Netflix Queue for Macbeth

Here is a compilation of TV shows and movies that Macbeth would thoroughly enjoy and find meaningful to his own life!


1. The West Wing


The West Wing is a political drama surrounding the fictional president Josiah Bartlet and his entire administrative team and advisers. It is centered around controversy, everyday life working in the White House, and the political climate of the United States. It is quite hilarious but it also discusses important topics and situations in politics. It is quite unique as it explores the personal lives of the people running the entire nation too, bringing a different dimension to the show. Macbeth would absolutely love this TV series because most of the people in the show are individuals with so many different goals and aspirations. Macbeth could really relate to the ambition and drive of these people, despite the fact that the context of Macbeth is wildly different than early 2000s in the United States. The White House administration had all worked tirelessly to obtain their positions of power, just like Macbeth had really worked to become King, whether this was by ethical means aside. Nevertheless, Macbeth could also really relate to the struggles of running a nation, as The West Wing really delves into the daily decisions that the White House has to make that have a huge impact on the entire nation. This show would be highly recommended by Macbeth because he can relate to it in so many different ways. (P.S. This is the best show ever! It'll make you 1000 times smarter too. If you don't trust me, check out this person's blog for 10 more reasons you should watch The West Wing!)

2. King Kong (1976 version)


This movie is about a crew of explorers, looking for petroleum, that reach a deserted island. There, they meet some natives, the chief of which wants to marry the one woman in the group of explorers. When she refused, she was kidnapped and offered to the giant gorilla as a sacrifice. The monster is surprisingly kind and listens to the woman talk and dance. After the woman is rescued, the crew decides to bring Kong back to New York City to make money, as the oil wasn't high quality. When tons of reporters rush at the woman to ask her about Kong, he believes that she is being hurt and breaks free, causing widespread panic. Macbeth would absolutely recommend this movie for so many different reasons. First of all, he could really connect to the crew's desire for money and power. Macbeth was also quite greedy in this way, willing to commit all deeds to become King. Macbeth could also really relate to the gorilla. Kong was seen as a monster and killer, someone to fear, but was really sweet-hearted. In New York City, he just wanted to protect his friend and was looked on as a vicious and cruel monster. Macbeth could relate to this because Lady Macbeth had really urged him to commit murder. Although he did want power, it was not his idea or intent to murder many people and their families. Macbeth would highly recommend this movie because it might show people how he wasn't a villain after all!


3. Psych


This TV show is a comedic detective show about the Santa Barbara Police Department. The protagonist is a self proclaimed psychic that uses his talents to solve crimes for the police department. These crimes range from robbery to murder and everything in between. He actually just has a photographic memory and is extremely vigilant, but very few people actually know the truth, including his own girlfriend (this doesn't go over too well when she does find out). This show details a new crime each episode, and also explores the personal lives of each of the characters. A huge theme in the show is making fun of the protagonist's masculinity for comedic affect. Macbeth would sympathize with the main character because Lady Macbeth is constantly making fun of Macbeth's own masculinity. Therefore, Macbeth would find the plot of the show very intriguing to see someone with a common trait, that is often made fun of, and how another person copes with this. He also might get some great ideas of ways to get away with murder and some common downfalls to avoid. He would highly recommend this movie because he could find some interesting things that he could apply to his own life.

4. Criminal Minds

This show is about an FBI unit that takes on some of the most difficult and psychotic cases of the cruelest cases of murder, abductions, arson, and more. They solve the cases by creating profiles for the criminals, doing in depth research to find possible suspects, matching their suspects to the profile, and then finding the criminal. It can often be very intense or scary, especially when the agents' lives are put in danger. Macbeth would find this show so intriguing because it really shows how the minds of criminals function, not always painting them in an evil light when there are extreme outside influences or the person is mentally challenged. Although the show always depicts the deed of murder, or whatever the case is, as gruesome and evil, the individuals are not always the representation of evil (although sometimes they are). Macbeth could really relate to this because just because he sees himself as a good person that has committed immoral actions. Lady Macbeth really coerced him to commit foul deeds and while his actions were terrible, he doesn't see himself as evil. This is really important in analyzing the development of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because it gives reason to the shift where Macbeth starts to control the marriage, rather than it being a partnership. This reveals about Macbeth that he feels misunderstood, and later isolated after the death of his wife.


5. Would You Rather

Would You Rather is a horror movie about seven people desperate for money that go to a mansion to play a game of would you rather. They are given a chance to leave, but after the game starts, it must be finished and they are locked inside. Once the game starts, it takes a sadistic turn where they ended up having to choose who to inflict pain upon, and ultimately who you would rather kill. In the end, the protagonist ends up winning by killing a man that had saved her life, all to get the money for her dying son. When she gets back after being gone all night, he had committed suicide. Macbeth would really like this movie because it shows all different types of people going to far extents to reach money and wealth for various reasons. Macbeth could relate to wanting to have power and wealth, as well as all of the ambition and intentions of the people too. Along with this, he could even relate to the game host because he plotted and executed murders just like Macbeth. There could be a sense of relating to each other, even though the game master was portrayed as much more evil than Macbeth. He could relate to wanting to do everything to make himself happy, being overly ambitious and murdering other people who get in their way. This reveals that Macbeth is easily persuaded to do what others want and can really relate to other people that want the same thing.

Work Cited:

Duhe, Remi. "10 Reasons Everyone Should Watch 'The West Wing.'" The Daily Free Now, 15 Nov. 1970, blog.dailyfreepress.com/2017/11/15/10-reasons-everyone-should-watch-the-west-wing/.

"King Kong (1976)" IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0074751/plotsummary.

