Ethan Hawke's Hamlet (2000): What's with the Hat and the Blockbuster Guy?

In Wednesday's AP English class, my students made wonderful observations about Ethan Hawke's Hamlet (2000).  I had often been struck by the peculiar nature of the Hawke's "To be or not to be..." soliloquy.  I'll be more honest: I hated the idea that Hamlet would some of his most important words in a place like Blockbuster—which, if you watch closely (or not so closely), is simply an exaggerated product placement.

You can watch the scene here, but I think this screenshot captures my former "distaste" for Hawke's version of the soliloquy well:

Liam W. observed that Hamlet's words work nicely with the setting, arguing that Hamlet asks questions as he surveys different movies and aisles.  The movies become symbolic representations of "To be or not to be," suggesting the different paths, options, and outcomes Hamlet might encounter as he chooses to act and become the revenger of the classical myth cycle we have discussed in class (aka 1) atrocity, 2) creation of the revenger, 3) atrocity).

This interpretation redeems the scene for me immensely because it shows that on top of being a huge product placement for renting at-home movies, it is also a modern construct of what it means "to be" or "not to be."

In the comments below—
1) discuss your response to Liam's observation.  I know that Ivy, Hannah, and Caroline all had interesting ideas to chime in, and I'd love to hear them again.

2) What do you think of the setting, the words, and the ideas that Hamlet is grappling with in this scene?

3) Moreover, how would you tie this scene into the the classical myth cycle (atrocity, creation of the revenger, atrocity)? How would you tie it into the theme of the outer and the inner world? Or, the idea that what happens in the external world is echoed by what is occurring in the internal world?

You do not have to answer all of these questions, but please respond as fully as you can.  I am eager to hear your thoughts on this important part of the play!
-Dr. Brigman

Why CRIT Is So Important....

"CRIT" stands for the "Close Reading Interpretative Tool," an approach to close reading developed by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.  To learn more about CRIT and implementing this technique in your school, visit the link here: https://laits.utexas.edu/crit/home or watch the video here: https://vimeo.com/104204687

A student recently asked me: "Dr. Brigman, when will we be done with CRIT?"

(His question was echoed by the groans of a dozen other students.)

My response: "You'll never be done with CRIT!"

I wanted to tell the students that understanding how to closely read a text is one of the most important things they could ever learn as students.  If they go on to college, close reading will likely be one of the first assignments they receive in a literature class.

Moreover, close reading shows their ability to unpack a piece of literature, dig for deeper meanings and think critically independent of the teacher.

CRIT is so important because close reading is really just an English teacher's way of saying, think for yourself!" In life, as in English, thinking for yourself will be essential to everything you do.

Since September, students have worked on mastering the six steps of the Close Reading Interpretative Tool, or "CRIT."  Close reading requires readers to take a passage from a book, article, newspaper, blog, or magazine and "unpack" the text's meaning.

Welcome to the Vinalhaven High School English Blog!

Welcome to Dr. Brigman's ("Dr. B's") blog for our English class at Vinalhaven High School.  Here you will find everything we're doing in class, homework assignments, assignment sheets, documents, and more.