remindmeofthe | (no subject)

MY BRAIN. Is a muddle. Here is what my day has contained.

* The Torchwood audio play. Yes, yes, I know I have very loudly quit Torchwood, but I have a weakness for audio stuff. And I knew it would be hilarious. And I was not wrong. I'm going to have to listen to it again soon. CANDYFLOSS.

* As per a deal I made with

maggiesox, I am listening to Les Miserables in its entirety, start to finish, for the first time. Ever. I know quite a few of the songs, because we sang a medley in chorus when I was in eighth grade (mmm, uplifting) and I was still young enough then so that I now, eleven years later, still know every word. I even bought the Broadway soundtrack at that time, but being young and free of any sort of taste in music, I didn't really care much about any of the songs I didn't already know.

So. I mentioned that in Maggie's presence, and a deal was brokered: I would listen to Les Miz if she would finally listen to The Fix. I am holding up my end of the bargain, which is not exactly a chore, because I am of course enjoying it immensely.

And I just HAPPEN to have the recording with Philip Quast as Javert. Quast also plays my favorite character in The Fix, one Grahame Chandler. Total coincidence, really!

* And then there is the paper on Hamlet. We're reading Hamlet in my literary-analysis-or-whatever-the-hell-it's-called class, and had to do a "close reading" of a selection, which basically means "write at least three pages on ten to fifteen lines." I picked one of Claudius's, because I have a weakness for sympathetic villains. (See above in re: Grahame Chandler. Also, I bet we can all guess who is going to be my favorite Les Miz character.) (Incidentally, I believe Philip Quast could play an excellent Claudius. Grahame practically IS Claudius, just with polio and being in love with his nephew instead of his sister-in-law.) (See what I mean about my brain being a muddle?) Plus, it happens to contain one of my favorite selections in the play: "Do it, England/For like the Hectic in my Blood he rages/And thou must cure me." Grahame is so not the only one with a thing for his nephew.

(And yes, I managed three pages out of eleven lines effortlessly. I talk too much. If you had not noticed this, then hi, I'm Cathryn, nice to meet you.)

Also, somewhere in all that, during my play analysis class, was some brief discussion of Augustus Wilson's The Piano Lesson, which I saw last year for my Intro to Theatre class and you should totally go see it if there is a production in your area, because it's pretty awesome.

But anyway. Torchwood and Les Miz and Hamlet and too many parallels with The Fix in both casting and theme and if I DON'T have seriously strange dreams tonight, I will be very disappointed in my brain.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

oooo I love close reading.

I'm such a geek.

It's interesting to a point, but it can turn so ridiculous. Like, people are going on about how "'tis an untended garden that goes to seed/Things rank and gross possess it merely" is a metaphor for Gertrude's body and sexuality and Hamlet's issues with same (OR NOT, KTHX), and I'm just like, ". . . ooooor Gertrude and Claudius just finished telling Hamlet to quit grieving for his dad already, so he's really, really pissed at them and subsequently being a bitch?"

I mean. I know it's Hamlet, but come on now. There is in fact such a thing as overanalyzing EVERYTHING OH MY GOD.

Edited 2008-09-16 04:33 (UTC)

I love when people try to overanalyze, because then I sit in my corner and snicker at them. Because, no, William Carlos Williams' red wheelbarrow doesn't represent Communism. It's just a freaking wheelbarrow. Ahahah, idiots. Ahem.

Also, when I read / watched Hamlet, I never really caught onto the Hamlet/Gertrude. Maybe I wasn't paying good enough attention. Ha.

THERE IS NO HAMLET/GERTRUDE FUCK THE FUCKING OEDIPAL COMPLEX AND BY THE WAY THAT IS A STUPID NAME FOR IT SINCE THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF OEDIPUS REX IS THAT HE IS TRYING TO AVOID FUCKING HIS MOTHER.

I have very strong opinions on this. It is all very stupid. If one must insist on assigning incestuous desires to Hamlet, one could make a much better case that it's his dad he had the hots for, since he's always going on about how hot the man was. Hell, you could try it with Claudius, too, since Hamlet bitches so much about how unattractive he is that, hi, in denial lately?

Compared to all that, Hamlet/Gertrude has no textual support at all.

. . . ahem. *cough*

Ha ha, I was hoping for a reply like this. ;) I feel vindicated now.

Incestuous subtext in Hamlet is srs bzns.

You are not the first to make the Chandler/Hamlet connec--

why did I have to use a / sign why.

I would certainly hope not! The Fix isn't exactly an adaptation of Hamlet, but it draws a lot of elements and parallels and subversions. It's kind of like Hamlet upside down. It's kind of hard not to spot the similarities if one is at all familiar with it. It would be incredibly depressing if I were the first one to notice.

And obviously you used the / sign because Hamlet would have way too much fun talking circles around Cal and then talking him into bed.

I think Grahame's pants exploded. :D

I thought I heard something.

That would also be me choking on the mental image of D-10!Hamlet sweet-talking BarrowChand into some royal bed and fucking him silly.

UNF.

I am permanently stuck with Kenneth Branagh when it comes to visualizing Hamlet.

This is, um, not me complaining.

What about a K-Bran, D-10, Barrowman threesome?

I am going to have to get back to you on that on account of my brain shorting out.

Your bunk is thattaway ...

I will be in it.

There are also, of course, v. important thoughts to ponder in re: Javert's obsession with Valjean. And I need to practice my multitasking skills.

You know what the conclusions will be ....

Yes, but it's important to give it sufficient thought and make sure I've examined every angle. I don't want to be hasty.

Excellent point. Analysis must be thorough and far-reaching. While you're at it it might be worth comparing, contrasting and contemplating that obsession and Grahame's with Cal ...

Indeed so. Anything worth doing is worth doing thoroughly. And I've got no end of material on Grahame and Cal. It is, after all, my duty as a responsible RPer to build on the Fixverse at length. *sage nod*