The First Step Down the Primrose Path to the Everlasting Bonfire

Question 1: "Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step 'down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire' (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

People who are not necessarily "evil" take the first steps into evil for a variety of reasons that I believe fall into two main categories: external reasons or internal reasons. External reasons include outside influences on how an individual acts while internal influences deal with the individual's mind and how it is impacted by certain ideals. Each one is equally important in leading people "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" where one evil or corrupt action can lead to more of these actions and the entire situation spiraling out of control (Macbeth 2.3). This quote means that everything seems to be going well as it is quite easy to commit a wrong action in the beginning, but as one continues they are really heading towards the corrupted by power and a place representing hell that they cannot return from. It is also foreshadowing for the awful events of murder that are to take place. The idea of not being able to turn back is represented in the text as Macbeth says, "I am in blood/ Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more/ Returning were as tedious as go o'er" (Macbeth 3.4.168-170). This metaphor of comparing standing in a river of blood to his own actions constructs the meaning that at this point, there is no turning around without the same consequences as continuing forward, and thus Macbeth is left with minimal options as to his next steps to continue down the path to hell.

Some of the common external reasons include social pressure to obtain wealth and power as well as the construct of authority and hierarchy of power. This is prevalent within Macbeth as there is a clear social hierarchy that correlates with the distribution of power. The context of the play, being set in 11th century Scotland, is a time and place where the feudal system dominated society to its core. At first, Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis, already retaining a good amount of power especially compared to those beneath him. Because of his valiant, brave, and heroic actions in battle against the treacherous Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth is given this title as well upon his defeat. This was one of the stipulations of the prophecy that the three witches of the play, the supernatural, gave Macbeth to detail his future very vaguely and ambiguously. Another one of the prophecies was dictated as the third witch said, "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter" (Macbeth 1.3.53). This influence planted the ideas power, wealth, and authority in Macbeth's head and it was not surprising that soon thereafter, Macbeth let this vision control him. His first step down the primrose path was to kill King Duncan, in attempt to become the King and make the prophecy come true. This shows the influence of the supernatural, an external factor, that caused Macbeth to choose evil over righteousness.

One very important internal reason for taking the first steps towards evil is called cognitive dissonance which is the idea of the contradiction of beliefs and action. A Huffington Post article describes it as "when people who feel they are good do bad things, cognitive dissonance makes them ignore this behavior because they can't tolerate the inconsistency between their behavior and their beliefs" (Bradberry). This relates directly to Macbeth's indecisiveness and constantly switching back and forth between different beliefs. This is exemplified as he talks to Banquo and says, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me" (Macbeth 1.3.157-158). This means that Macbeth will let fate take care of what is to happen. However, the next scene Macbeth states in an aside that he must take fate into his own hands, completely contradictory to what he had previously told Banquo. He says, "That is a step/ On which I must fall down or else o'erleap,/ For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/ Let not light see my black and deep desires" (Macbeth 1.4.55-58). This is a metaphor where the step Macbeth must jump over represents Malcolm, heir to the Scottish throne. It also uses rhyme to show the external force of the supernatural but the internal reason presents itself because this is the belief Macbeth eventually acts on, but not without doubt and holding the belief that murder is wrong. The contradiction of Macbeth's beliefs and actions led him to be inconsistent and therefore succumb to both the external pressure of the supernatural as well as commit actions that he might not have done were in not for indecision. Macbeth almost ignores his bad actions of murder as he still continues to hire murderers to kill Banquo and later Macduff's family, but clearly is suffering from guilt as he sees Banquo's ghost.

Another internal reason for taking the first steps down the primrose path is called the compensation effect which is the belief that good deeds balance bad ones. This is prevalent within Macbeth as Macbeth sees himself as a generally virtuous person, especially at the beginning when her receives the high honor from King Duncan after defeating the previous Thane of Cawdor. He is introduced to King Duncan as the text says, "But all's too weak;/ For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)" (Macbeth 1.2.17-18). This leads him to believe that committing one horrible action, the murder of King Duncan, as per the will of his wife and to his own benefit, would not make him an awful person in general. He believes, considering the idea of the compensation effect, that he has built "moral capital" so that since he had done these great deeds risking his life to protect Scotland, one bad action would not destroy his virtue (Bradberry). This is prevalent throughout the entire text as although his guilt is revealed through his hallucinations and doubt, he never expresses concerns for the virtue of his own character but rather just his actions. This shows how he is balancing the two and therefore justifying his own actions, such as the frequent lying to Banquo, killing King Duncan, and hiring murderers for other killings too.

Some of the internal consequences of choosing evil include the ever-prevalent guilt on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's conscience. This is seen by Lady Macbeth attempting to wash the blood off her hands in her sleep while confessing to all of her actions. She exclaims, "The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hand ne'er be clean?" (Macbeth 5.1.44-45). This rhetorical question alludes to the murder of Lady Macduff and Lady Macbeth and her husband's role in orchestrating it. This clearly weighs heavily on her conscience as she is sleep walking as a result of it, furthering the motif of sleep revealing evil. Another internal consequence of choosing evil is seen to be anger and the radicalization of behavior. This is shown through Macbeth as he screams at Banquo's ghost as he says, "Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee./ Thy bones are marrowless; thy blood is cold" (Macbeth 3.4.112-113). This quote shows Macbeth's aggression and how he is truly on edge, appearing crazy in front of everyone at the dinner in his honor. Overall, the consequences of choosing evil mainly coincide with a guilty conscience and a change in behavior, in Macbeth's case with more assertiveness and hunger for power.

Work Cited:

Bradbury, Dr. Travis. "14 Psychological Forces That Make Good People Do Bad Things." The Huffington Post, HuffingtonPost.com, 7 Dec. 2017, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-travis-bradberry/14-psychological-forces-t_b_9752132.html.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2013.