Pretty monsters
As discussed in the Colonialism section, Caliban is seen as the monster in this play. Often, Caliban will be described as a savage or as a deformed beast. In this version however, Caliban is merely termed as Son of Sycorax, slave of Prospero. He is seen as a wild creature, after growing up alone after the death of his mother, who is "alien" to the refined culture of Prospero and Miranda. The unique representation of Caliban in this performance questions how he is distinctly different from his colonisers; he is attractive rather than disfigured or ugly.
It can be seen in many cultures that physicality often plays a large role in the story of an evil character. There are the beautiful Sirens of ancient sea tales whose enchanting voices lured men to their deaths and, more recently, the story of the beautiful vampires in the film Twilight and their appearance of ethereal and serene beauty which belies a fierce nature and instinct to kill. The visual attractiveness of these creatures is a natural tool used to aid them in their monstrousness. Will a Caliban similarly unhampered by physical repulsiveness in fact be a more efficient and dangerous monster?
The theme of ‘pretty monsters' runs deep in a lot of youth targeted media and literature. The Twilight phenomenon which has recently spread world over causing millions of teens to pore over books and line up at crowded cinemas is a perfect example. In this story, the monsters are vampires. It is the nature of the vampires to live off the blood of human beings and every part of them from their physical attractiveness to their inhuman strength, speed and power is engineered to be efficient hunters. The story centres around the Cullens; a ‘family' of vampires who live and partake in human society and Bella, a human girl who inadvertently falls in love with one of the younger vampires, Edward. The Cullens refrain from human blood in an effort to live peacefully, a feat which is not easy for them, and among other things the book witnesses the struggle of Edward and his family to not devour his young girlfriend. The vampires in this series are an example of perfect beings with fatally flawed natures. Edward is incredibly attractive to Bella and her teenage counterparts both physically and mentally, and yet his nature compels him to kill her. This, combined with his superhuman abilities makes him her largest predator.
This theme is echoed throughout countless stories; seen in Dexter, a detective show in which one of the main detectives, Dexter, is also a deadly serial killer, the 2008 movie Wanted in which Angelina Jolie plays a beautiful but manic assassin and in every television show, movie, book or play in which appears a ‘bad boy' character who breaks a delicate, young girl's heart. Many theorists have delved into psychology and pop-culture to explain this prominent, recurring theme of the perfect yet fatally flawed creature.
Theorist, Walter Evans speculates on monsters in his chapter on horror movie monsters in Pop Culture: An Introductory Text (1992). He develops his theories around the notion that monsters are, in essence, all created by humans themselves, and so are made up of those parts of people that they cannot control or explain; the parts that scare them. In particular Evans believes that adolescence is a key point at which youth become aware of their body and nature changing beyond their control and it is likely that this is why monsters feature so heavily in youth media. Experiencing tumultuous upheaval in their own lives, youth are very receptive to not only the fear of monsters but to feel sympathy for them. By giving these creations human qualities and making them physically and mentally attractive, they become more effective and dangerous and also attract more empathy.
Regardless of the medium; horror movies, romantic teen fiction or colonialist theory, monsters essentially represent human's fear of other humans and of themselves and their own nature. In this production of The Tempest, the more humanistic approach to Caliban will allow audiences to empathise with the character and his story.