Død snø

Well, this isn't really a spotted modern medievalism but does have some medieval content....

So, a while back in the interminable search for something to watch on a weekend night with the favorite spouse, we happened on a little movie titled Død snø, Dead Snow. The description said something about college kids on a break awaken a bunch of Nazi zombies who sleep in the snow....ok, this sounded hilarious to us, but we didn't take it in....

Until this weekend. Being in the same spot again and noting that Død snø was expiring as of tomorrow we paid the money and viewed the show. It was hilarious! Ok, it was no Army of Darkness or Shaun of the Dead, but pretty funny nonetheless.

The basic plot is a group of med students off on Easter break go up into the mountains to one of the group's family cabin for some skiing and fun. They unwittingly awaken an army of zombies from WWII, yep, evil Nazi bastards. They try to survive. It ain't great cinematic fare, but it was fun if you like the tongue in cheek sort of horror show which I do.

On the modern front, there are certainly nods to other films of the genre: as far as basic plot (kids in cabin in the woods awaken zombies), it is a Norwegian take on The Evil Dead. But in addition there are certainly nods to Army of Darkness, Indiana Jones, Shaun of the Dead, and references to a lot of other stuff including Die Hard, The Simpsons, and The Gubernator saying "I'll be back".

Now I'm not expert in the horror genre, or even the comic horror genre...the last "horror" show I saw in fact was Shaun of the Dead (love that movie!). But what struck me about Død snø is the number of things in the film that happen in Norse sagas as well. These all could be just part of the genre now, but that too would be fascinating that events and descriptions in medieval texts meant to horrify continue to be used now. I'm sure someone has written on this. A short of list of things I noted:

*Intenstines--lots and lots of intestines. There's more than saga character whose intestines get pulled out and a very painful and messy death occurs.

* Heroes caught in a burning building

* skulls broken open to reveal brains

* Heroic deaths after fighting off hordes of the enemy only to be finally overcome

* birds of omen, particularly ravens flying about

* the splitting of an enemy combatant from head to waste (and that brings us to Roland as well)

* decapitations (I'm thinking a lot about decapitation scenes of late)

SPOILER: If you care, don't read the next few lines

* Everyone dies. Well, the humans at least.

* Oh, and cursed gold. Seriously.

* Wizened stranger who is both frightening and friendly at turns who knows all (changed in this version from The Evil Dead's taperecorder)

* accidental killing of beloved by male character (ok, that happens in more than just the sagas and eddas, but there ya go)

There are also a few analogues to saint's vita if you look carefully.

Anyway, hilarious stuff, medieval analogues aplenty...I'm not saying that the filmmakers read the sagas and stole from them, but I find the analogues interesting nonetheless, and they serve much the same purpose. So if you get a chance to see the show for cheap, do so, it is worth it.

CFP: Medievalism of Nostalgia

The Medievalism of Nostalgia

An ARC NEER Conference

Call For Papers

Graduate Centre, University of Melbourne
November 27-28, 2009

Thomas Cole, "Expulsion from the Garden of Eden" (1828)

Nostalgia, first perceived in the 17th century as an obscure condition of homesickness afflicting soldiers serving abroad, is now recognized as a key symptom of modernity. Medievalism­ - the re-imagining and re-invention of the Middle Ages - ­has provided a desirable home for the longings of nostalgia since the 18th century or earlier. This conference offers an opportunity to investigate the privileged association between the two terms. Keynote speakers at the conference are Professor Linda M. Austin (Oklahoma State University), Dr. Louise D'Arcens (University of Wollongong), Professor Andrew Lynch (University of Western Australia). Cost of registration is $60/$40 concession.

Papers are invited which explore the links between medievalism and nostalgia from any perspective. Possible fields of interest include: theory and history of nostalgia and medievalism; literature; music and performing arts; art and architecture; cinema, television and digital media; popular culture; detective fiction; tourism and heritage sites; historical recreation societies; nationalism and medievalism; pedagogy; museums and galleries.

Please submit your title and 250-word abstract for papers of twenty minutes in length to the convenor, Helen Dell, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne (helendel AT vicnet.net.au) by September 11, 2009. Please include affiliation and contact details with your abstract. Further details will be available at the conference website and on the Network for Early European Research events web site.

A postgraduate/early career researcher masterclass will be held immediately after the conference, on Sunday November 29. This day-long event will focus specifically on the theorising of nostalgia, and will be geared toward assisting postgraduates and early career researchers in developing a rigorous and confident engagement with nostalgia and associated concepts. While the masterclass will have a medievalist emphasis, it will not be limited to medievalism, so postgraduates and early career researchers in a range of areas are welcome to apply. This event will be convened by Louise D’Arcens and Andrew Lynch as part of their current Australian Research Council-funded project on Medievalism in Australian Cultural Memory. The masterclass will also involve input from other academic guests working in the areas of nostalgia and cultural memory. Further details to come when they are confirmed. Interested postgraduates and early career researchers should contact either Andrew Lynch (alynch AT arts.uwa.edu.au) or Louise D'Arcens (louised AT uow.edu.au) by October 1. Proposals should include name, academic affiliation, and 200 words describing your current research project and how you see it intersecting with issues of nostalgia and/or cultural memory.

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On the Antichrist

Antichrist directed by Satan
Luca Signorelli
Orvieto, Italy, ca. 1505

Joel Richardson is this year's Petrus Alfonsus.

