Bad Boys meet the Swan of Avon: A re-visioning of Hamlet in 'Sons of Anarchy'

摘要

This article investigates the intersections between Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a popular TV seriesSons of Anarchy (SOA), loosely based on the Shakespearean original. The crime drama seriesrevolves around an outlaw motorcycle club that literally “rules” a fictional town in California likean old royal family with its own brutal dynastic power squabbles and dark family secrets. Theclub is governed by an unscrupulous President Clay and an equally violent, though moreconflicted, Vice President Jax Teller, the son of the late President, who had died in mysteriouscircumstances. In the article I argue that the popularity of the series lies not in its graphic scenesof violence, over-the-top Harley chases, and sex intrigues, but rather in its Shakespearean andRenaissance structure. SOA, dubbed as “Hamlet on Harleys”1, is an appropriation rather than anadaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which makes it a truly transmedial phenomenon. The articleinvestigates a fascinating blend of seemingly marginal elements of modern American culture andthe canonical British tragedy. It also addresses the connections between the lifestyles of the socalled outlaw MC clubs and the early modern family structure as presented in Hamlet, focusingon the issues of power and gender relations.