http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jm9EUvwFj4


OMG is this not Beatrice and Benedick exactly?? And quite hilarious (:

I guess I don't know how to copy the video but you should definitely copy and paste it. It's way worth it!

King Arthur and the Fairly Odd Parents

My obvious example is the 2004 movie King Arthur, which was supposed to be a more realistic take on his life. It depicts Arthur as a roman soldier rather than a king or knight.

My abstract analogue is in the Fairly Odd Parents episode "Knighty Knight". Timmy wishes he was back in Camelot after attending a disappointing Camelot fair, but when he arrives his parents are taken hostage by a dragon. Timmy pulls Excalibur out of the stone to save his parents and is pronounced king, ruining the chances for Arthur, a little boy with poor eyesight and his Uncle Merlin, a greedy wizard who wants Arthur to become king so they can be rich. Upon saving his parents, Timmy gives Arthur glasses to improve his vision and Arthur, with sword in hand, defeats the dragon and becomes the great King Arthur he is destined to be

Arthur and his Uncle Merlin

Arthur getting glasses.

First Knight and Harry Potter

"First Knight" is a 1995 film based off of the Arthurian legend with Richard Gere as Lancelot and Sean Connery as King Arthur. It tells the typical tale of King Arthur, though it neglects the use of magic or the supernatural.


A less obvious analogue comes from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."  I am making the relationships between Dumbledore and Merlin, and between Harry and King Arthur. There are three comparisons to make. Merlin was King Arthur's mentor and adviser. Dumbledore is essential to guide Harry through the dangers and obstacles that present themselves. To protect Arthur, Merlin took him to a lake and gave him Excalibur. Dumbledore does a similar thing in this particular movie when he gives Harry the sword of Gryffindor (the Sorting Hat) when Harry faced the serpent monster. Lastly, Arthur pulled a sword from a stone which proved his worth and his nobility. This test proved he was the "true king." Harry pulled the sword from the Sorting Hat which proved his worth that he was a "true Gryffindor." In "The Deathly Hallows," Harry gets the sword from a lake even though his locket attempts to drown him.

The Magic Treehouse series and The Great Gatsby

As far as Arthurian legend goes, there are a lot of really obvious replications, but in lieu of not repeating what's already been said, I was thinking and remembered that the series The Magic Treehouse series had some rather obvious allusions to the Arthur tales.

These were awesome.

The most commonly mentioned was a woman who owned the treehouse, who was named Morgan Le Fay, the name of a character in Arthurian legend- I believe she's a witch. She was always a very mysterious character, and you never found out too much about her; one thing that we did learn, however, was that she resided in the realm of Camelot (Coincidence? I think not.). I don't honestly remember much more about her- though she did actually send the kids (Jack and Annie? I think that's their names) to Camelot in a superbly epic Christmas adventure.

SO wanted a white stag to ride after I first saw this cover. And a red cape, for that matter.

 I don't remember whether she was good, bad, or ambiguous in the stories, but I was always quite intrigued by her. Just a side-note on this series: how interesting is it that it was teaching kids history while meanwhile being heavily based in mythological characters?

Okay, now for the more vague one. I wish I could claim this one as my own idea, but alas I cannot. I heard someone mention it once and just sort of expanded on it. There are some allusions to King Arthur in the Great Gatsby.

To a certain extent, one can see the relationship between Gatsby, Daisy, and Daisy's husband Tom as a reflection of Lancelot, Guinevere, and King Arthur. Just as Lancelot's one weakness was Guinevere, so Gatsby's one weakness was Daisy. And, accordingly, the actual husband in each story was veritably ticked off. In a separate parallel to Arthur, at one point in The Great Gatsby it says, "...he had committed himself to the following of a grail." Daisy was Gatsby's holy Grail, the thing that he searched after and fought for for years. She was, as the grail was for many knights, his one pursuit in life. 

Quest for Camelot & Shrek

My obvious reference is the movie Quest for Camelot. The main character Kayley wants to be a knight of the round table, like her late father. In the movie, a character modeled after the Arthurian Red Knight steals Arthur's sword Excalibur and reeks havoc. Kayley goes on a journey with a blind man Garrett (partially modeled after the knight-in-disguise Gareth from Arthurian legend) to find the sword and return it to Arthur.

=

 

My more obscure reference is the DreamWorks film Shrek because, like Arthur, Shrek goes on a quest (Arthur for the Holy Grail and Shrek for Princess Fiona) to restore life as they know it. In one of the Grail legends, Arthur seeks the cup in order to end an illness that has gripped his kingdom, and Shrek seeks Fiona for Lord Farquaad, so all the fairy tale characters will leave his home and he can live in peace.

