Iago, meet John Tucker

          Control is something that humans have striven for since the beginning of time. Economists attempt to control the future of the stock market, meteorologists attempt to control the weather, and family members attempt to control the lifetime of a loved one with medicine and machines. Humans possess an innate desire for power over that which cannot be feasibly controlled, and humans frequently learn of the inevitability of negative consequences when they attempt to gain control of the uncontrollable. Iago, John Tucker, and the Ancient Babylonians are among those who know of the unavoidable negative consequences of their actions.

            Throughout Othello, Iago proves that he is nothing if not manipulative. He is in almost complete control of Roderigo’s actions from the beginning of the play, and he successfully strings Roderigo along like a puppet for much of the play. Along the road to his eventual prosecution, Iago gathers into his control the lives of Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Emilia, and practically every other member of the play. Not only does Iago possess an uncanny affinity for making people do what he wants, but he also seems to be completely confident in his schemes and abilities. Before the end of Act V, Iago appears to be successful in his endeavors to ruin Othello’s marriage, kill Roderigo, and take Cassio’s job. However, the courage of Emilia, his seemingly submissive wife, prevails, and all becomes right after most of the cast is already dead. But better later than never. After Iago’s failed domination of the world he inhabits, Lodovico condemns him to the mercy of Cassio by telling Cassio, “To you, lord governor, / Remains the censure of this hellish villain; / The time, the place, the torture: O, enforce it!” (V.ii.372-374) Iago’s actions led to a lifetime of torture at the hands of his adversary.

            Meet the modern-day Iago: John Tucker. He is high school’s hottest hunk in John Tucker Must Die, a movie that combines comedy with girl-power after John Tucker decides to break the girl code and date three girls at one time. Like Iago, John Tucker is an expert at manipulating those around him, but, also like Iago, he faces retribution at the hands of scorned women. John’s social demise and eventual rebooting is a result of his decision to date three girls at his high school who travel in different social circles. But these girls find out and team up with the new girl to destroy John’s reputation. When the girls discover that they are all dating John Tucker, the new girl, Kate, delivers a line that sets their whole plan in motion: “It seems to me that if a guy treats you like that…I’d get even.” (John Tucker Must Die) After this fateful meeting of the four women, John’s status as the super-jock falters via an instance of raging hormones on the basketball court, an extremely public scene in which John slips into a set of underwear that are about as feminine as undergarments can get, and a movie theater preview proclaiming John’s affliction with an STD.

            Despite all of these attempts to destroy John’s social status, he somehow regains his popularity just as Iago does after each scandalous event with the help of his unending confidence and manipulative words. John doesn’t meet his fate until the most eventful birthday of his life thus far when he literally gets cake thrown at his face. (link to witness this highly entertaining food fight: http://movieclips.com/nf4XS-john-tucker-must-die-movie-truth-comes-out/) All of the hits to John’s reputation and his face full of birthday cake prove to John that his actions do indeed have negative consequences and those consequences surface eventually.

            Iago’s and John Tucker’s cocky demeanors surface in the Book of Genesis within the foibles of the Ancient Babylonians. This particular group of people believed that despite their inferiority to God, they could build a tower tall enough to reach Heaven. Their purpose in building this Tower of Babel was to “make a name for [them]selves; otherwise [they] shall be scattered all over the earth.” (Genesis) They did not build the tower to praise God and thank Him for their ability to construct such a tower. Therefore, they faced God’s wrath for their over-confidence. God knocked down their tower and caused them all to speak in different languages as punishment for their misdemeanors. The punishment the Ancient Babylonians received is similar to that of Iago and John Tucker in that they all lost something they valued. For Iago, it was his freedom. John Tucker lost his ability to secretly date more than one girl at a time, and the Babylonians lost their tower and conversational skills. All three of them learned of the inevitability of negative consequences when they attempted to control the uncontrollable.

 If you have about 20 minutes, watch these three clips that tell the story of the Tower of Babel in the clearest way possible: through children's television. I loved this show as a child. (And by child I mean young teenager as well.)

                                                               Works Cited

Genesis. The New American Bible. Revised ed. New Jersey: World Catholic, 2011. Print.

John Tucker Must Die. Dir. Betty Thomas. By Jeff Lowell. Perf. Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, and Sophia Bush. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 2006. DVD.

Perrine, Laurence. “Othello.” Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Fort Worth.         Harcourt College. 2002. 1361-1462. Print.