Back 2 the Future To Be or Not To Be Cont'd

January 23, 2020

I think I have discovered a phrase.

Allegorical Fractalization.

al·le·go·ry

/ˈaləˌɡôrē/

noun

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

frac·tal

/ˈfraktəl/

noun

a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation.

I promised you Shakeshere but think about that while i get us there.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Or the city of Hill Valley.

It doesn't really matter which. The story is essentially the same.

Back to the Future II has a very strong Hamlet element to it.

The young protagonist discovers that his father has been murdered.

Murdered by his mother's new husband ~~Claudius~~. Oops i mean ~~Donald~~. Shit! I get so confused sometimes... Biff. She marries Biff.

The young son is left to avenge his fathers death.

And so on... and so on...

(Just for good measure the writers threw in an additional Shakesphere reference to solidify the connection. Lets check the date of George McFly's untimely passing.)

Ohh it seems Georgie Boy forgot to beware the ides of March

Pretty compelling stuff!!

But there is a single element in Hamlet that im hoping to discuss.

The Mousetrap.

That's right the play within a play.

The literary device that uses the stage and performance to a deliver a hidden message to the writers desired audience.

First, a little background on Shakessphere himself.

We know Prince Hamlet wrote at least some of the Death of Gonzago. We dont know what or how much.

Obviously Uncle Claudius is being delivered a message.

But so is Gertrude.

In fact she is the Mouse in the mouse trap.

GERTRUDE What shall I do?
HAMLET 185Not this, by no means, that I bid you do— Let the bloat king tempt you again to bed, Pinch wanton on your cheek, call you his mouse, And let him, for a pair of reechy kisses Or paddling in your neck with his damned fingers,

Pinch wanton on your cheek,

Call you his mouse.

King Claudius asks young Hamlet the name of the play to be preformed he replies...

HAMLET

The Mousetrap. Marry, how? Tropically. This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna. Gonzago is the duke’s name, his wife Baptista. You shall see anon. 'Tis a knavish piece of work, but what o' that? Your majesty and we that have free souls, it touches us not. Let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung.

For those of you unfamiliar with Shakespeare I'll break it down for you.

Hamlet is saying "It's called The Mousetrap. How weirdly an appropriate troupe. Its about a guy Gonzago and his wife. He is Murdered. You'll see pretty quick the play is pretty shitty but it doesnt matter. The king and the rest of us have clean hands so it wont bother us to watch. Its the guilty that will be uncomfortable watching it.

So the trap is set for a mouse.

Pinch wanton on your cheek,

Call you his mouse.

His mouse.

Gertrude is the mouse. The trap is set for her in hops of eliciting some feeling of guilt in the betrayal of her late husband. So a message is being delivered to her as well.

But there is a message for the audience as well.

Which audience?

Hamlet's or Shakespeare's?

BOTH.

The message : There is a play inside the play.

There is a story inside the story.

I call it...

ALLEGORICAL FRACTALIZATION.

Who hides a story within a story?