The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 19.0409  Wednesday, 16 July 2008

[1] From:   Peter Holland <
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     Date:   Tuesday, 15 Jul 2008 07:37:09 -0400
     Subt:   SHK 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet Connection

[2] From:   Joseph Egert <
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     Date:   Tuesday, 15 Jul 2008 14:50:15 -0700 (PDT)
     Subt:   Re: "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet/Macbeth Connection

[3] From:   Nicole Coonradt <
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     Date:   Wednesday, 16 Jul 2008 01:49:24 +0000
     Subt:   Re: SHK 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet Connection


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:       Peter Holland <
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Date:       Tuesday, 15 Jul 2008 07:37:09 -0400
Subject: "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet Connection
Comment:    SHK 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet Connection

John Zuill might like to know that Catherine Canino's article on the connection, 
"''Ben, It's a terrible thing to hate your mother': Mind Control in Hamlet and 
The Manchurian Candidate", will be in the next volume (vol. 61) of Shakespeare 
Survey, currently in press and due out in November.

Peter Holland,
Editor, Shakespeare Survey

[2]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:       Joseph Egert <
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Date:       Tuesday, 15 Jul 2008 14:50:15 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet/Macbeth Connection
Comment:    Re: SHK 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet/Macbeth Connection

John Zuill writes:

 >On a slightly more serious note, I don't know if I mentioned this before but
 >'The Manchurian Candidate' is structurally parallel to _Hamlet_. The Sinatra
 >character is Horatio. The Angela Landsbury character is Gertrude. The US
 >government and Eslin among others are Claudius. Raymond Shaw is Hamlet. Shaw
 >does not pretend to be mad, he is mad. He is induced to kill his father and
 >accidently on purpose kills his mother. Raymond Shaw is interesting but a
 >pain... Just like Hamlet! There are family secrets everywhere."

But doesn't the mind-controlled Raymond Shaw character combine both Hamlet and 
Macbeth, the glorified war-trained killer-hero? And isn't Mama Iselin his 
incestuous Lady Macbeth (Lansbury was only two years older than Harvey)? Also 
note the stepfather's full name: Senator John Yerkes Iselin. Robert Yerkes' key 
research in intelligence testing and primatology was linked to US Govt. mind 
control projects during the Cold War era (Remember the simian Lincoln figures in 
the film?). For a conspiratorial perspective on the Yerkes Center check out:

       http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/hambone/ypcmc.html

"Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes?" or "His madness"?

Joe Egert

[3]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:       Nicole Coonradt <
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Date:       Wednesday, 16 Jul 2008 01:49:24 +0000
Subject: 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet Connection
Comment:    Re: SHK 19.0401 "The Manchurian Candidate" Hamlet Connection

It's been a while since I've seen MC (and there is a more recent version-- 2004 
with Denzel Washington in the Sinatra role; Gulf War setting, which I've never 
seen), but this "parallel" seems like rather a stretch based on what I remember. 
Now I'm curious: what scholarship's been done on this?

--Nicole Coonradt

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