The Shakers

Hamlet is set in the middle ages in and around the royal palace of Denmark. IF I could imagine Hamlet in an alternate setting it would be set in Compton in the 1990s. Instead of their being a royal family there would be a gang called the Shakers (get it Shakespeare J). There would be two brothers (King Hamlet and Claudius) and one of them is the leader of the gang (King Hamlet). The other brother must kill him to become the leader of the gang.

One scene from the play that I could imagine is Hamlets soliloquy “to be or not to be.” I could see Hamlet sitting on the Martin Luther King Memorial in Compton, contemplating his life struggles. I imagine it is at night time when no one is around and Hamlet is just sitting by himself. The long white bars could represent how he feels trapped like hes in a jail. Also the fact that he is a height could represent how he is thinking about suicide. 

Hamlet's Soliloquy: To Be or Not To Be

David Tennant - Hamlet's Soliloquy (RSC Hamlet)
http://www.youtube.com/v/xYZHb2xo0OI?autohide=1&version=3&autohide=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=LVl4S2vlhiNCaplxp_1A1A&showinfo=1&autoplay=1
Olivier's Hamlet film (1948): To Be Or Not To Be soliloquy
http://www.youtube.com/v/5ks-NbCHUns?autohide=1&version=3&autohide=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=qMJGU8zBwE47bLju2AX5qQ&showinfo=1&feature=share

The “to be or not to be” soliloquy is Hamlet questioning whether he should exist or stop existing. Hamlet throughout the whole speech is constantly comparing the pain of life to the fear of dying.

In David Tennants version of Hamlets to be or not soliloquy, it seems to be a more modern portrayal of the play. At first Hamlet seems very distressed and very sad but later the actors anger begins to grow. Also the actor does not move from the same spot the whole time.

Oliviers version of the Hamlet is a more actual portrayal of what is read in the play. We first seem Hamlet on a rock on the edge of a cliff looking out onto the water. It looks as if Hamlet is about to commit suicide, constantly looking down and constantly pulling out is sword. In addition, Hamlet through out the whole video always looks distressed and never turns to anger. 

The portrayal of the two films To not To Be soliloquy are both very different from each other. The two actors who play the part of Hamlet take a different approach on how to reveal Hamlet. In Tennants version, we see Hamlet express is feelings by getting mad and he does an excellent of job this because he stays in the same spot through out the whole soliloquy. In Olivier’s version, we see Hamlet constantly pulling out a sword and he is on an edge of a cliff. This is a more obvious depiction of the soliloquy. I believe in this one that director really wanted the person watching the film to know exactly what Hamlet is feeling; to continue to exist or to not.