To Blog, Or Not To Blog... That Is The Question!

                Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a dark play about a depressed prince, a murdered king, and a traitorous uncle. The depressed prince, Hamlet, shows signs of his depression in many ways. The strongest example of his melancholy is probably the famous “To be, or not to be…” soliloquy. This aside monologue is about Hamlet and his choice to either go on living, or end his life.

While Shakespeare’s words are powerful and meaningful, plays were meant to be watched, not read. Because of this, there have been many film adaptations of Hamlet, which is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most well-known works. Specifically, three adaptations showed the feeling Hamlet holds during the famous soliloquy differently. These three adaptations starred Mel Gibson, Lawrence Olivier, and Kenneth Branaugh as the leading man.

First, Mel Gibson’s take on the speech is more literal. By that, I mean we see Hamlet actually talking to himself. Mel carries a dark tone in his voice that suggests anger or sorrow. Gibson recites the legendary soliloquy in a dark room. The only things that are visible in this room are walls and the steps that he walked down to get into the room. The scene could be in a basement, from these observations. The dark colors and Gibson’s tone help create the darkness of this scene.

                Next is Lawrence Olivier’s interpretation. This adaptation of the play was made before color was introduced to television and film. Black and white color schemes are always effective in creating a dark mood, as bright colors tend to give people a feeling of happiness. There is even less color in this scene than in Mel’s dark room. Now, rather than being in a dark room and simply talking, Lawrence is standing on what appears to be rocks above a body of water. Olivier does an excellent job at showing us what the speech is really about, and the music adds to it. Olivier does so by first looking into the water, as if he was thinking about jumping in. He then pulls out a dagger and stares at it as he talks. Suspenseful music comes in as the dagger gets closer and closer to him. After taking the dagger away from his body, we discover that Hamlet chooses to live, as he gets up before he finishes his speech and walks away. The tone in this scene is also good for the darkness of the scene, but I feel that Mel did a better job. Mel varied his tone from anger to sorrow, while Lawrence just seemed apathetic.

Finally, we have Kenneth Branaugh. This depiction of the scene is definitely the most artistic and creative. The director uses juxtaposition by having Kenneth wear all black, while is in a bright, white room. Kenneth approaches a mirror and talks to his own reflection in the mirror, which I honestly thought was a little cheesy. This is the only scene where other characters are aware of Hamlet’s contemplation, as Ophelia walks in at the end of the speech. As Branaugh gets closer and closer to the mirror, he pulls out a dagger and aims it at his reflection, while eerie music gets louder and louder. In this portrayal, it seems as though the reason Hamlet chooses life is because he loves Ophelia. I feel as though Kenneth’s tone is better than Lawrence’s tone, but not as good as Mel’s. Kenneth sounds legitimately sad, but only sad. In my opinion, this version of the scene would work for a (slightly cheesy) epic movie.

Each director envisioned this scene in their own way, with their own actor. Each actor fit the scene and did an excellent job at their specific situation. Gibson’s speech had the best tone, while I feel that Lawrence’s actions in his scene seemed the most true to the play. Kenneth’s scene was really just visually pleasing.

The Language of Tomorrow

                Last semester, Brian Tang wrote, in his blog post titled “Everything Dies: Plants, Ideas, Animals, Stars...even Languages T-T,” that languages die out eventually. He learned that, of the 7,000 distinct languages that exist on Earth, one “dies about every two weeks.” With this trend of languages becoming extinct, which currently spoken language will outlast all of the others?

According to a 2004 study by British language expert David Graddol, the English language will never be the dominant language. Graddol said, “The share of the world’s population that speaks English as a native language is falling.” Graddol suggests that, while English won’t be the main language in the future, it will be a very important language.

According to Graddol, “it’s major contribution will be in creating new generations of bilingual and multilingual speakers.” This quote alone suggests that the English language is starting to die. The article the quote was taken from was originally published by Associated Press, an esteemed global news network. Take a look at the quote again. Notice any grammatical errors? Either Graddol – a language expert – or the Associated Press – a global news company – made a mistake. The writer uses “it’s,” which means “it is,” to describe the English language’s major contribution. The writer should have used “its,” which shows possession. In an age where people are relying more and more on technology, this may have merely been a typo, but even an editor did not catch this. (That is, if Associated Press has an editor. If it does not, then I’m truly losing faith in the news.)

