Is Jekyll & Hyde Relevant In 2007?
I was recently reminded that the BBC miniseries of Jekyll & Hyde, Jekyll, will be out on DVD in September. My question to you is, Is the Robert Louis Stevenson schizoid character still relevant in 2007, a time in which almost every other person announces he or she has bipolar disorder? In other words, is the character too familiar to frighten? Here are some clips of various J & H endeavors to help you make your decision.
Jekyll -- Here's the BBC Jekyll trailer. I really love the background music and the modernized, quirky take on Jekyll.
Jekyll & Hyde -- Here's the one from Broadway. Eh - Not so good as a musical.
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931) -- Although it's Halloween costume-ish, this old school transformation to Hyde still creeps me out.
I saw the show and liked it. Nice, sleek updating of the story, with nice use of "Lost" like flashbacks and some good actors, including the woman who plays the new Bionic Woman. Which, by the way, is surprisingly good (well, the one pilot ep, anyway). As for the subject still being frighting because of everyone being bipolar, well, you can now watch the show and be reminded of past partners. Which should be scary.
The beauty of the Jekyll and Hyde mythos is that it's timeless. Jung talked about the shadow self, human being's darker nature. Not to sound schizo or anything, but aren't there two (or more!) identities to every person? The half that wants to follow society's rules and behave (like Jekyll) and the half that's all rapacious appetite (Hyde). What it boils down to are dichotomies: order vs. civilization, society vs. chaos, etc.
Nowadays, identities are much more fluid. The lines between genders, sexualities, and levels of maturity are much easier to maneuver in this day and age. Stevenson's Victorian world was much more rigid, therefore Jekyll's drastic change into Hyde was much more transgressive.
However, we still ask the questions, and that makes it pretty damn relevant, as it gives us greater insight into the society we occupy.
nicely put, amanda and andrew. thanks for chiming in!