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.

Old English/Anglo-Saxon Quests and Modern Day Wars

Where do you see examples of Old English language and Anglo-Saxon culture today? Why do you think those vestiges survive?

I personally see examples of Anglo-Saxon culture in international affairs and wars. In the Beowulf, Beowulf hears about the suffering that Grendel is inflicting on Hrothgar and his fellow Danes. Beowulf and some men from his native country of Geatland decide to intervene and relieve them of their misery. This can be related to any international conflict in which one country has come to the aid of another. 

I think this vestige survives because for most people, helping others (if one is able) is seen as the right thing to do. Another motive for this may also be bragging rights (fairly common in this story), but even today many countries are not shy about talking about the good deeds they have done for other nations. 

Old English/Anglo-Saxon Warriors in comaprison to today's modern athlete

Where do you see examples of Old English language and Anglo-Saxon culture today? Why do you think those vestiges survive?

Yesterday, I was in Pittsburgh, and we drove by Heinz Field. The Steelers were playing the Titans, and were losing. This made me think back to when I was 10-14 years old, when many of these athletes were at the top of their game. I'm not big on football, but I come from a household where the game is on every Sunday. My younger brother idolized these athletes. He had all the jerseys; His room was even Steelers-themed. It made me think of how great warriors were idolized in Anglo-Saxon culture, just as the way great athletes are in ours.

Warriors were the ultimate man in Anglo-Saxon times. They were strong, brave, and had to be since they were responsible for the protection of the kingdom. Thanes had even bigger responsibilities, since they were the king's personal bodyguards. In a similar fashion, athletes today are supposed to be strong and brave. Even older cultures, like the Ancient Greeks, idolized their athletes. Just as Anglo-Saxon warriors gave their lives for their kingdom, so American athletes are expected to give back. When an athlete starts, donates, or even volunteers for a charity, they become even more revered in our culture.

I also saw similarities in how children(like my brother) revere athletes, and how Wigalf, who was younger, though no a child, revered Beowulf for being a great king and an even better warrior.

Old English Poets and Poetry vs. Modern-day Rappers

Where do you see examples of Old English language and Anglo-Saxon culture today? Why do you think those vestiges survive?

Disclaimer: I am anything but a rap expert

Old English poetry makes use of a lot of alliteration.

Examples from Beowulf include "Dragging the dead men home to his den" and "Showed sea-cliffs shining."

Modern-day rappers, such as Eminem, use alliteration in most of their songs because it tends to aid rhyme.

For example, lyrics from Eminem's song "3AM" include a good bit of surprisingly elaborate alliteration:

"I’m just a hooligan who’s used to usin' hallucinogens

Causin' illusions again

Brain contusions again

Cutting and bruisin' the skin

Razors, scissors and pins

Jesus, when does it end?"

I think alliteration has survived because it is one of the most pleasing literary devices to both read and hear.

_________________________________________________________

As we learned in class, to become king, you have to boast about yourself. I feel like Old English poets definitely had to do some boasting, since their medium of poetry was oral before anything else. A poet or orator would have needed to convince prospective listeners of his abilities and needed to remind competitors that he was the best, the king of poetry.

Today, rappers have no problem talking about themselves, especially in their songs. 

For instance, when Kanye West isn't busy naming children after intermediate directions, he is apparently recording songs with titles like "I Am a God."

I don't think boasting will ever stop. We're humans, and we love talking about ourselves.

Where do you see examples of Old English language and Anglo-Saxon culture today? Why do you think those vestiges survive?

Check out this link for some thoughts on Old English, Latin, and Greek in Harry Potter.

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British Literature I Honors Blog: Welcome to the Honors Discussion blog of British L...: Welcome to the Honors Discussion blog of British Literature I! Let's start by replying to this post. When you think of the United Kingd...

Honestly, I immediately think of lions because of "animal kingdom." Kingdom is just not a word I hear often, but then I think of old architecture and dreamy accents!