Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Pretty Little Revenge Seekers

   
      One of my closest family members is my little brother, Colin. His birthday is actually this Wednesday the 16th and he'll be turning 13! So first off, Happy Early Birthday! Second, I'd like to take the time to share an experience Colin and I went through. A few years back I must have done something to make my brother angry. And when I say angry, I mean ANGRY,  he must have thought of this prank for quite some time. Basically the evil genius he used to be came up with a plan to get me into trouble as part of his revenge. Again I don't remember what I could have possibly done to trigger any of this! Colin put pushpins in his own bed and when my mother went to go tuck him in for bed, he laid down on his bed acting like he had no idea how they could have gotten there. Of course, since my brother and I are the only kids of the house, I was immediately blamed. Imagine my confusion when I was grounded for something I probably wouldn't have the brain to come up with myself. I thought this was a perfect example of revenge, although not something that worked in my favor. In more recent years, I'm sure I have sought revenge back for this.  

      What are you doing with your life on Tuesday Nights at 8 o' clock? If you happen to be a teenage girl, (or sometimes boy) chances are pretty high that you are watching ABC Family's hit show Pretty Little Liars, I know I do. For the past two and a half years this show has been continuing it's seasons. The show is loosely based on the series by Sara Shepard. In a basic sense, a group of five friends are torn apart when one of them, Allison goes missing. The other four lose connection and distant away from each other until Allison's body is found three years later. An anonymous source, called "A" is stalking and torturing the girls by sending them vicious texts making them feel guilty for their friends disappearance as well as her death. One of the many "A's" in the show is revealed and unexpectedly a close friend named Mona. In the seventh grade when Allison was still alive, the group of five girls used to pick on Mona and call her fat. She comes back for revenge on the girls. Although off topic to the blog, I highly recommend watching Pretty Little Liars,  as it is my favorite late night television show!

How can a show that is popular now have anything to do with a Shakespearean play from centuries ago? The answer is not as bizarre as you may think. Mona has her way of getting revenge on the girls. Similarly in Hamlet, revenge is a major theme. Hamlet is informed that his Uncle Claudius murdered his father, the former King. As if it was not enough to commit murder, Claudius also married Hamlet's mother or the former King's wife. Hamlet is outraged and plots to revenge Claudius. The entire play consists of efforts of revenge. Unfortunately, I am not sure what type of revenge Hamlet gets credited for because I have yet to complete the book! I'm hoping for something big and unexpected!