Big Think

Ken Adelman: Well you certainly have the dispersal of information. You have the retrieval of information. You have from our teaching Shakespeare, it’s a godsend. Because Shakespeare was never meant to be read. This idea of a teacher handing a book – Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar to students – I can’t think of a worse way to treat Shakespeare. I can’t think of a way to turn off students more. It’s hard to read Shakespeare, but now we have DVDs. So you see it . . . that’s what Shakespeare said. He didn’t write books. He wrote parts for plays. He never imagined anyone would read this stuff. It’s like, you know, you coming and asking me, you know, “I really want a great, great symphony.” And I say, “Oh my gosh. I love Beethoven’s Seventh ______. Here’s the music. Go read it.” And you’d say, “Hold on. I’m supposed to go read this stuff? I mean, why not listed to it?” Oh no. Just read it and that’ll be fine. So it’s the . . . Technology gives you a way into a lot of the arts that you didn’t have before, and it’s wonderful.

Recorded on: 7/2/07