For all of you theatre kids out there, this one’s for you. I based this meme on the stage superstition that it is bad luck to say “Macbeth” or anything related to Macbeth in theatre. For those not familiar with this superstition, the idea is akin to wishing an actor “good luck” before their performance, when proper practice is to say, “break a leg.” In the eyes of theatre lovers, saying “Macbeth” or wishing one “good luck” will curse a production. I chose this subject to shed light on the performances of the characters in this sequence in Inglourious Basterds. The American ‘Basterds’ are pretending to be Italian filmmakers and Bridget von Hammersmark’s escort, while BvH pretends not to be an Allies agent. However, the improvised nature of their act renders it inviable. The characters have thrown together this outfit at the last minute in attempts to rescue Operation Kino. However, the serpentine Colonel Landa sees instantly through their roles and flaunts his priviness by laughing maniacally at BvH’s cover story and by speaking fluent Italian.
This still captures the moment when the Basterds and BvH realize that their cover is blown and that Landa is teasing them. Their performance has failed, and their faces reflect uncomfortable dismay and worry. However, in another, sarcastic sense, their faces are also the ones of disgruntled stage actors. If, on opening night of a production, after countless hours of rehearsal, stage prep, costume design, and after the actors are all dressed and ready for curtain, someone were to say “Macbeth,” this is the sort of reaction that more than likely would occur. From left to right, the characters’ faces seem to read: “Seriously?,” “Ohhhhh no,” “MMMMM,” and “You may leave now, you disgraceful being.” The juxtaposition of this moment in the film and the moment when some says “Macbeth” in a theater highlights the doomed nature of Operation Kino, or at least, the failed performances by the Basterds and BvH.
