Farewell Prince Bolkonsky!

Time to take off my Old Prince Bolkonsky mask! It was fun while it lasted. Most of us viewed the old prince as a grouchy old fella who had a dark relationship with his daughter Marya. He tormented and bullied her which may seem like a sado-masochistic relationship (emphasis on emotional abuse), but his whims and eccentricities were expressions of love. He is bitter and in total control of his little empire and as an authoritative figure, he demands respect, and love.

When I took on the role to play his character, I felt defensive! I knew he wouldn’t fit in with the other characters if he was extremely cold, formal, and authoritative. In light of this, I decided to add a touch of sarcasm to his modern use of language via Facebook status’s, and meme’s.

Starting off, I chose a photo of the old prince from the movie, as his profile picture because it was as I imagined him: white hair, wrinkling skin and scowling into the distance. I based his cover photos on a myriad of his interests including mathematics. I had him respond to Andre and Helen’s compliments with acceptance but vented out his anger through the use of CAPITAL LETTERS as is done on Facebook frequently. He’s sarcastic but he doesn’t take bull from anyone. I went on to writing a few statuses sarcastically geared towards Marya and Andrei. It was fun, but a little harsh when I threatened to block Marya on Facebook. Fatherly obligations I say!

Portraying a man with much experience, I decided to show the old prince’s disapproval of Andrei’s intentions to marry Natasha by giving her words of wisdom (with a bit of threat of course), a visual image of her banned marriage, and I geared a meme about marriage towards Andre and Pierre alike. I found a perfect picture using math to show my disapproval of Natasha and Andrei’s relationship, “You+Her=Syntax Error.” The modern Prince Bolkonsky reacting with peevish sarcasm and visuals is the way to go!

Although it was enjoyable to be a witty, sarcastic old man, I wanted to portray his hidden compassionate side. Ultimately, he adores his children so I thought it was only right for him to pass on words of sympathy to IIya Rostov regarding the death of Petya. Likewise, I mirrored War and Peace and had the prince apologize to Marya for mistreating her. I also had him express his wish for her happiness by changing the cover photo to an image of a father/daughter dance and tagged Marya in it! This was to emphasize his appreciation and love for her. At the end of the day he wishes the best for his children.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing the old prince!