Hamlet+(1996)



**Feminist Theory** The film reflects the sexism that was dominant in European culture at the time. Ophelia, the former lover of Hamlet, is repeatedly called promiscuous (in variant terms) because she is not a virgin. In his verbal lashing of Ophelia, Hamlet repeatedly tells her to “Get thee to a nunnery” because of her supposed promiscuity, even though Hamlet himself is implied to be the one who takes Ophelia’s virginity, thus reflecting the sexual double standard that much of European society held against women at the time. After Laertes and Hamlet abandon her and her father dies, it is significant that Ophelia loses her mind and goes mad. This implies that Ophelia, after losing three men in her life who had previously made all of her decisions, cannot stand to be alone and function independently of them, thus resulting in her madness and subsequent death. Ophelia, played by Kate Winslet, is portrayed as a weak, relatively powerless, and often childlike character through the softness of her voice, her lack of assertive qualities, and her overall disposition. In the scene where it is revealed to Laertes that Ophelia has gone mad, Ophelia is shown wearing a nightgown, which serves a symbol of both her her promiscuity and infantilism.

**Cultural Studies** Because the play was written during the English Reformation, it reflects the changing religious norms at the time. The characters reflect beliefs in both Catholicism and Protestantism. However, being set in Denmark, a predominantly Protestant country at the time, the characters exhibit beliefs in Protestantism more so than Catholicism. In his famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet’s dilemma centers around whether or not to kill Claudius and avenge his father, or to leave Claudius’ judgement to God, as his Christian beliefs would require. The soliloquy also reflects much of Hamlet’s existential angst, in particular, whether it is better to succumb to the wretchedness of his life and die, or to live and attempt to avenge his father. This is a reflection of the decaying Calvinist beliefs in Europe at the time that were often fatalistic and centered much around the concept of determinism as being dominant over free will. Much of the ornate Rococo furnishing of the palace accurately reflect the dominant art movement of the time, which was from the late Baroque period, and served as a reflection of the lavish wealth in which the Danish aristocracy lived.

**Freudian Theory** Several parts of the film carry incestuous undertones (e.g: the relationship between Laertes and Ophelia), the most obvious being the relationship between Hamlet and Queen Gertrude. Much of what drives Hamlet’s quest for revenge is the fact that he cannot come to terms with the fact that his mother is now the wife and lover of Claudius, his uncle and stepfather. Hamlet seems almost obsessed with his mother’s sex life, which is why Hamlet appears to suffer from the Oedipal complex. In a climatic confrontation with his mother following the staging of his play, Hamlet is shown grabbing his mother and pushing her onto a bed in a manner that could be interpreted as being sexually violent. At the end of the confrontation, Hamlet pleads with his mother to “refrain tonight” from having sex with Claudius, so that it will make “the next abstinence easier, and the next”. Even more so than the death of his father, Hamlet seems troubled by the fact that his mother is having sex with Claudius. In the film, Hamlet is depicted as being not only extremely resentful of Claudius (understandably, being the murderer of his father) but also jealous of him. He constantly interrupts Claudius in conversation while in Gertrude's presence, which could be seen as him constantly vying for his mother's attention, the most obvious of these occasions being the staging of his play in an attempt to expose Claudius and shame his mother.