Thursday, March 26, 2015

Please share!

I want to take some time in class and examine how Hamlet has been translated into popular culture. Several of you (Sean :) have already shared video clips, cartoons, etc... that show how pop culture has imagined Hamlet. Please post below any others that you find (there may be something in it for you!)
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32 comments:

  1. RajivMarch 27, 2015 at 6:26 AM

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  2. RajivMarch 27, 2015 at 6:27 AM

    I'm not sure how appropriate this would be for class, but there is a South park episode called "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow" that has a partial performance of Hamlet.

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    Replies
    1. RajivMarch 30, 2015 at 12:08 PM

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    2. RajivMarch 30, 2015 at 12:09 PM

      Here's the link: http://southpark.cc.com/clips/104213/venom-to-thy-work-buddy

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  3. SamirMarch 27, 2015 at 6:42 AM

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  4. SamirMarch 27, 2015 at 6:45 AM

    There's a really cool adaption of Hamlet that follows what happens inside of his head. It's called "Hamlet ESP", and it puts three actors on stage who represent parts of Hamlet's mind.

    http://www.stageplays.com/products/hamlet_esp

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  5. UnknownMarch 29, 2015 at 1:53 PM

    The Lion King was supposedly based upon Hamlet, and there are several connections and similarities that can be made between the two.

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  6. MatthewMarch 29, 2015 at 2:33 PM

    Disclaimer: profanity ahead

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnvgq8STMGM

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  7. Rachel PadulaMarch 30, 2015 at 7:57 AM

    This is kind of silly, but in an episode of Veggie Tales (Lyle the Kindly Viking) there is a segment called "Omelet" which provides a short interpretation of Hamlet. The link below is the full episode, but "Omelet" should be the first skit. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH4hvj3pG2U

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  8. UnknownMarch 30, 2015 at 1:00 PM

    I thought this was funny
    http://lowres.cartoonstock.com/sport-basketball-basketball_players-coaches-manager-play-dren1024_low.jpg

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  9. UnknownMarch 30, 2015 at 6:15 PM

    "The Conscience of the King" is an episode of the television series Star Trek. Episode number 13, aired on December 8, 1966.
    The episode gets it title from the final lines of Act II of Hamlet: "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." In this episode, Captain Kirk crosses paths with an actor suspected of having been a mass-murdering dictator many years before.
    I couldn't find a link that just showed when the line from Hamlet was used, but I have the full episode from youtube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrdvHBqDyX8

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  10. Shreya AroraMarch 30, 2015 at 8:27 PM

    There is a reference to Hamlet in the movie Clueless.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLEdZb4PkGM

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  11. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 8:17 AM

    In The Empire Strikes Back, when Chewbacca and C3P0 are imprisoned in Cloud City, Chewbacca is seen trying to put C3P0 back together. It actually shows him holding up C3P0's head just in a similar way that Hamlet did in Act V sc.1.
    http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100622130753/starwars/images/3/34/Chewie_threepio_tesb.jpg

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  12. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 9:37 AM

    These are two links to Hamlet's To be or not to be soliloquy:

    https://transmedialshakespeare.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/picture-1.png

    http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1994/03/06

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  13. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 9:38 AM

    In The Nightmare Before Christmas, main character Jack Skellington takes off his head and sings, “And since I am dead, I can take off my head To recite Shakespearean quotations”, a reference to Hamlet.

    This scene of Jack holding a skull comes from Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1 also famously known as “The Gravedigger’s Scene”. In this scene Hamlet is holding his friend’s skull in his hand and proclaims “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.” (I.V.160) This is probably one of the most common references to Shakespeare seen in pop culture and an easy one to make requiring only a skull at arms length.

    http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=nightmare+before+christmas+jack+holding+his+skull+head&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.writethinker.com%2F2014%2F02%2F12%2Fshakespeare-in-disney-films%2F&ei=Kc0aVf-oDMPsaMy9gZgG&bvm=bv.89381419,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNHSvDnpEdG6KSGEe9mcJo0i5zRa6w&ust=1427906215885888

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  14. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 11:32 AM

    Patrick Stewart, a well known Shakespearean actor, appeared on Sesame Street dressed in Elizabethan garb and performed a spoof of Hamlet's "Soliloquy", here titled "B or not a B."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA7lv1SDzno

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  15. Greta O'HaraMarch 31, 2015 at 12:45 PM

    Ophelia by Natalie Merchant has many references to Hamlet's Ophelia. The song and album talks about many Ophelia's that are crazy and have many identities. A question that comes about quite frequently in Hamlet is the identity of the main characters. "Who's there?"

    http://youtu.be/GryxQEhYRr4

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  16. Nicole FeldmanMarch 31, 2015 at 1:59 PM

    In the show Pretty Little Liars, Spencer takes a trip to London and meets a boy who takes her to see the modernized play of Hamlet. Spencer ended up disliking it because she felt that they ruined Shakespeare's version; her and the boy discussed Hamlet for a while. The name of this episode is "To Plea or Not to Plea".

