The text of Romeo and Juliet certainly allowed the audience to go at their own pace and permitted more opportunity for comprehension. The text was targeting the general public, it was not specific to one group. This is simply because all of Shakespeare's plays were preformed for the public. The author was attempting to capture the emotion and passion that is often lost when transforming a live play into text. Like any good writer, the author was attempting to play a movie in your mind as you were reading the text. This allows for a better comprehension of the script, the author did do this effectively.
The 1968 video of Romeo and Juliet did not allow the audience to take in the information as it was imparted by the actors. The entire scene seemed as though it was rushed, the passion between the characters was expressed through words rather than moments of silence or pauses. It seemed to give off an inauthentic feel, this is likely because the author felt as though that was the way love was expressed at the time. The love between the characters felt more forbidden, which was partly due to the physical distance set from the large concrete wall between them. The 1960s as well as the rest mid 1900s was a time of war and action. This movie may be seen as an intentional distraction from those times of despair, by implicating a simpler, less chaotic time.
The 1996 video of Romeo and Juliet certainly did allow the targeted audience to understand the text (at least more than any of the other choices). This movie targeted pre-teen and teens. The director does this by using two gangs as the opposing force, and having the setting in California. This certain scene did not exactly pertain to the environment, however the love between the characters did not seem as forbidden as previous remakes. For instance, Romeo finds himself simply a few feet away from Juliet. However there is a guard who is under watchful eye of Juliet throughout this scene, which may make up for the close physical distance between them. The 1990s was a time of relief and in fact, a time of high American dominance over the world. The cold war had just come to a close, and its seems that america had the opportunity to explore entertainment further.