King Arthur's Merlin

To be obvious, I always think of the show "Camelot". It was a Starz show that only lasted for one season. I never watched it, but I know that it was to be based off of Arthurian legends and stories.


When I think of a more obscure example, I think of Harry Potter. I don't think of the entire series, but only a small scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In order to defeat Voldemort, all of the Horcurxes(objects that have pieces of Voldemort's soul in them) have to be destroyed. Only then can Voldemort be defeated. Professor Dumbledore and Harry go to a destroy one-a necklace. In order to destroy it, they have to get it out of this container full of liquid. The liquid has to be drank, and drives you crazy in the process. It inhibits you from being able to reach the Horcrux. In the scene, Dumbledore is the one who has to drink the liquid, even when Harry has to force him. Only then can Harry obtain the Horcrux from the container. This particular scene reminds of the sword in the stone tale, even if Harry(Arthur) had to have help from Dumbledore(Merlin).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nVQPwH2m4s

Two for One!

Since I missed last week, let's do two examples of King Arthur sources and analogues, one obvious and the other as obscure and abstract as you can make it.

So .....


James Callis in the Syfy Original Merlin and the Book of Beasts with a Jamaican accent.

Dean trying to pull a sword out of a stone on Supernatural

Doctor Who as Merlin

Jay Z's "The Magna Carta Holy Grail"

Breakfast at TIffany's (Oct. 2)

This may be a stretch, but when I tried to think of a story just like "Wife of Bath" I couldn't help but think of the character Holly from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Holly, just like the wife, is  outspoken and bold, unlike most women of their times. They both have fancy clothing and flaunt this lifestyle. The two women have not had the best track record for relationships, as the Wife of Bath has been married several times and her husbands have all died...Holly has made it clear she wants money. Both women being independent, they both actually hold a level of intelligence in that they can talk about what they mean and what they want. The two women certainly like to chat. These women draw the reader/viewer to want to like them very much so and for these reasons the two pieces of literature resemble another.

When in Rome (Oct. 28)

When I thought about this idea of men fighting over the same girl, I immediately thought of the movie "When in Rome," when a woman wishes for love by throwing a coin in a fountain in Italy. However, she is under a sort of spell and every man that sees her pretty much falls in love with her from first sight. They definitely display courtly love, as all they really want to do for her is to impress her and make her "pick" them, with the exception of one guy who truly loves her, not under a spell. This movie represents elements of both "The Knight's Tale" and also this idea of courtly love from this time period. "When in Rome" is a prime example!

My Best Friend's Girl (Oct 2)

It's not the exact story, but My Best Friend's Girl has some similarities to the Knight's Tale. In case you haven't seen the movie, two cousins share an apartment, and Tank runs a "bad date" service. He goes out with guys' ex girlfriends and makes it such a bad experience they go begging to get back with the ex. After his cousin is rejected by a coworker, Tank agrees to help him out by going on a bad date with her. However, she gets too drunk to notice that he's a terrible date, and through a series of events they both end up falling for her. Obviously the movie takes a few liberties, but it's the closest thing I could think of since someone already took This Is War. :)

A Knight's Tale (Sep 28)

Now I know it's a stretch, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that A Knight's Tale was inspired by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Common characters include Chaucer, Simon the Summoner, and Peter the Pardoner. The idea of courtly love also seems to be present in this story, which I hadn't really realized in my original viewings of the movie. I also love how at the end of the movie Chaucer remarks to himself that he should really write all this down. The more you know, the more clever the movie becomes!

Harry Potter and The Illiad (for Sept. 28 prompt)

J.K. Rowling has been cited as saying that she drew from Hector's, Achille's, and Patroclus' actions in The Illiad while writing the scene in which Harry Potter saves Cedric Digory's body. Rowling said that she was "really, really, really moved" when she read The Illiad at age 19 and that "the idea of the desecration of a body, a very ancient idea" was her focus when writing the scene.

Courtly Love in Enchanted

One of the things that is a theme in several of the Canterbury tales is "courtly love." This is an image that isn't at all uncommon in modern stories, in books and in movies. One example that I thought fit rather well- though, it was drawn off of other fairy tales rather than Chaucer- is the Disney movie Enchanted. Various aspects of courtly love are evident throughout the movie, and there is even the added bonus of seeing exactly how silly the classic version of it looks in modern times.

