What if Romeo & Juliet had Phones?

Hey blog. One of the things that has been on my mind this week is how sometimes in movies that have been created during a time iPhones are ubiquitous (look at me expanding my vocabulary and using words I’ve learned in class), that the writer makes the decision not to include the use of them in the story. I think that this is understandable since iPhones existing in the world their story is set in might ruin the whole thing by involving such an easy way of communication.

If you checked out my last post you would know that I’ve been focusing on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in school. I’ve also recently been looking at the idea of adaptations and what makes something an adaptation, which I talked about in my recent podcast episode.

I would argue that Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet (1996) was the last time someone was able to modernize the story without the issue of including iPhones. Think about it, so much of the story of Romeo and Juliet relies on a lack of communication. That’s why for this post, I decided to give my ideas on what would happen in Romeo and Juliet if everything was exactly the same as the original…. except everyone had iPhones. For the sake of this post not being thousands of words long, lets forget about technicalities like how confused people from the renaissance would be by this technology and how it would have been impossible to actually have iPhones back then.

Act I

The events in act one including a brawl between Capulets and Montagues, Romeo planning to go to the party, and him meeting Juliet there are all probably still possible in a world with iPhones, but I wouldn’t say the same for act two.

Act II

A mobile device would have actually been quite helpful for the nurse in act two. After ending up with the role of the messenger between Romeo and Juliet and going back and forth through Verona to arrange their marriage, a simple text message would have definitely been appreciated by the nurse.

Act III

This climactic part of the story begins with the death of Mercutio and Tybalt. The fight that led to these deaths took place right in the middle of town despite Benvolio suggesting to take it somewhere more private. Maybe nearby people filming the fight with their iPhones could have made the whole situation less violent and caused the deaths to never even happen. Juliet could have been informed much faster of these events and that her Romeo had been banished which might also change how the story unfolds.

Act IV

This is when a plan is introduced to help Juliet be reunited with banished Romeo. Although faking a death and sneaking away from the grave is a very creative plan, it probably wouldn’t be necessary if they could just make a phone call telling Romeo to go to Juliet’s house that night and then leave Verona, no magic potion required.

Act V

Remember when I said that this story relies on a lack of communication? This is the part I was talking about. With an iPhone, there would be no miscommunication to Romeo and he would be aware that Juliet is not actually dead. That means that the famous ending of Romeo and Juliet we all know where they both die would never happen, the whole story would be different.

That was my brief “what if” for Romeo and Juliet. How do you think the story would go with this change, or what would you change about Romeo and Juliet? Until next week, goodbye blog.