Skid Row.. The Dangers of "The Single Story"

I chose to write about Skid Row for many reasons. One particularly because I was fascinated by the fact that people chose to live there instead of finding a new life. Many people look down on the impoverished lifestyles of the homeless who lives in Skid Row. Skid Row provides a home for many people. The things that people only understand, is that one "single story", how the civilians of Skid Row were all unsuccessful, crazy and uneducated. However, behind the curtains, there were much meaning behind the poverty of Skid Row. Also, learning that some people enjoyed living in Skid Row and rather not move to elsewhere shocked me. I realized that people around the world were all different, that they sought for different dreams and knew how to sacrifice other necessary possessions.

In the movie, it introduces eight characters and the documentary displays their lifestyle. It pained me to see the ill-treatment they received. As if the people considered them as not equal, they were discriminated and threatened to the point of fatal injuries and sometimes death. As a viewer of this documentary I realized that only judging by the exterior is very wrong. Just like this documentary, I learned to always try to read between the lines, question the different perspectives and understand the story in every level.

That "Single Story" About Africa

The first week of our second semester, we watched a TED talk by Adichie about understanding a story from an extremely narrowed point of view. As typical human beings, we automatically imbue the information that is only give to us.

By reading "Things Fall Apart", I'm starting to understand that there are so many things that people assume without knowing the whole story, including me. Ever since I was in elementary school, I thought of Africa as a poverty stricken country, full of misery, constant hunger and crime. The things I've heard about Africa were only depressing stories about children having no place to sleep, having nothing to eat or dying from severe sickness. "Things Fall Apart" showed me a whole new perspective of Africa. I never realized that Africa had so much culture and color. It was a cultural shock for me. Also, the fact that many parts of Africa was extremely wealthy and that it was occupied by Caucasians blew me away.

The social media's object is to address the problems in society. As people, it's easy for us to misunderstand that what is being portrayed in the media is the only story. Instead of having a narrow perspective, trying to understand every situation as a whole is very important to us. Even in our daily lives, looking at the situations in different levels will help us connect with more people and understand how to address the problem more easily.

TED Talks: Never, ever give up

The TEDtalk that I watched was Diana Nyad's "Never, ever give up". At the age of 64, Nyad was inspired to swim all the way from Cuba to Florida, a 100-mile swim that requires massive amount of courage, perseverance and determination. During her lecture, Nyad explains the dangers of the waters of the Gulf, venomous jellyfishes, sharks, and capricious ocean currents and strong winds. At the age 64, she had every excuse NOT to challenge herself. However, despite her physical impediments, she found the reasons to try her abilities. "Find a dream... believe... finding a way.." Those were her reasons to swim the ocean. Nyad realized that everyone will eventually follow the same path; death. She believed that doing that she was passionate about was her way to live to the fullest extent. Nyad described her experience of swimming in the pitch black water. While she was swimming, she sang to herself to temporarily forget about the discomfort. Vomiting, abrasion and hypothermia were only some of the obstacles she had to forget and overcome to achieve her aspiration. When she was nearly to her breaking point, she saw the gleaming white lights and noticed that she was fifteen hours away from Florida. With her last efforts, she swam until she reached the sure of Florida. Nyad explained that the first thing she said when she reached Florida was, "Never, ever give up." In the age of 64, Diana Nyad had accomplished something that no one would ever have the courage to do. Nyad's lecture inspired me to look at life at a different perspective. Even if there is failure, there is always success that follows. To always enjoy the journey towards my goal even if I don't achieve it. "You can chase your dreams, you're never too old." Those were Diana's motto. Diana Nyad said that she was at her prime of her life today, at the age of 64. I think Nyad's speech can relate to everyone that there is nothing that could stop you from doing what you want to do.

Soap Opera Trops

Our group decided to adapt the play into a soap opera. I feel like a lot of soap operas are situated in very classy and luxurious locations, like big mansions or a fancy building. Many of the characters have different personalities and they often represent a social class. Emotion plays a big part in soap operas, including emotional music and dramatic (facial) reactions. As a fan of Korean soap operas, I can say that there are a lot of unnecessary screaming, crying, yelling, slapping etc. etc.

I think adapting Hamlet into a soap opera is a good idea. Hamlet is a royal and in every royal family, there are political struggle involved. Like how Claudius killed his brother to take over the throne. The act we were assigned was Act 4 Scene 7, when Claudius and Laertes plots about methods to kill Hamlet, when suddenly Laertes hears about her sister's sudden death and breaks down. I think depicting this scene with a soap opera- feel is the best because Laertes goes through an emotional high and low during an extreme short period of time.

