“I Like the Way They Think”
Forbidden Love in Arrested Development and Romeo and Juliet
The comedy Arrested Development and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet have the same problems when it comes to secrets. Both have kids who are in love, but can’t see each other, or can’t express it, because of their situations. George Michael is cousins with Maeby, making it illegal for them to be together and Romeo and Juliet’s families are in such a great feud, that the two lovers aren’t allowed to be seen together. The way these relationships are shown is very different, because of the way the other characters respond when these four characters try to confess their love.
Romeo Montague, is the one name Juliet didn’t want to hear at the party. In act II scene II, Romeo and Juliet are talking on a balcony, when Juliet says that they can’t be together, because he is a Montague, and she is a Capulet. She says, “What’s Montague? It is nor hand, not foot, nor arm, nor face. O, be some other name Belonging to a man. What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without the title.” (2.2. 40–46) Juliet uses the example of a rose, to indirectly tell Romeo that she loves him, because she thinks he is sweet, like the flower. The other examples she uses make the reader think that this is a sad speech, not a happy speech. She uses body parts, to set up her final sentence, so she can describe her sorrow about him not being able to any other person in the world. This is sad, because she knows it’s impossible for them to be together. In the last sentence where she says “So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without the title.” (2.2. 46) She is basically telling him that they will never be together, and it just can’t work. Because this is sad, the reader feels everything around it is sad, making it a tragedy, not a comedy.
George Michael has feelings for Maeby, but he can’t express them. In season 1 episode 2, George Michael asks his dad if he can work more hours at the banana stand, so he can spend less time with Maeby. This backfires when his dad also hires Maeby to work as his employee. Michael states, “You stay on top of her buddy, don’t be afraid to ride her, hard.” Michael has no idea of the situation George Michael is in, but the watcher does. The words used can be used to describe something else, and the way he emphasizes some of the words makes the sequence pretty hilarious. George Michael responds with a shocked face, because he got this job to spend more time away from Maeby, and now he is forced to spend even more time with her. This is funny, because even though George Michael is in love with Maeby, and that they have an impossible relationship, everyone else including Maeby, is totally oblivious, and they are trying to give George Michael and Maeby more bonding time.
Juliet gets put in a bad spot when Romeo kills her cousin. Romeo kills Tybalt in act III scene I, because Tybalt killed Mercutio. Because of this, Romeo gets banished, and is forced to live outside of Verona. Juliet realizes that Romeo would have been killed by Tybalt, if Romeo didn’t kill Tybalt first. She states “Ah, poor my lord, that tongue shall smooth thy name, When I, thy three-hours wife have mangled it? But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin, That villain cousin would have kill’d my husband:” (3.2. 98–101). The words Shakespeare uses, like villain, suggest that it’s supposed to make the reader sad, and depressed. Also, when she says “three-hours wife have mangled it?,” She made it sound gory, and made the reader think, that she was sad that she may have ruined her marriage. She also says “That ‘banished,’ that one word ‘banished,’ Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts. Tybalt’s death Was woe enough, if it had ended there:”(3.2 113–15) She is sad that Tybalt is dead, because the two had a close relationship, but that doesn’t compare to her husband Romeo, who she’s been married to for less than a day. He means everything to her, and the fact that she can’t see him or his face anymore, tears her apart inside, because, one day before, the two were madly in love, and it felt like everything was perfect. This is also sad because Juliet knows that she will never see him again, and this means that she will have to marry Paris against her will, because her father wants her to be married to a rich and powerful person.
George Michael is always trying to find ways to convince himself that it’s okay for him to be with Maeby. Another example of this is when George Michael and Maeby go to see a film called “Les Cousins Dangereux,” which when translated to english means “dangerous cousins. ” It’s about two french cousins who have an affair, exactly what George Michael wants with Maeby and himself. In the season 2 finale, Maeby makes an American remake of the movie. She asks George Michael if he remembered the first one. His response was “Uh, Wha, Um, Uh, I do a lit-,” when he had a copy in his sock drawer. He also says “I like the way they think,” when referring to the French, because of the scandalous movie. Ron Howard, the director has George Michael say these cut off words, to imply that George Michael is obsessed with this film and that he wants to be in the same situation with Maeby. This is funny, because George Michael is very socially awkward, so he tries to act cool around Maeby, so Maeby won’t be suspicious about him liking her. Because this is funny, the audience feels no sympathy for George Michael, even though they know he is sad and depressed that he is in this situation.
The four kids in the book, Romeo and Juliet, and the TV show, Arrested Development are all trying to be together even though the two kids in Arrested Development are cousins, and the two kids in Romeo and Juliet are in rival families. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because of the words Shakespeare uses. Arrested Development makes the cousins relationship funny by how the other characters in the show try to make them spend more time together.
Works Cited
Hurwitz, Michael. “Arrested Develoment.” Arrested Development, season 1, episode 2.
Hurwitz, Michael. “Arrested Develoment.” Season 2, episode 18.
“Incest.” Arrested Development Wiki, arresteddevelopment.wikia.com/wiki/Incest.
Shakespeare, William. Edited by Barbara A Mowat and Paul Werstine, Simon & Schuster Paperbacks , 2011.
Abstract
I wanted to figure out why a funny tv show like Arrested Development was funny, and why a sad book like Romeo and Juliet was sad. I read the book, and watch the series Arrested Development. Then I went online and found a page about the show. This helped me find the specific episodes. I re watched these episodes, and found information. What I figured out is that Romeo and Juliet and George Michael are both in love but can’t be together. I now understand what makes a funny show and a sad book.