I was alerted to Richardson's (a pseudonym, by the way) new book via twitter and did a bit of digging, including reading a couple of his "commentaries." I'm not going to link to any of his stuff -- you can google (or bing!) it yourself and find out more without too much trouble. Too vile; a strain of pentecostal Christian hatred anti-Muslim that I've encountered before. Indeed, there seems to be no end to it. Witness eminent scholar Rodney Stark's ridiculous new book (publisher here).

Richardson argues in his recent book that the coming antichrist will not be descended from Europeans and Roman Catholicism, contrary to "popular" belief (this ridiculous thinking could be the subject of another lengthy post but allow me to leave that for now). Instead, using "historical research" -- and I use that phrase loosely -- Richardson attempts to show that the Jewish Temple, destroyed in 70 CE, was actually destroyed by pre-Muslims (not Romans) and hence that event foreshadowed the central role Islam will play in spawning antichrist. There's so much wrong here.

First of all, his translation of Daniel 9:26 is crap: "The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." I'm sure this is one English rendering of the text but the Vulgate (which is, of course, itself a translation from the original) more literally says that "The people and their leader will come to destroy the city and the sanctuary." Changes things, doesn't it? Read this latter way, it says that a people will come to destroy the city. Read prophetically, this is a standard trope for Gog & Magog and, actually, has nothing at all to do with the supposed leader. He's incidental to the drama unfolding here.

Second, what the heck is a pre-Muslim? Are people confined to a certain religious tradition because of where they're born? Were the Native Americans of Utah pre-Mormon?

The most interesting thing here though, and what makes this kind-of a "teachable moment," is how Richardson does some secondary reading in order to make his original (false/ mistaken) premise fit into some quite solid scholarship on the composition of 1st-century CE Roman armies. It kind of reminds me of the time when I saw a student paper (not one of my students) that argued the development of the feudal system based on that word's derivation from "futile." It was well-argued from there but, ultimately, a bunch of crap because of its ridiculous premise. This is the danger of tautology. The premise proves itself. Richardson and Stark: Islam is evil, thus it must be responsible for all evil. Muslims are terrorists, hence they have always been terrorists. Alas, uncritical, overly simplistic, and ultimately untrue. F.

Medievalisms Mid-August

So.....here we be. Mid-August, everyone gearing up for new academic year; some have even already started.

My medievalisms of the week are cheats in a way. But here goes anyway.

My favorite spouse is out of town visiting family, which means I have sole control of the remote control!!!!!!! WOOT!!!!!! Can you say party??!!!! OK, I've slowly weaned favorite spouse off of home improvement shows and other crazy buttock related fecal material. On the other hand, she has made me watch, and LIKE, more reality show television than I ever thought possible. Top Chef anyone? Hooked!

Anyway, I babble. T'is the wine bottle's fault. So....being in control of the remote for the last four days in the middle of August means I've caught up on my USA network shows (In Plain Sight, Burn Notice, and Royal Pains) with new seasons just beginning (Psych). And I've been current on Eureka (yay!) and Warehouse 13 (how ironic that the actor who plays Arnie played a "collector" on ST:TNG, but I digress). It also means I have caught up on every TV show we watch or I watch in the "Free TV" show category on ON DEMAND as well as all the free movies I want to watch. I even resorted to paying $5 for an On Demand movie, and it wasn't even medieval related....I am certain you are shocked.

Well, after all this nonsense, I'm sure you're waiting, oh, so excitedly, for what this has to do with medieval shtuff and medievalism. Well, wait no longer!

I in utter and complete desperation, went to SyFy having viewed Cold Case and Mystery Theater and Iron Chef America on previous occasions. And I finished my book! SO that left me as the most acceptable alternative to fit in before walking the dogs, Blood Rayne, a 2006 flick based on the earlier video game. Ok, Vampires are not my thing, nor do I want to dwell on the liberated women of faux medieval tripe offered up by the game, nor the 19th century carnival in the beginning mixed in with the "medievalesque" context. No, I want to focus on a particular aspect, the character in the movie named Sebastian. Yes, Sebastian.

I don't have first hand experience with the game. Just with the overall very bad movie I just saw (and it isn't bad because of its treatment of medieval and medievalism...it's bad because it's horribly written, abysmally acted, and poorly conceived...but what fun!). That said, I find it fascinating that the somewhat young Sebastian is an expert ARCHER...those familiar with medieval iconography will recall that the unfortunate St. Sebastian is often depicted against a pillar or post and his body filled with arrows.....do I dare attribute to the writers/director/producer some sort of medieval or medievalism joke in making their Sebastian an archer and a lover of a "heretic" mudblood (vampire and human)? HMMM, such the puzzle...to credit them with knowledge of an inside joke, or just happy serendipity that provided me entertainment...that is the question.

On a completely unrelated note, I point you to Aug. 16 Bizzaro and another jab at the poor, hapless medieval monk: http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/Bizarro.asp?date=20090816 Reminds me of sending fox in Mel Brook's and Cary Elwes' Robin Hood: Men in Tights (Rabbi Tuck always gets a laugh!)...but I digress....and so for now, I bid thee farewell. Enjoy!

Worst Use of Medievalism this month so far

I don't usually look for medievalism for The Daily Show. But last night, John Stewart and crew delivered! Oh yes they did! Stewart rightly excoriated Chuck Grassley for his botching of the Arthurian tradition in attempting to denigrate the health care reform efforts. For our purposes, its the bad use of the tradition. For example, did you know that Lancelot was a dragon slayer for the love of Guinevere? Huh, had not heard that one...admittedly I'm not an Arthurian, but not familiar with that one. Here's the link.