This is a really funny example of a soap opera, the man finds out that the woman's son is his son... (gasp)

And of course.. the power slap

Hamlet Re-imagined

If I were the director of the new Hamlet, I would make it as a mix of soap opera and action. I think the play Hamlet conveys seriousness, breath-taking excitement and bewilderment. Scenes where Polonius and Claudius discuss about Hamlet's queer actions reminds me of serious soap operas while the dual between Hamlet and Laertes brings up the action. 

I would choose the early 1950s to the 1960s of America as the time period. That is when the United States were the most prosperous and joyful, after bringing victory from World War 2. Also, that is when there were a lot of industrial revolutions. I would make Hamlet the son of one of the wealthiest billionaire instead of a royal Danish king. As a brother of a billionaire, Claudius would murder his brother with a gun. Also, I realized that there are a lot of reference to swords in the play. Instead I would replace swords with guns, that way it would match the time period. For the two women characters in the play, I would make Gertrude a former prostitute who needs a man beside her. For Ophelia, I would make her more intelligent and sympathetic than how she is represented in the book. She would be a different characterization of woman at that time period. I would make this movie similar to the "Great Gatsby" film that came out recently made by Baz Lurman. The movie itself is very bright and the setting symbolizes extreme wealth and opulence and I would use overly dramatized music to make the movie more suspenseful and exciting. Although old English is a great way to represent Hamlet, I would make mine modern English so that everyone, including pre-teens could understand the movie.

For Characters:

Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet

Amanda Seyfried as Ophelia

Sally Field as Gertrude

Gary Oldman as Claudius

Matt Bomer as Horatio

Sean Connery as the King

For the setting:

I think re-creating Hamlet into a specific genre adds to the overall story of the play because Hamlet consists a lot of severe dilemmas and extreme emotions within the characters. By doing so, we are able to analyze the play itself more thoroughly and enhance our perspectives of Hamlet.

Songs of Hamlet and Ophelia

I think it's evident that Hamlet and Ophelia are in a love/hate relationship. They are crazy in love for each other however they feel a big gap between them after Hamlet's father died.

The first song is "Misery" by Maroon 5. Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia, but he is angry that she was part of Claudius' and Polonius' trick. I think this song depicts Ophelia's feeling very well. After the king's death, Hamlet distanced himself from Ophelia. Without knowing the situation, Ophelia thinks that Hamlet is trying to end their relationship.

"Sometimes these cuts are so much deeper than they seem"

...

"I am in misery

There ain't nobody who can comfort me 

Why won't you answer me?

The silence is slowly killing me

(Girl) you really got me bad

You really got me bad

I'm gonna get you back

Gonna get you back"

...

"I'm desperate and confused so far away from you"

The second song is "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri. This song demonstrates Hamlet's disappointment towards Ophelia when he finds out that she is contributing to Claudius and Polonius' scheme. This song shows Hamlet's regret, hurt, sorrow and his sense of frustration.

"I know I can't take one more step towards you

'Cause all that's waiting is regret

Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore

You lost the love I loved the most

...

So don't come back for me

Who do you think you are?

...

I've learned to live, half a live

And now you want me one more time"

The last song shows Hamlet's contempt towards Ophelia. Claudius uses Ophelia to figure out Hamlet's motives, but Hamlet finds out that he is being deceived and rages at Ophelia. 

"Nobody's gonna make a fool out of me

...

Oh you think that you know me, know me

that's why I'm leaving you lonely, lonely

'Cause baby you don't know a thing about me

You don't know a thing about me

...

Only got yourself to blame

When you want me back again

..."

"Modern" Soliloquy

In Shakespeare's plays, a lot of characters have their own soliloquy. It is a way for the characters to connect and "reach out" to the audience. It is their own thought bubble, not interfered with other opinions. I think the pop culture today is very similar to the soliloquy Hamlet conveys in the play. Social medias like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr are all ways for people to express their opinions. One example is a twitter post from a renown celebrity, "I'm thankful for my health, the roof over my head, the food on my table, the people that love & care about me, & life itself is blessing."Or another twitter post like "What is it like, to get up in the morning and feel truly happy? To enjoy living in your own skin? I wish I knew." I think the social media fits the definition of a "modern" soliloquy because of the freedom people are given to express their thoughts. A soliloquy is important in Shakespearian plays because it is not swayed by the thoughts of other people. Social media now a days plays the exact same role, it serves as an area for people to convey their feelings openly. (in the case of Shakespearean plays, the audience). As a viewer, I think using social media as a way to express one's feeling is a good way to connect with people and to recover from problems. However, being too open can sometimes overwhelm the viewers. One thing that divides a Shakespearian soliloquy from social media is that social media is viral, and it is never kept in secrecy. Overall, I find it helpful that the social media serves as a "modern" soliloquy.