Author: Scott Manning
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Petrovskaia’s Defense of Medievalism on Screen
Before diving into depictions of Merlin in medieval texts, film, and television, Natalia I. Petrovskaia offers a full-throated promotion and defense of academics tackling popular medievalism instead of the romanticized art and literature from the 19th and 20th centuries. While this field has grown considerably over the past 40 years, Petrovskaia offers some interesting arguments…
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A Historical Look at Frank Miller’s Xerxes #1
Frank Miller’s first issue of Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander finally hit shelves this week and here is the historical hottake (see review of Xerxes #2). We’ve been hearing about Frank Miller’s follow-up to his 300 miniseries for years. When 300: Rise of an Empire finally hit theaters in 2014, I…
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The Twisted Arthurian Legend of Thanos
With The Infinity Gauntlet, an epic, romantic quest began and never stopped both in and out of the comic books. The Marvel Universe lends itself to an Arthurian comparison, and nowhere is that clearer than with Thanos, the most flawed of knights, and his quest for the six Infinity gems.
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Popular Medievalism is Demanding
The Middle Ages are as popular as ever and, as such, we need continuous scholarship on medievalism, especially in movies and television. Case in point, consider Lee Ann Tobin’s research in 1990, surveying students on their familiarity with medieval films. ((Tobin’s entire article is worth reading, as they explore the use of medieval film as…
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Medievalism on Screen: An Annotated Bibliography
Although the field of medievalism on screen is fairly young, there is already a massive amount of work on the topic in English alone. By medievalism, I am referring to recreations or evocations of the Middle Ages, purposefully or unwittingly. By screen, I am referring to movies, television, and short form content. I’m maintaining this…
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What’s the Point of Judging Medieval Films for Accuracy?
Public opinion varies on the value of judging anachronisms in medieval films. When I analyzed some depictions of trebuchets in medieval and fantasy films, Internet opinions ranged from “who fucking cares” to “oh, that’s interesting” (actual quotes from social media). Academic opinion varies as well, but the general consensus tends to be that judging a…
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7 weeks with the Kindle Oasis
When I first heard Amazon made a waterproof Kindle, I scoffed at them. Then I found myself commuting on public transportation every day. After 15 years of driving, I suddenly don’t have to keep my eyes on the road for 2 hours a day, so I’ve got time to read. I initially used the Kindle…
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Spawn’s Whitewashed Cast in the Black Panther Age
Any fan of Spawn knows that the main character—Al Simmons—is a person of color, or at least he was before he died and came back as a superpowered demon. More importantly, his widowed wife, her new husband, and even the man who murdered Simmons were all black. Being a white teenager in the 90s, I…
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Book Review: Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology
I wish I could delete the first few chapters of Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, or at least move them to the back. Like any book of myths, it’s difficult not to glaze over the initial inundation of unpronounceable names (e.g., Yggdrasil, Hvergelmir), origins, and outrageous creation tales. But once you make it past there, this…
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The Arthurian version of “rope-a-dope”
800 years before Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in Rumble in the Jungle using his “rope-a-dope” technique, one of King Arthur’s knights used a similar technique in a joust gone awry. The rope-a-dope technique In the 1974 bout called “Rumble in the Jungle”, Ali scored a knockout in the 8th round against the undefeated George…
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Gettysburg After Action Report – September 10, 2017
On my 39th visit to Gettysburg, my wife and I had the privilege of taking Aishwarya who is a software engineer and an aspiring poet (she goes by Ash for short). This was an emergency trip, as she is slated to move back to India in a month after living in the States for 5 years…
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A Fresh Translation of Caesar’s Civil War
Cynthia Damon has produced a fresh English edition of Caesar’s Civil War that was decades (or centuries!) in the making, depending on how you look at it. Like most ancient texts, we do not have a pristine copy of Caesar’s Civil War handed down to us from antiquity. Instead, we have a slew of medieval manuscripts,…