This multi-genre project is a collection of work centered around the theme above and its relation to Romeo and Juliet. Each genre has been picked to explore this theme and the story in an outward-looking view. What that means is instead of looking out from the world into the story, I hope to look out from this story and others back out into the world.

I wrote a lot, I'm sorry if it's too much. I just had fun doing this project.

I specifically added "The Princess Bride" because of the undeniable relation to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The most important difference I want to focus on is of course is Buttercup and William don't fall in love the first time they see each other at a party. William first works as a farmhand for her family then slowly falls in love with her and only expressing his love by saying "as you wish" to whatever demand she asked him of, until one day she recognizes his love for her and realizes that she thinks she loves him to. But Romeo realizes immediately his love for Juliet right as he sets his eyes on her saying "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!/ It seems she hangs upon the cheek of the night/ Like a rich jewel of an Ethiop's ear-/ Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!"(Rom,1 ,5,42-45). Does this immediate reaction mean he loves Juliet more than Buttercup loves William? Near the end of "The Princess Bride", Buttercup attempts suicide when she thinks William is dead, just as Romeo succeeded in doing when he thinks Juliet is dead. I feel this would give Romeo something to think about once the screen cuts to black and the credits roll.

Taylor Swift's "Enchanted"(Taylor's Version obviously) feels right at home in this playlist. The whole song is about love at first sight. the only interaction between the people or reason we get for why the writer is so in love with this person is stanza 2, and only stanza 2 "Your eyes whispered, 'Have we met?'/ Across the room, your silhouette/ Starts to make it its way to me/ The playful conversation starts/ Counter all your quick remarks/ Like passing notes in secrecy". So what we get from the very long quote is that they had a nice conversation and now the speaker is in love with them. This is not too far from what happened in Romeo and Juliet, they see each other, flirt, then kiss, get married, and commit mutual suicide. I'm not the first to point out the short and immature timeline, but it brings up the question. Is that what love is supposed to be or is it just how teenagers think it should be?

I'm not going to talk about a specific piece, just a common subject displayed. The iconic kiss. Is the kiss lust or love? The cheap way out is just saying that it's a bit of both. But that is kind of lame. In some of the art, Romeo is shown climbing over the balcony to Juliet. He is shown to be almost foolish, reflecting the impulsive and lustful nature of a young person.

MOVIE SUMMARY

(skip if you know the movie plot)

First, a quick, most excellent summary of the movie. Bill and Ted are teenagers living in San Demus. They need an A on their history report or Ted gets sent to military school in Alaska and they will never be able to start their band "Wild Stalans". Not only would this be a most heinous fate for Bill and Ted but also for humanity. You see, in the future Bill and Ted's band "Wild Stalans" is the basis of the utopian society of future generations. So the future people send Reemus to give Bill and Ted a time machine to help them get an A on their report, and save the world. They travel through time to collect historical figures (and pick up historical babes) for the report, while teaching the audience an important lesson "Be excellent to each other, and... party on dudes".

In this scene, Ted falls in love with a princess after seeing her on a balcony. What is refreshing is that the love story is very secondhand to the friendship of Bill and Ted. They even leave the princesses to return to their report. Romeo would never leave Juliet. I feel like I've been saying this a lot, but does that nesisarily mean Romeo loves Juliet? Is that what love is? The story of "Romeo and Juliet" is all about love, it's the only thing the character of Romeo is given. Bill and Ted have a lot more going on in their lives (but they do get the girls at the end). When Romeo first sees Juleit he proclaims "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!/ It seems she hangs upon the cheek of the night/ Like a rich jewel of an Ethiop's ear-/ Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!"(Rom,1 ,5,42-45). When Ted sees the princess for the first time all he says is "I'm in love, dude". But it is not about what he says it is how he stares and his awestruck look. But that's just it, Ted is only looking. Can it be real love if he doesn't even know her yet? And Romeo discibes how juilet looks. I ask the same question.

(Read the summary from part one if you haven't seen the movie)

It truly shocks me how much this movie overlaps with "Romeo and Juliet", mostly when the boys travel to medieval Europe. And we can study the differences in the relationships portrayed by looking at one key story beat both have in common. At one point a character thinks another character they care about is dead. The reactions vary drastically. I don't think I need to quote you any specific lines when I say Romeo kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead, it's kind of the point of the story. Bill also thinks Ted is dead after watching what he thinks is Ted get stabbed by a medval guy. He reacts by first rushing toward the pile of armor he thinks is Ted, then collapsing to his knees. You can watch the full scene for the full effect. When Ted then sees the person who he thinks has killed Ted, he rushes at him yelling "You killed Ted". I don't know, but there is something about this scene that feels more powerful than Romeo's suicide. You see, in "Romeo and Juliet" it feels like the grief is because Romeo can no longer be with Juleit, so his world is less without her. But in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" the grief seems to come from a different place. There is grief because Bill knows Ted very well, and he will of course be sad he can no longer be with Ted. And also there is grief because the world will also now be without Ted, and Ted must suffer death. It is the lack of suicide that shows this. The sadness is not from their separation, it's not "What am I going to do now that Ted is dead" It feels more like "Ted is dead :(". The grief seems less selfish this way, and the relationship demonstrated to be stronger.