Admit it, though, it would be awesome if  some of this (mostly the whole

 breaking into song thing) worked in real life?

First there is the relationship between Edward and Giselle. He spends all his time saying how much he loves her, what he loves about her, and he says things like, "This is Giselle, the love of my life, my heart's true desire." It's adorable and very sweet, but when it comes down to it, there really isn't any substance to their relationship. In addition, Edward is always doing daring deeds, and in the beginning was pining after a dream of "true love's kiss."

The part that really reminded me of courtly love, actually, was the whole "true love's kiss" thing. It's a very innocent type of love. For instance:

She just doesn't get it.

And of course, when he tries to explain what just happened with Nancy, she's just like, "She thinks we kissed?' "Yeah... something like that."

Anyway, so Enchanted, and I guess, the various fairy tales that it draws from, are all excellent examples of courtly love, as influenced by Middle English literature.

This Means War aka The Knight's Tale (for Oct. 2nd prompt)

In "The Knight's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales, cousins Arcite and Palamon both fall in love with Emily, and their competition for her causes great strife between them, including a duel.

In This Means War, two best friends and fellow spies fall for the same woman and decide to ignore their friendship and use awesome spy techniques and explosions to battle it out for her love. 

Since we're focusing on sources and analogues of tales, think about other pieces of literature where you see similar stories or ideas from either Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Norman times. I'll start with the easy comparison of The Pardoner's Tale and ....

Anglo-Saxon Humor in Children's Shows

Although I enjoy Anglo-Saxon humor and its use of double entendres, it is strange to see its use in children's shows. As a child, I never understood the jokes and puns that the adults around thought were funny. I liked when physical comedy happened, but my parents enjoyed the verbal wit of the programs that we watched together. Now that I am older and watch some of my old favorite television shows, I understand the verbal wit. However, it is strange to think that these adult roles and ideas are stuck in children's shows, who don't realize it until they are old. I think this is something that the Anglo-Saxons might also find humorous.
 

Anglo-Saxon Humor in Modern Television

When I think of Anglo Saxon humor, I immediately think of double entendres and the "beaver scene" from How I Met Your Mother:

(Also, it's 13 minutes before it becomes Sunday, so I'm technically not posting this late, right?????)

As we move into Middle English period, the discussion for this week is to look at your favorite stories and find the older ones the author drew on for inspirations. For example, the story of the Deathly Hallows and the three brothers comes from Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale!

 

 

Anglo-Saxon humor in Modern Film

Anglo-Saxons are known for their high violence culture and their intense fights. However dark this culture may have seemed, it did have humor. The humor of the Anglo-Saxons was often obvious and blunt humor. In the midst of a serious moment, such as a fighting scene, the main character (specifically of literature) would say a humorous and outrageous remark. This type of comedy is widely accepted today. Quentin Tarantino, American film producer, director, and screenwriter, is the mayor of this type of comedy.Quentin Tarantino is known for his films because of their heavy violence content and strongly controversial topics. No matter how heavy the subject matter of the film, an odd sense of humor always peeks through.It does more than peek however. It hits the viewer right in the face.

An example of this is from the movie Django Unchained, which is a story of a freed slave on a revenge-filled journey to find his wife, who was sold to another plantation miles away. This movie does not hold back, for there are numerous graphically violent and uncomfortable scenes. At random times throughout the movie, however, a character will make an off-the-wall statement causing a brief moment of laughter. The viewer is laughing because of the actual humor of the statement and also because of the shock. The timing is strategic, always being in places the viewer would least expect.
A particular example from this film revolves around a large group of men (KKK members) on horseback, gathering in preparation of a raid. They have passed out bags to put on their heads, with handcut holes for the eyes to see. However, the bags are very poorly made. The men begin arguing about the bags in a petty way and forget the reason for their meeting. Though nothing is humorous about this slavery, violence, or racism, the scene lightens the mood for a brief moment and the viewer inevitably laughs.
Quentin Tarantino is a master of this "rough" comedy. It is present in nearly all of his major films, such as Inglorious Bastards.

So you knew it was coming ... This week is examples of Anglo-Saxon humor!

Spirituality in Music

I feel that, no matter what your views on spirituality are, there is no way to escape it. As much as America is supposed to be a secular government, spirituality permeates into most aspects of our culture, especially music. I cannot think of too many songs that have lyrics that could not relate to spirituality in any way. Love songs, especially, could relate to a relationship between two people or between God and a human. One of my favorite bands, Relient K, is typically classified as a "Christian band", but the lyrics that they write could relate to any affectionate relationship between two people. I don't think that spirituality and American culture will ever become complete separate.

