This chapter explores the significance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet represented in the films and pop music. By the theories of cultural theory and popular culture, I explore the examples, including: (1) Director Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ musical film West Side Story on racial immigrants’ conflicts in America. (2) Director Franco Zeffirelli’s film Romeo & Juliet starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, the teenagers’ chemistry imbues freshness. (3) Director Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes) is on spectacle and hyper-reality. (4) Italian Director Carlo Carlei’s Romeo & Juliet has a classic aroma. (5) Taylor Swift’s MV song “Love Story” modernizes Shakespeare by pop music. (6) “Late Late Show with James Corden” performing the soundtrack with Emily Blunt is humorous.
Shakespeare and Popular Culture: Romeo and Juliet in Film and Pop Music