I have a theory regarding the language of the future. Keep in mind, the Associated Press article previously mentioned was written in 2004. Technology has made long strides since then, with the inventions of things such as iPads and smart phones. The world is relying more on technology every day. The rules of the English language are being broken to a greater extent each year through text-talk; for example, the letter “u” is often used to replace the word “you,” in order to simplify a text message. Somewhere down the line, the English language – and possibly all other languages – will go extinct. Yet, I feel that, after all of the world’s spoken languages are lost, we will still be able to communicate with each other, using something similar to ancient Egypt’s hieroglyphics. For example, when you see these golden arches,, you immediately recognize it as the McDonald’s logo. This goes for many famous logos around the world, such as the Apple Corporation’s signature apple (), the Olympic rings (), and the Facebook “F” logo (). Even after the languages of the world are all dead and gone, I believe that, through the constant advertising that is shoved down our throats, universal logos may be the only way to communicate in the far-away future.

The Paper Market

"The Paper Market" is an interview with a former term paper writer, Nick Mamatas. It is a follow-up to his work I wrote about in my previous post, The Term Paper Artist.

Nick's tone and voice show how he felt about his job. He seems as though he didn't take the job too seriously. He was just trying to make some easy cash while having some fun, whenever possible. He did seem a bit nervous, though, as he talked rather quickly through some parts of his interview.

Nick's diction helped show his personality. Nick used a fairly average vocabulary, showing that he isn't fancy. His diction also showed that he doesn't have a holier-than-thou attitude, unless you are an illiterate or rude customer of his. The man seems pretty laid-back, for the most part.

The fact that this interview was recorded and not typed helps give us an idea of what Nick is like. Had this interview been written, we would not know whether Nick was actually interested in his job. From what I can tell, he seemed to be legitimately interested. Nick didn't sound like he thought his job was boring, but also didn't sound as if he thought it was the greatest job ever.

The Term Paper Artist: An Explication

                Nick Mamatas’ essay, The Term Paper Artist, tells about his job as a term paper writer and the many humorous experiences that can come from it. It pokes fun at the intelligence that many of his customers lack. He knows that his job isn’t exactly glamorous, referring to it as his “horrible secret.”  

                Nick reassures us that his job is legal. “Thanks to the First Amendment, it’s protected speech.” He goes on to compare it to controversial topics, such as neo-Nazism and conspiracy theories. This helps reinforce the fact that his job isn’t perfect.

                Growing up, Nick always wanted to be a writer. It isn’t exactly the easiest career to get started in, though, saying that “nobody ever puts a classified ad in the paper that reads “Writers Wanted.” Nevertheless, Nick never stopped searching and finally found an ad in the Village Voice.

                Nick then goes on to describe his average types of customers. There are three groups, which he refers to as “DUMB CLIENTS,” “one-timers,” and “well-educated professors who simply lack English-language skills.” “DUMB CLIENTS” are uneducated people who should never go on to college. “One-timers” are those who just need summaries, rather than full papers. Finally, the “well-educated professors” that lack English-skills are usually foreign scientists, who send in their own papers to be edited.

                Nick is right when he tells us that his job isn’t the best thing out there. He tells the reader that his job “was never good money, but was certainly fast money.” The job really doesn’t benefit anyone but the writer. The writer makes small money to do someone else’s work. The customer does not learn much, as they are having the work done for them, which is wasting the money that was spent to take the class.

                Many of Nick’s points were comical, however. An example would be the miserable English used by a customer, which is included at the end of Nick’s article. I’m still trying to figure out what the customer was trying to say when he typed, "Not two much words, because i will still write it back in clsss go straight to the point and write me the conclution at end of the two story, the second story different introduction, themes, topic and character.” Another example of humor is shown when Nick used imagery to describe his friend’s difficulty while writing a paper. While Nick’s job doesn’t assist people in the long run, he is making money doing what he loves, and getting to have a few laughs while he does it. That’s all that’s important in the long run.