FIXING THE FATHER'S MESS IN HAMLET & ROGUE ONE
"O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!"
—What do Shakespeare’s Hamlet and “Star Wars: Rogue One” have in common that Hamlet and Disney’s “The Lion King” do not? (Hint: It's not about a "nunnery.")
When “Lion King” opened (1994), one oft-quoted reviewer called it “Hamlet on the Serengeti.” It’s obvious: writers for the animated feature modeled their story after Shakespeare’s play.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet begins with talk of the ghost’s appearance and soldiers wondering why Denmark is working so hard to prepare for war. The reason? Decades earlier, the king (Hamlet’s father) had slain Fortinbras, King of Norway, in single combat;
now the fatherless son of Fortinbras is preparing an army to attack, take back the land, and avenge his father’s death. These soldiers may be among the first to die in such a war, so they have a right to ponder what their leaders are up to and who caused the mess.
The play ends with Hamlet giving his “dying voice” in support of Young Fortinbras as the next king of Denmark, a gift that may heal the wound his father created and avert war with Norway.
This important narrative thread (fixing a mess that a father helped to make) is totally absent from Disney’s “The Lion King.”
But it’s central in “Rogue One.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links to a description of my book project:
On LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eJGBtqV
On this blog: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/05/hamlets-bible-my-book-project-im.html
[Originally posted around the week of 6/12/17 on LinkedIn]
—What do Shakespeare’s Hamlet and “Star Wars: Rogue One” have in common that Hamlet and Disney’s “The Lion King” do not? (Hint: It's not about a "nunnery.")
When “Lion King” opened (1994), one oft-quoted reviewer called it “Hamlet on the Serengeti.” It’s obvious: writers for the animated feature modeled their story after Shakespeare’s play.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet begins with talk of the ghost’s appearance and soldiers wondering why Denmark is working so hard to prepare for war. The reason? Decades earlier, the king (Hamlet’s father) had slain Fortinbras, King of Norway, in single combat;
now the fatherless son of Fortinbras is preparing an army to attack, take back the land, and avenge his father’s death. These soldiers may be among the first to die in such a war, so they have a right to ponder what their leaders are up to and who caused the mess.
The play ends with Hamlet giving his “dying voice” in support of Young Fortinbras as the next king of Denmark, a gift that may heal the wound his father created and avert war with Norway.
This important narrative thread (fixing a mess that a father helped to make) is totally absent from Disney’s “The Lion King.”
But it’s central in “Rogue One.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links to a description of my book project:
On LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/eJGBtqV
On this blog: https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/05/hamlets-bible-my-book-project-im.html
[Originally posted around the week of 6/12/17 on LinkedIn]
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