Some Examples:

"I believe there's a God above me
I'm just the god of everything else"
New Gold Flow-Kanye West
-Side Note: Even Kanye West, who has an ego as big as the Earth, acknowledges spirituality....even his own.











Getting Into You-Relient K    We Can't Stop-Miley Cyrus

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Spirituality and Nature From Disney

Disney, as we know it, is an empire that signifies true American Capitalism. It has taken over our childhoods and seems to stick with us as we age. From Disney movies we learn valuable lessons on friendship, family, and that "good" always conquers. We are instilled with this idea that nature is at the very core of who we are and that we are "one." This sense of spirituality we find in nature in fact can be connected with the movies that as children, we not only watch but in which we are totally immersed.

Pocahontas focuses heavily on the reliance of nature and the respect that must be given to it in order to maintain a healthy world balance. Grandmother Willow offers advice and Pocahontas is told to listen to the wind and to listen to her heart, where she will find the answers. The Lion King does just the same, explaining that there is a natural order that must be followed and that that order must be respected. The Lion King also emphasizes the need to look into yourself to find the answers.

Recently Disney has created a film as part of their DisneyNature series. The movie Oceans allows the viewer to meditate on the wonders of the world and to reflect upon the connections made between humans and this other world. This idea of sharing or being "one" and how we each need the other to have a balanced world and balanced self is the take home message.  From these movies we are taught to believe that nature and spirituality within embodies us and that when the heart is followed, good prevails. These are the lessons we teach our young and carry with us throughout life. Unfortunately some get caught up in the struggles of life and materialism and tend to stray away from this bond. Perhaps, as Disney suggests, that is why the world is unbalanced.

Star Wars, Merlin, and Avatar

At the risk of exposing the nerdy side of myself, I would like to talk about the spirituality in Star Wars. While it is definitely not an overtly religious series of movies, a lot of people have discussed the idea of the Force and the juxtaposition of the dark and light side as being religious. There is definitely a sense of evil vs. good portrayed in the movies. The Force is a more abstract kind of idea, but it portrays a power beyond what the characters in the movie really could understand.

As for Merlin (which ended in disappointing fashion I must say), the use of magic is an integral part of the series. After all, what good would Merlin be without his magic? I mean, he'd still be an attractive, fun loving character, but he would not be able to save the day like he did.

Lastly, Avatar the Last Airbender has a whole different kind of spirituality. Let me clarify by saying that I'm talking about the animated tv series, not the movie with all the blue people. In the series, the people drew their power from the earth and its different elements. In order to bend the elements, they had to be one with it in a way, and channel its power. Meditation and concentration were also important spiritual elements in the show. If anybody hasn't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Religion(s) in Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones, HBO's hit TV series based off of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, takes place in an imagined, medieval-esque world. The many different regions of the Game of Thrones world practice different fictional religions.

In Westeros (the continent in which most of the story takes place), the Seven Kingdoms practice the Faith of the Seven. This faith says that there is one god with seven faces: the Father, the Mother, the Maiden, the Crone, the Warrior, the Smith, and the Stranger. The faces represent different facets of life.

This picture depicts the faces of The Seven

Also in Westeros, people of the North worship the Old Gods of the Forest. The Old Gods are many unnamed spirits of nature, and followers of the religion go to Godswoods (also known as Weirwoods) to worship the spirits. This religion became obsolete in most of Westeros, once people started following the Faith of the Seven.

This is the Godswood at Winterfell

Every Godswood has a Heart tree, which appears to have a face and be crying tears of red sap

The people of the Iron Islands worship the deity of the Drowned God. This god justifies their lifestyle of piracy and raiding. The Islanders find honor in paying the "iron price" for their belongings, which means they believe in killing a person to take his things. The Drowned God is essentially the Islander's version of the Christian God, and their version of Satan is the Storm God, who leads sailors into storms and misfortune.

In this photo, one of the Iron Born characters is about to be blessed with sea water, in the name of the Drowned God

Spirituality in Doctor Who

In today's culture there are a lot of hits of spirituality, if not always Christianity. Several examples come right to mind, even if some of those examples are of religious fanatics who turn out to be the murderers (That's always unfortunate; I mean, on the bright side it makes it so you can almost always tell as soon as you see them on a cop show. Just like, Oh! It's that guy. He is a Christian so he definitely killed that girl.)

