The Many Portrayals of Ophelia in Act 1 Scene 3

I was assigned to watch this video and notice how the actor portrays Ophelia and if I agree with her portrayal. Then compare the first acting to another actor portraying Ophelia in the same scene. (Act 1 Scene 3)
First video:  

The second video: 

In the first video, Ophelia is portrayed as a bubbly, loving sister. Well, at least around her brother. She is willing to take her brothers advice, but by her smile while Laertes tells her the dangers of loving Hamlet, we know that she will definitely go with her gut. This actor also plays Ophelia as a playful soul, especially when she pulls out some of Laertes' stuff. I think that this actor portrayed Ophelia quite well. I imagine Ophelia as a smart girl who will has her own opinions and will stick by them. When Polonius warns Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet, she says, "I will obey my lord" sarcastically, but submissively. However, we all know that she just wanted her dad to go away and know that she obviously has her own plans of continuing to see Hamlet.

The second video portrays Ophelia as a less prominent character, however, if she is in a Shakespeare play, she is definitely important. I am confident to make the statement that Shakespeare has a reason for every little thing in his plays.  That is what makes reading Shakespeare so much fun, even better than going to Disneyland! *sarcasm*  I feel like in the second portrayal she is able to get bossed around by her brother quite easily, but slyly knows her own boundaries and can retort if she wants to. I see this especially in 0:48 seconds of the scene where she smirks a little bit only to herself. 

The two scenes have portrayed Ophelia differently. In the first scene she is shown to have more power and control over her opinions, while in the second she can be influenced easily.  I think the first portrayal captures Shakespeare's vision of Ophelia, more, since she is shown to be more of a sisterly figure by being playful, happy, and caring. However, no one can be too sure of what exactly Shakespeare wanted in his plays. Again the excitement!
My challenge to you, reader, is to portray Ophelia in your own way, possibly different than the two scenes above or maybe the same....

First Impression of Hamlet

As I start to read Hamlet by none other than Shakespeare himself, I read about the depressing character, Hamlet.

Hamlet seems as if he hates the world. When Hamlet first appears in Act 1 Scene 2, he is wearing the "nighted color" (1.2.70) and is told by his mother to "let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark"(1.2.71). The nighted color referred is black and his mother wants Hamlet to be friendly to the King. 

He is described by Shakespeare wearing all black, to emphasize his depression over the fact that he is still stuck over mourning his father's death. Hamlet's father has been dead about two months and Hamlet is still terribly mourning over the loss that it has consumed him to wear all black. I guess you can say Hamlet is childish because he can't move on from the death of a loved one, while adult or mature figures can move on with their lives. Of course, grieving and mourning is part of the recovery process when someone dies, but that part of the process typically lasts two weeks, definitely not two months.  I am not at all saying that you should remember the loved one for only two weeks and then forget them all together and completely move on. No, you should always keep them in your thoughts but it should not consume you like it does to Hamlet.

Shakespeare also portrays Hamlet as a scornful prince. He does not want to admit that his mother married the current King, Hamlet's dad's brother. Hamlet idolizes his father and hates that his mother moved on so quickly. Hamlet remarks that "She married. O'with wicked speed, to post / With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!" (1.2. 161-162) He calls the marriage "incestuous", but in fact it is totally legal. Calling a legitimate marriage incest is probably one of the worst charges you could make about a marriage, especially about your own MOTHER! To even emphasize the "wicked speed" of her turn around and marrying the brother of her former husband, Shakespeare writes that "the funeral baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables" (1.2.186-187). In other words, the funeral leftovers were still good for the wedding. Woah, Shakespeare is rubbing the death in! Shakespeare is definitely contributing to the depression factor of Hamlet.  

At this point in the play, Hamlet is a downer, and wants nothing to do with his mother or especially the King. By analyzing other Shakepeare plays, most of his characters change, so I am expecting Hamlet to change. I do not know whether it will be a very dramatic positive change or a subtle even more negative change. I guess, I have to read on.