Hamlet. Hamlet. Hamlet.
The month of December has basically been a whole lot of Hamlet. Is it bad that there's not a single character in this play that I like? I can appreciate Hamlet and Claudius as characters and the complexities behind them, but aside from Horatio (who I'm really just indifferent towards) I actually just dislike every character. The only previous reaction that I've had similar to this that I can recall was after reading The Great Gatsby. Nick has no personality and can hardly be considered a character, Jay is too angsty and desperate, Daisy is an insufferable mental case, Tom is a jerk, Jordan's acts above it all when she's just kind of mean and off putting, George is an oblivious sad sack, and Myrtle is...well, that shouldn't require explanation.
That didn't really have a point, I just connected Hamlet to The Great Gatsby and I just had to go and trash all of the characters. Pardon me.
The films to me were great in showing how not to perform Hamlet (no guyliner, no pelvic thrusting into the air, no throwing fencing sabers across ballrooms like they're spears, etc.). My favorite was definitely the 40s one though. It didn't have anything that I really disliked. I'm not entirely sure myself what expectations I had set for these films but the 40s version hit the most of them. I think the biggest praise I'd give it is that it wasn't too over the top and all of the acting was solid.
The most interesting thing that came out of the Hamlet discussions for me was at the very end of the month when we read the Tragic Hamlet article which revealed possible deeper complexities to the character of Hamlet and injected more religious undertones into our class discussion. It completely altered my understanding of Hamlet's motivations, even if the article failed to make me any more sympathetic towards Hamlet. It's like at the end of an episode of Scooby-Doo, the villain is unmasked and you know who is responsible and how they did all that they did, but the most interest part is when the villain ultimately explains why he/she was a villain. We've all known about Hamlet and his actions but the article gave more insight into what actually motivated Hamlet.
Hi Kevin,
ReplyDeleteNice work on this post! I can really hear your voice and enjoy how you brought in a lot of your own opinions. Moreover, you integrated background from your previous experiences which I enjoyed (it wasn't pointless). Well, maybe instead of simply disliking every character, you could try to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the characters and tie that into Hamlet as a whole. As for the movies, did you like the interpretation of key scenes, i.e. Hamlet and Ophelia, the final fight scene, the most in the 1940's, or just the overall acting and production? For the article, was there a particular point you agreed with in the article? I agree with you that it certainly did emphasize the religious aspect of Hamlet. Overall, great post! I especially enjoyed how you brought in the outside world (The Great Gatsby and Scooby-Doo).
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteVery entertaining post! Shame on me for not having read The Great Gatsby yet...but since I know nothing about it, I think it would have been nice to see why Hamlet reminded you of The Great Gatsby characters. I like to keep in mind when I'm writing these responses that I'm not just voicing my opinions about the class, instead I try to incorporate outside material (which you did nicely) and relate them to class material, explaining how it affects me both inside and outside the classroom. It's great that you had noted the actors' portrayal of the characters in Hamlet, but maybe through some of your own opinions in. Did the 'guyliner' make certain characters stand out a little too much? Did the throwing of a saber disturb the symbolism of swords (honor, chivalry etc.)? I like how you explained how the Tragic Hamlet article was related to Scooby-Doo. No, I have not seen Scooby-Doo, so the who and how explanation really helped me understand . It's always nice to read entertaining posts that incorporate the outside world. Nice job!
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteNicely done with this post! My one real critique is to not include your pardon after connecting Hamlet to The Great Gatsby. There's no need to apologize! Connecting what we read in class to literature we've previously read is a great tool for analyzing and formulating opinions. It's refreshing to find someone that didn't like Gatsby, though, I feel like I'm the only one sometimes. Anyways, I agree that the 40s version was the most level-headed of the films. The fact that the acting wasn't overly dramatic really sealed the deal for me, since the main reason I didn't like most of the films were for the same "pelvic thrusting" scenes you're talking about. What did you think of the other films though? Did they give you insight into any of the internal conflict within Hamlet? I like the connection you made to Scooby-Doo as well. Though it is a child's cartoon, the unveiling of the mask was a really good catch to connect with Hamlet. Great job!