ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Filth's appropriation of Richard III and explains notions of antithesis, anachronism, monstrosity and the carnivalesque in the counter-cultural use of Shakespeare. It discusses the case study, the hypothesis that the counter-cultural appropriation of Shakespeare can be read as carnivalesque inversion, The Filth and the Fury, which appropriates Shakespeare's Richard III, via Olivier's film and the band's lead singer John Lydon's recollections of his inspiration from Shakespeare's notorious villain-king. In a film that asserts, throughout, its punk authenticity, appropriating Shakespeare might at first seem puzzling. However, Filth in facts represents one of a few punks and post-punk film Shakespeare's, all of which play with the anachronism inherent in transposing Shakespearean text into postmodern contexts. Denying a hegemonically sanctioned retelling of history and offering an alternative, marginalised voice to retell the past and potential futures is an act of rebellion in itself.