Especially, in popular shows and series, there will at some point up the topic of spirituality will be brought up. Often, there will a conflict of emotions or opinions, and in the end as far as I've seen, the believers tend to still believe and the unbelievers tend to continue in unbelief. Then there are other times when tinges of spirituality just come up in passing, bubbling to the surface every so often.

One prominent example I've seen is Doctor Who, a very popular BBC show. Throughout the series the Doctor is occasionally referred to as "the lonely god" and "lonely angel." He is compared to a god, with all of the things he knows and things he can do; he could change a whole history at the drop of a hat.

I don't know if you can get any better than the Doctor Who and owls.

Then, more explicitly, there are episodes such as a two part episode, the second of which is called "The Satan Pit;" in it the Doctor comes face to face with some manifestation of a devil. In response to the admittedly terrifying creature, he goes off about the different "gods" he's had to contend with in all his years of traveling and what he really believes in (Which as it turns out, is Rose, which though a bit sacrilegious, is kinda cute.)

 I feel like the show's writer/designer
people were just like, "let's give people nightmares today."

In another season he comes in contact with something akin to a Minotaur that appears to act as a god to the planet on which it resides. That one is even called, "The God Complex."

This was just one example, but it's not an uncommon topic to bring up, because at some point in everyone's life- even, apparently, fictional characters'- spirituality is a matter that has to be addressed, even if it just comes to the person or character having none.

This week we begin thinking about the role spirituality plays in literature. Where do you see the most spirituality still evident in modern culture outside the church? Think beyond things like contemporary Christian music and overtly religious works. Can you see its influence in other works?

People always seek a Beowulf

What struck me in this story was the complete shock of an ending. I would never have thought Beowulf would go before a beast without men firmly behind him. Throughout the entire story, men felt honored and proud to fight with Beowulf and to be a part of his alliance. Yet, in the end, Beowulf was left to fight a monster with only one loyal warrior. It is clear that Beowulf had done something critically wrong with his kingship for people's perceptions of him or willingness to stand by him to change so drastically.

This idea of misconceptions or rather, failing to please, made me automatically think of how our government is run today. Every four years we as a country get revved up about the promise of a better future. Whoever is running must be better than who we have now, right? We look to them for hope and for direction. The new candidate is idolized in a way..their strengths are embellished. Yet, it is a guarantee that they will not completely fulfill their promises and within some time, the people that stood so firmly behind them while running will turn their backs without hesitation. As always, the new guy is always hated and criticized just the same as the old, oftentimes for the same reasons.

Of course Beowulf was physically capable of protecting his people. Once he had the title, however, he must have failed his people in some way or another. Though it is unclear to the reader what Beowulf lacked, I imagine he was caught up in his own self-image that other important factors of being a good king (þæt wæs god cyning) were forgotten.  We act like this repeatedly because when a new "savior" comes along, we get excited. We feel hope and want change. It is funny that we shy away from a dictating style of government, yet we want the person in charge to do everything for us. We want him to be like a mighty warrior from a fantasy because we want him to fix all of our problems. We want him to be somebody we can idolize and rely on, so in other words, not much of a human at all.

Gift Giving

In Anglo-Saxon culture, it seemed to be a big thing to give lots of gifts if someone did something remarkable. In Beowulf, he received a number of gifts that sort of exemplified that he'd done something great, that he was a hero.

Today, there are still examples of that- of giving a gift to someone because you respect or revere them in some way. Not always necessarily heroes, but still people that have done something admirable. The most parallel example I can think of is giving gifts to celebrities. These people don't know the celebrities personally, but they still buy or create something to give to this person who is well known for doing something good. I have seen people make things for celebrities or give them a stuffed animal or draw them a picture. It's as though they are thanking them for the work they do in a physical way- just like Beowulf.

For example, this past summer I went to Otakon, a convention for sci-fi, gaming, and anime. At one point I stood in line to meet a voice actor named Vic Mignogna, and beside me in line was my sister, finishing a white rose she was crocheting for him. While in that same line, I saw this voice actor receive, fittingly enough for this topic, a crown (it was plushie, but still).

This is me meeting him. ^_^ it was pretty great. And look! I'm even
dressed inArthurian-garb (I was Morgana from the show Merlin)

While Vic Mignogna or other actors  and celebrities may not have saved us from a Grendel-esque monster, they do do things that make us respect them without knowing them personally and elicit a gift-giving feeling from us. It's a form through which we show gratitude for something another person has done, a way to help them remember that we appreciate their work, which is, I think, why it has lasted so long.