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i8XQqCeUwQ

    This is an analysis of how Pretty Little Liars is comparable to the play Hamlet. This also talks about how Spencer has been acting in similar ways to Hamlet through out this past season.

    http://www.tv.com/shows/pretty-little-liars/community/post/pretty-little-liars-season-5-episode-23-to-plea-or-not-to-plea-review-142540703927/

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  17. Maddy HewittMarch 31, 2015 at 3:04 PM

    http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-11370834

    This is an article about all of the actors who have attempted to take on the role of Hamlet, and how they decided to spin the "to be or not to be speech"... actually a pretty interesting read!

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  18. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 3:54 PM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwbB6B0cQs4&list=PLB484A356FC1DA6DA

    A Comic Relief sketch rewrite of Hamlet, notably making fun of the famous "to be or not to be" speech

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  19. Katie PfohlMarch 31, 2015 at 5:32 PM

    This is so bad that it's entertaining...a student's twist of Hamlet and the Pokemon theme song...Enjoy!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUtcwuKmL9c

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  20. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 6:01 PM

    Within the movie The Prince and Me the character Paige references the play Hamlet by saying, "Next up is Hamlet, which is about a whiny prince from Denmark."

    Also within the movie The Princess Diaries 2 Mia's friend Lilly leads her two maids away by saying, "Um, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, come with me."

    I also found a compilation on YouTube that is almost 15 minutes long made up of 1-10 second clips of references to Hamlet from movies and television.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFZT4gOq8io

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  21. Danielle RiceMarch 31, 2015 at 6:31 PM

    This is a community theater's mash-up of "Green Eggs and Ham", by Dr. Suess and Hamlet. Conveniently titled "Green Eggs and Hamlet", I thought it was funny and actually kind of helpful in understanding the story.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YffoKSViU_g

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  22. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 6:31 PM

    In season 13, episode 14 of the Simpsons, there is a short reference to Hamlet. In the full episode the reenactment is about 8 minutes long, but here is a short clip from the most reliable source that I could find.

    http://www.simpsonsworld.com/video/315703875757/episode/310411843752

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  23. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 6:45 PM

    Monty python did a skit on Hamlet. The IMBd summary is as follows: "Hamlet undergoes psychoanalysis; eight Queen Victorias compete in the Queen Victoria handicap race; a boxing contender gets his head knocked off."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mhZCPeRICc

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  24. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 6:47 PM

    Apparently "The Lion King" has parallels to Hamlet, such as that Mufasa is killed by his brother, Simba is visited by his father's ghost, and comic relief is brought in by Timon and Pumba.
    http://www.hartfordstage.org/stagenotes/hamlet/pop-culture

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  25. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 7:20 PM

    In 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' (1991), the famous line 'to be or not to be' is actually translated into Klingon and recited multiple times throughout the movie as 'aH pagh taHbe' by General Chang, a Klingon officer. In addition, two Klingon speakers (Nicholas and Andrew Strader) translate Hamlet into what becomes known as 'The Klingon Hamlet', published in 1996.

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  26. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 7:47 PM

    This is basically how I see Hamlet :)

    http://onehourparkingshow.com/images/comic/2008-03-07-00022_hamlet.png

    This is a review of a modern rendition of the play.

    http://www.redbrick.me/culture/review-culture/modern-hamlet-was-it-to-be-a-success-or-not-to-be-a-success/

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  27. UnknownMarch 31, 2015 at 9:20 PM

    In the 2003 version of Freaky Friday, there is a scene where students in an english class are discussing Hamlet. They are given a pop quiz and when one student is asked to describe the character of Hamlet he responds with "a man who couldn't make up his mind." Lindsay Lohan's character answers that some of the conflicts in Hamlet are political, Oedipal, and the question of insanity.

    This scene is much funnier now that I have actually read Hamlet!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn4NcqsgmMM

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  28. UnknownApril 1, 2015 at 6:05 AM

    There is a Hamlet adaptation in Chinese film called The Legend of the Black Scorpion, which has many parallels with the actual play. The main character's father, the emperor, is murdered by his brother, who takes up the throne. The main character also stages a mime act that reveals his uncle to be his father's murderer. The only real contrast is that his uncle commits suicide instead of being murdered.

    http://www.popmatters.com/post/the-legend-of-the-black-scorpion/

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  29. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 10:21 AM

    The below article shows one blogger's opinion on the parallels between the hit series Sons of Anarchy (referred to throughout as SoA) and Shakespeare's Hamlet. Even though I don't really watch the show, the article provided details regarding each character and who she feels they represent in Shakespeare's play, making it a very interesting read over break! Enjoy! :)

    http://www.bustle.com/articles/53033-sons-of-anarchy-vs-hamlet-these-two-storylines-are-practically-one-in-the-same

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  30. Ericka StewartApril 12, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    I realized a reference of Hamlet was present in the TV show "Smallville". The main character, Clark, is visited by his father, John, in a graveyard and told to murder Lionel, the man that murdered John. Clark is then struck with moral difficulties, as he was hesitant to slay Lionel. The situation present in this episode draws intriguing parallels to that of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0776043/

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