Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be..."

       In the first video, Mel Gibson portrays Hamlet and says the "To Be Or Not To Be.." speech as he walks down into a dark, dreary basement. A creepy feeling comes over you as you see the skulls and statues of corpses in the basement as he walks around. Hamlet seems dreary himself and speaks in a low voice but then begins to get louder and angry in the middle of the speech. It is clear that Hamlet is in a bad state of mind and he begins to talk to one of the statues of a dead person. This makes the viewers realize that he is deciding whether to live or not to live which has been a major battle within himself. He is suffering from depression and being in this dark, scary basement is not helping him get any better but he does decide not to kill himself for the sole reason that he is not sure if death could be worse than his life is at the current moment.
      Hamlets internal struggle to live or not to live is also shown in Lawrence Oliver's version of Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be.." speech. This version appears in black and white and is even creepier than Mel Gibson's version in the beginning. Unlike Mel Gibson's Hamlet who says the entire speech outloud, Lawrence Oliver subconsciously says part of the speech as he pulls a knife out of his shirt and moves it toward his neck. Lawrence is also sitting on a high cliff above the ocean where he could jump off of and kill himself. Here there are two obvious attempts to kill himself where in Mel Gibson's version he does not show any attempt at all. You have to look deeper into Mel Gibson's version to understand his internal battle to kill himself or stay alive.
     Kenneth Branaugh's version of the "To Be Or Not To Be.." speech does not really compare to either of the other speeches because it is clearly not serious. This version had a strange feeling to it but I did not get a creepy or dark feeling from it at all. Kenneth Branaugh walks into a bright, colorful room in a mansion and looks into a mirror. He recites the speech to the reflection of himself unlike Mel Gibson who is speaking to statues and skulls. It is hard to see the fight between life and death in this character because he never seems to be completely serious throughout the speech. It is almost comical when he pulls his weapon out of his shirt like Lawrence Oliver did because it is a  puny knife that doesn't even look sharp enough to do any damage. The best portrayal of Hamlet's struggle between life and death is shown in Mel Gibson's version. Although you may have to look deeper into this version, it had the darkest feel to it with all of the skulls and statues and he showed the most emotion.

Texting: A different language?

       As many people can see, texting has become an extremely popular form of communication in the world today. Calling someone and actually speaking to them through the phone has become almost non existant. I'm sure you've heard the statements "texting is just easier" or "texting is so much faster" but texting has slowly but surely become a major way of communication between people, especially teenagers. With every text message sent, more and more slang is formed in the English language and other languages as well. Text messaging is a new tongue of language without even speaking actual words.
      Texting is defined as the sending of short text messages to a device such as a cellular phone, PDA or pager. Text messaging is supposed to be used to send brief messages that are one hundred characters or less but today teenagers and even adults have taken texting to a whole new level. The increase of text messages sent increases the use of acronyms, chat acronyms, shorthand, and smileys. There are even quick reference books that you can now read to understand more of the "chat lingo" that you may see on a text message.
      These books are for "anyone who has ever received a text message that looked like it was written in a foreign lanuage". A foreign lanuage? It seems a bit rediculous to me that people are refering to text message abreviations and chat acronyms as a different language, but in all reality that is really what it has become. I am a  frequent texter but have never really gotten into using all of the symbols and abbreviations, so if i recieved a text with this lingo it would probably take me a minute or two to figure out what is trying to be said.
       It is said that there is over 1,300 chat abbreviations used in text messages and instant messages today.  This seems like a high number to most people but when you think of all the different groups that use the chat lingo, it is easier to understand how all the different types of abbreviations are formed. With the popularity and rise in text-based communication, it is likely that the number of chat abbreviations will only increase. There are more than 82 million people text messaging everyday and in 2009 74% of the world's digital messages were sent through a mobile device.
     The amount of communication by text messaging today has gotten out of hand. Even though I am guilty of texting instead of calling, I am not one to use all of the chat acronyms and abbreviations. The "foreign language" that has been created by all of the chat lingo definitely does exist but i try not to use it. I don't think it is necessary when typing the whole word only takes a few more seconds. Some people mistakenly type chat acronyms into their essays and papers for school and that is another reason i avoid using the chat lingo. This new language that emerged from text messaging is only going to continue to grow and although I will never use it, I am curious to see how far it will go. 


http://www.netlingo.com/word/texting.php
http://goldensectionenglish.blogspot.com/2009/02/gr8-deb8-text-messaging.html
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp
     






      

Nick Mamatas Interview.

    After listening to Nick Mamatas himself talk about being a term paper writer my opinion about him and what he does actually worsened. Mamatas calls almost half of his clients dumb and talks down on them as if he is so much better. His voice is strong and he talks fast when explaining what he actually does with these term papers. He has a pompous attitude towards his clients especially when talking about their writing skills; however, he never seems to get frustrated or irritated with the questions he is asked. When the man interviewing him calls what he does " legal but repulsive, sleezy, and unethical.." Mamatas agrees yet says he has benefited from writing these papers. Nick Mamatas also admits to turning some of his clients that were nasty to him in to their professors for cheating. He obviously does not care what his clients think of him and did this solely for his own pleasure and quick cash.
      Nick Mamatas trys to save his name at the end of the interview by saying he has been contacted by professors that have read his article and want to know how to catch cheating students. In a way i feel as if Nick is a part of the students cheating on their papers because although he only writes "model papers" for them, many students are handing that in as their own work. He acts as if their is nothing wrong with his term paper writing but talks down on everyone that seeks him for help and to me, that does not seem right. Not everyone has a natural talent for writing or is even taught the correct writing skills so i think Nick Mamatas needs to learn to be a bit more sympathetic.
http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2008/11/28/segments/116673
    

Concerning Nick Mamatas " The Term Paper Artist"

    In the article,The Term Paper Artist, a writer named Nick Mamatas talks about what it is like to be a term paper writer. He has had all types of experiences with writing these papers because he has different types of clients and topics to write papers on everyday. Clients come to him through brokers and he says that " most of my clients are not very bright". Nick also goes on to label some of his customers "DUMB CLIENTS" which seems harsh at first but as he explains why he calls him this, it becomes more understandable. There is another group of clients that Nick talks about which are the "well-educated professionals who simply lack English-language skills". He says that these clients are "perhaps the most tragic" because they are intelligent enough to write their own papers but most of the time are just people from different countries that need a better translator.
   Nick Mamatas takes what most people hate doing and makes it entertaining for himself. He loves to write and says that writing term papers is also "extremely easy, once you get the hang of it. It's like an old dance routine buried in one's muscle memory." Although some people would find what Nick does to be wrong, he says that he has never felt too bad about it becuase "The students aren't only cheating themselves. They are being cheated by the schools that take tuition and give nothing in exchange." He merely looks at this job as a way to make fast cash and help the less fortunate.

   Nick Mamatas does make a few good points about his reasons for writing term papers but he fails to have any sympathy for the people seeking him for help. Don't get me wrong, these students should be writing their own papers for school but some of them just lack the skills to do so. Maybe instead of writing the papers for people, Nick should come up with a way to just guide them through it. He needs to understand that not everyone has a passion for writing like he does and he should just go back to writing his own papers and short stories.