The modern Film, Hamlet staring Ethan Hawke and Kyle MacLachlan, is a modern take on the classic Shakespeare play. The director switched around the order of scenes, changed the gender and relationship of characters, and transformed iconic scenes with new imagery. I liked the adaptations and felt like I could relate more to the suffering of Hamlet in the city. The film images in particular stood out to me. Hamlet’s desk with the synchronized images of the large TV and the mini TV to me felt like the mini TV replaced the iconic skull of image and reflection on death. I also found it particularly interesting how the movie scene of collaged clips visually represented the story of how the King was murdered by his brother. I liked how Ophelia held pictures of flowers and not actual flowers. I found the use of digital devices interesting – not only in the context of our class, but also in a context of the technology and nature. For example, the fax is almost as outdated as a messenger these days. Picking up on that point of interest for myself, I would direct a modern version in a corporate tech setting. I would put the characters in a high tech family corporate Silicon Valley type suburbia. I would use the devices as means to communicate a parallel narrative on the ancient ritual / myth of the yearly goddess consort sacrifice. In many ways the continuing pressure to replace our mechanical devices for new and better technology every year is causing extreme electronic waste and using up the worlds finite resources. Perhaps a new version of Hamlet could influence American culture today – even to the extent of having an impact on establishing better sustainable manufacturing policies.
