"To Be Or Not To Be"

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, has been brought to the big screen several times. Each time, the director has added his or her perspective of how the "To Be Or Not To be" scene should appear. The three different interpretations have the following actors play hamlet; Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier, and Kenneth Branagh. They all use certain props such as knives and mirrors. The directors also use different settings for each of the "To Be Or Not To Be" scenes such as catacombs in Mel Gibson's speech, the edge of a cliff in Laurence Olivier's, and in a castle, in front of a mirror for Kenneth Branagh's speech. These things all effect how the director's want the audience to feel during this famous scene.

Each speech has a different, but meaningful setting. Mel Gibson's in his father's tomb, Laurence Olivier's on the ledge of a cliff, and Kenneth Branagh in front of a mirror. The scenes maybe different but they are similar in some ways. In every "To Be Or Not To Be" scene the actor is alone. There is nobody around. Each setting is gloomy and the viewer is able to tell that this is a serious scene. Also each actor is very serious, like they are really considering if they should kill themselves or not. In all three different scenes you can see that each Hamlet is torn between living or dying. In all the different scenes Hamlet comes up with pros and cons to taking his life. Last, every Hamlet in the three different scenes has blonde hair.

In every "To Be Or Not To Be" scene there are props to help the viewer understand what is going on. In Mel Gibson's "To Be Or Not To Be" he is clearly in a dark place. There are skeletons in the background of the scene and tombs. It allows the audience to see that this is a serious and depressing scene, even if the audience is not sure what the actor is saying. In the other two scenes of "To Be Or Not To Be", the props are different. Each actor pulls out a knife. However, the manner in which they use the knife is different. In Laurence Olivier's scene he takes the knife out and holds it as he speaks. It almost seems like he forgets he is holding the knife. In Kenneth Branagh's scene he pulls out the knife and waves it and points it at his reflection in the mirror. Each scene allows the viewer to see that this part in the play is dark and depressing. The props help establish this.

Hamlet's famous "To Be Or Not To Be" scene is portrayed in many different movies. All these movies use certain props and settings to establish the mood of the scene. This allows the viewers to understand what's going on. The different props and settings also make the play more interesting to watch. It adds some suspense and drama to keep the viewers attention.

About language or literature

According to Newsweek online magazine, texting could possibly be the death of the English language. I think all this rapid change in technology and ways of communication could have some good effects and bad effects on the English language. “Textese” is a nascent dialect of English that subverts letters and numbers to produce ultra-concise words and sentiments. There is fear that with a world of developing technology, people will be socially illiterate. With technology such as, phones, computers, iPods, the Internet, emailing, and Iming, it is easy to communicate with others. The question many people are asking; is all this technology hindering our ability of socialize and interact with other human beings? Or is this rapid advance in technology just making it easier to communicate with other people?

When the time comes to actually interact with other human beings, people are hesitant and uncomfortable. This is because they are so used to hiding behind phones and the computer. This year the world is on track to produce 2.3 trillion messages a year nearly 20 percent increase from 2007 and almost 150 percent from 2000. That goes to show how often and frequently people communicate by messaging. People are communicating with each other faster then ever. Some people worry that as textese drops consonants, vowels, and punctuation, it makes no distinction between letters and numbers. People will no longer know how we're really supposed to communicate.

“Will text messaging produce generations of illiterates?” Many people seem to think so, especially aging adults. This generation of people did not grow up with the technology that kids are growing up with today. When the aging people in America grew up; there wasn’t any way to communicate except writing letters and talking on the phone. Things such as texting, iming, and email were not available, so it is easy to understand why this generation is having a hard time accepting these new ways to communicate. The older people think if they were able to talk and stay in touch when they grew up with out texting, emailing, and iming, than why can’t these kids do the same? They see it as unnecessary to constantly be texting on the phone or emailing on the computer.  It is easy to understand why the generations today are so used to this advancing technology. They grew up with it.

Teachers are also starting to notice the effects of this high-tech generation. Some students carry their texting lingo over to there school work. Other educators see little evidence that the language of texting is having a negative impact on students' schoolwork. “In fact, some are even glad that students are communicating so frequently through writing and are creating their own language.” There are many mixed views on todays advacing technology.

In conclusion we can see that there are pros and cons to the technology today. It is easy to stay in touch with others via text messaging, emailing, and using cell phones, but in ways it is also hindering our ablity to socialize with our peers, parents, and teachers.

By: Gab Gagliardi

Considering "The Paper Market" Interview

In his interview, "The Paper Market" Nick Mamatas explains his article written in a Drexel university article. In the six-minute interview, Mamatus explains some of his article such as how his profession is completely legal. He also discusses the stupidity of his clients, as well as the different types of clients.

Mamatus's talked very fast in this interview. At times, it was hard to understand what he was saying. Mamatus seemed like he was rushing to get the interview done. The diction was very hard at times, to understand. His words were slurred and running together. Mamatus's tone was pompus. His tone and voice suggests that only his opinion is right and no one can tell him he is wrong. Hearing Mamatus being interviewed has changed my opinion on him. He doesn't seem to have empathy for these so called "dumb" people. Mamatus has actually turned some clients in to their professors.

In this case, the medium (audio as opposed to print) did not work out. Reading the article was easier to understand and interpret. Mamantus's tone, diction, and voice were very hard to understand and follow. The tone in his voice suggested he didn't care that he was turning in people to their professors.

http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2008/11/28/segments/116673

Considering Nick Mamatas Article The Term Paper Artist

In his The Smart Set from Drexel University article, The Term Paper Artist, Nick Mamatas explains what he does for a living. Nick Mamatas isn't just a normal writer, he writes term papers for the public. "In the Village Voice, I saw just such an ad. Writers wanted, to write short pieces on business, economics, and literature. It was from a term paper mill." One might ask is writing term papers legal? The answer is yes its legal. "Writing model term papers is above-board and perfectly legal. Thanks to the First Amendment."

According to the author, Nick, there are three types of clients. Dumb clients, one-timer clients, and well-educated professionals who simply lack English language skills. While reading this article, a question popped into my head. How is the pay? The article answers this towards the end. "Term paper writing was never good money, but it was certainly fast money." It is also said in the article that it takes time to get the hang of writing these term papers. "Term paper work is also extremely easy, once you get the hang of it. It's like an old dance routine buried in one's muscle memory. Getting the hang of it is tricky, though." To be a term paper writer it seems like you have to be an intelligent and good writer. I couldn't imagine writing up to six term papers a day. You must really have to like reading and writing to pursue this career.

I give Nick Mamatas a lot of credit for being able to write paper after paper everyday. This idea of somone writing term papers for an individual has its pros and cons. This service is good for a last minute assignmeent, or for someone who is very busy and doesn't have time to complete the paper. There are also some bad things about this. If someone is doing your work for you, how will anyone ever learn? The author complains in the article that some people shouldn't even be in college. "They should not be in college. They must buy model papers simply because they do not understand what a term paper is, much less anything going on in their assignments." If a writer is being paid to write an essay or paper, then how will that person learn how to write on there own? If someone is doing their work for them, then they will never learn. Sometimes Americans are just too lazy. We need to do our own work and not rely on others to complete it.