goods and philosophical ideas travelling between Asia and Europe” (Dang 107). Today, media, especially cinema, can play the same role. The significance of this research lies in the fact that a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Iran can serve as an effective instance of transcultural production along the modern Silk Road. Adaptation studies have generated intense interest in the realm of cultural studies because of taking movies, video games and other leading proponents of popular culture into account. Some adaptations of literary cannons do not live up to all the hype. On the other hand, there are many unknown sources that have become famous through their movie adaptations. It is worth mentioning that many of Shakespeare’s own dramas, which have been adapted all around the world, are adaptations of older stories. Hamlet is not new to the modern Silk Road. It has been adapted and appropriated in Korea (Lee 129-38) and China (S. Liu 411-429). In Iran, Hamlet was brought to the realm of cinema by Karim-Masihi in 2009. Iran in the twenty-first century has a large population of youth who are attracted to movies. The reason that canonical texts, like those of Shakespeare, are adapted in cinematic forms in such an episteme is controversial. Though unaware of its details, many Iranians know the plot of Hamlet or are at least aware of its existence. After eighteen years of silence in the realm of Iranian cinema, Karim-Masihi attempted to direct Hamlet. He had considered the idea of adapting Hamlet for a long time (Raziyifar), since doubt (i.e. tardid), as the title of the movie suggests, has been a matter of supreme importance in his life. One can trace the significance of doubt not only in Karim-Masihi’s adaptation of Hamlet, but also throughout his whole life. He went to medical school in Germany, but he quit after a year. He also registered in the College of Dramatic Arts in Tehran, but again he abandoned his studies (Molla Hosseini). Therefore, doubt is woven into Karim-Masihi’s personal life and the process of Hamlet’s adaptation. He formed the new setting and characters in his mind for seventeen years (Mehr News Agency). The outcome of this endeavor won the highly acclaimed Simorgh-e Bolorin [Crystal Phoenix] for the best film and adapted screenplay at the 27th Fajr International Film Festival in Ghandeharion, Jaghargh, and Sabbagh: When Shakespeare Travels 67 2009 (Mehr News Agency ). He had received another Simorgh for best director for his previous movie, Pardeye Akhar (The Last Act 1990), eighteen years before producing his second movie. Although winning the Simorgh at the Fajr Festival enjoys a high level of credibility, this movie has been the target of scarce research. Hence, this article attempts a comparative analysis of self-doubt through the setting and characters of Tardid and its source, Hamlet. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a revenge tragedy that narrates the story of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who plunges into despair after encountering his father’s ghost, who reveals that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius. Claudius brings corruption to Denmark by marrying his sister-in-law and assuming the throne which was Hamlet’s right. Hamlet feigns madness as a strategy to reveal his uncle’s dishonesty. His doubt over taking revenge causes the death of many characters, including his own mother, his beloved Ophelia, her father, her brother, and Claudius. Though Karim-Masihi transforms Hamlet’s princedom to Siavash’s aristocracy in modern Iran, the plot of Tardid has some similarities. Tardid is the story of Siavash, who is from a rich aristocratic family with a lavish lifestyle. His deceased father had been in charge of a high-profit business until his recent death. Siavash’s villainous uncle wrests control of the household, replacing his brother both in his financial and familial role. He plans to marry his brother’s widow in order to gain ultimate control of the whole business. These events happen in the absence of Siavash, much like in the plot of Hamlet. His mother’s consent to marriage, his father’s suicide, and his uncles’ corruption force Siavash to become an introvert. He doubts the reliability of the news of his father’s suicide, due to his long-term plans for his business. In the first half of the movie, bewildered by the hasty wedding party succeeding the funeral, Siavash attempts to make sense of the events. Encountering the spirit is the main difference between the plots of Hamlet and Tardid, since it happens in the initial scenes of the former, but almost at the end of the latter. However, this switch in plotline of the adaptation is not justifiable to some critics (Hosseinioun). After hearing the ghost’s assertions about the murder and betrayal, Siavash initiates a full-scale inquiry by meeting different people. He consults his intimate friend, Garo (Horatio), to find out the accuracy of these claims. As Siavash realizes that his life is similar to Hamlet’s story, he succumbs to his fate. It is his fiancée, Mahtab (Ophelia), who reproaches Siavash’s passivity and resolves to change their fate. They manage to survive, while the death of Siavash’s mother and uncle, some of the servants, Mahtab’s father, and her retarded brother end the movie. This short story line reveals Tardid’s similarities to and deviances from Hamlet’s plot. 68 Acta Via Serica, Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2017 Shakespeare is a colossal name in the realm of adaptation (Leitch 3). Most Shakespearean adaptations do not mimic the setting of the Elizabethan era, nor do they conform to the time and setting of that specific play (Leitch 30). It is because the universal themes of such canonical works can be employed in any place or time. However, the change of culture in the process of adaptation needs more adjustments (Hutcheon 28). Thus, this innovative production can fit the new values it represents. In other words, the work is re-contextualized, since culture is the factor that forms the way “people habitually think” and “perceive the world” (Zhang and Lauer 663). The same idea is applicable to Hamlet in the process of its appropriation in Iran. After a review of the literature, the Iranian adaptation of Hamlet will be discussed in terms of setting and characters to demonstrate the alteration and re-contextualization. LITERATURE REVIEW Some critics have discussed the evolution of institutions and technologies in the industry of the modern Silk Road (Ma 330-335; Kuchins, Sanderson, and Gordon 35-40). The role of the Silk Road in the exchange of ideas between Asia and Europe has also been studied (Dang 107-110). However, how these ideas are reformed in the realm of art is still an academic gap. The cinematic adaptation of Western canons along the Silk Road is a fertile land for academic endeavors. In the past, adaptations were considered an inferior art where “the virtues of both film and literature [were sacrificed] for the sake of a cheap reproduction” (Cartmell 1154). In order to categorize Hamlet, Andrew Sanders suggests that it is a revenge play in which “Claudius destroys his brother, marries his sister-in-law, assumes the throne, and introduces a rot into the state of Denmark” (154). Bloodshed on stage serves as the standard of revenge plays. This is because “Shakespeare’s tragic world is uncertain, dangerous, and mortal, and the catastrophes to which all his tragic dramas inexorably move are sealed by the deaths of their protagonists”, resulting from “the violence of contemporary political life, both at home and abroad”, making “an uneasy society, haunted by ideas of treason and assassination” (A. Sanders 156). Claudius is the tactful, usurping king: he is “manipulative, calculating, smooth, secretive, suspicious, and generally well-served by malleable courtiers” (A. Sanders 157). The setting of Hamlet is Elsinore, which ironically reminds the audience of Elysium, the paradise in Greek mythology.