A Media Star
- joshualisi
- Dec 12, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 16, 2019
Hamlet has influenced the media for many years inspiring new generations to create and interpret Hamlet in their vision. Shakespeare has directly changed the way we interpret and write poetry while creating limitless stories that endlessly play with our emotions. This is an astonishing feat and Shakespeare manages to do it over and over with 5 great tragedies. Hamlet is one of these tragedies however it manages to stand out influencing the media in a unique fashion. The character Hamlet was able to create conflict in the audience's eyes by being neither a positive or negative influencing character. This attribute made its first appeared in Hamlet but made it into some blockbuster movie characters. A perfect example of this is The Lion King. In the Lion King the protagonists of both stories have to overcome an internal self conflict.They also share a similar journey, both Simba and Hamlet avoid their death beds made by their uncles and restore a noble leader to the throne. In Hamlet the noble heir that claims the throne is Fortinbras, it just so happens that Simba is still able to fulfill this role by the end of the movie. This is only one of the many instances where the book Hamlet has been reinterpreted. Many directors have even made attempt at making Hamlet a movie each with its own distinctive interpretations on the play with the exact same script. In conclusion Shakespeare's Hamlet has had tremendous ramifications on the media and the industry as a whole. Hamlet has forever changed what is considered a character by bringing new meaning to the word and redefining what a character can be. Hamlet was able to do this through his vast amount emotions that inspired the media and many modern characters. Many of these modern characters in movies and tv shows have captured the attention of an audience by creating a character that has similarities to Hamlet that anyone can relate to.
https://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidex/2017/11/23/9-reasons-why-the-lion-king-is-hamlet-and-1-reason-it-probably-isnt/
Hey Josh, great job recognizing the extent of Shakespeare's influence on modern forms of literature throughout the years. I really loved the connection you made in saying, "while Simba explores the jungle, Hamlet explores his own emotional jungle.". It is also great that you noted the fact that different directors have taken on different interpretations of the same play. This only goes to show how Shakespeare's work, being so ingenious and timeless, has served as the foundation of many great works today. Good analysis and great post!
Shakespeare really has set a high standard for tragedy stories. I think that the film industry is lacking in tragedies nowadays. Many stories start off with a tragedy, such as an apocalyptic event, but very rarely are we able to see a real tragedy in cinemas. Nowadays, dramatic movies either have a happy ending or have an ending that is “open to the audience’s interpretation.” We can say that Avengers: Infinity War has a tragic end, but it is only a setup for sequels to come. Overall, great connections to the media!
Good post Josh! I found it really interesting how you related Hamlet's internal conflict to the Lion King, I had never really thought about that. I feel that Shakespeare in general has really affected storytelling overall, and even if many stories that are based slightly off of Shakespeare aren't always tragedies, it is always interesting to see different interpretations of some of the most influential plays to ever be created.