Film and the Classical Epic Tradition

Paul, Joanna

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199542925.001.0001

Cited by 36 publications

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“…30 'The Silent Echo' exhibition catalogue, http://media.wix.com/ugd/8574eb_6f15e879c68642afadd03d37fe93ae51.pdf.31 SeePaul (2013);Carlà-Uhink (2017: 321-323). hands…”

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Drones over Pompeii: cinematic perspectives on antiquity in the digital era

Paul

2019

Classical Receptions Journal

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Cityscapes have always been an important part of films set in antiquity, but little attention has yet been paid to the way in which digital cinema uses the ancient city to offer different kinds of access to the past. This article explores how twenty-first century cinema sees the city and apprehends history in new ways in films including Pompeii (2014), Agora (2009), and Gladiator (2000). It focuses on how digital cinema affords the opportunity to ‘see’ the past from above, a quintessentially modern perspective which prompts a range of important questions about the viewer’s relationship to history. The aerial view of the cinematic city encourages reflection on our familiarity with an ancient city, by utilizing the imagery and techniques of digital mapping and virtual reality reconstructions; and it explores our ability to gain mastery over the past, privileging godlike omniscience over the immersiveness that usually characterizes contemporary film. Finally, adopting the perspective of the drone, it suggests a more disturbing, dehumanized version of the past – and future. The discourse around these cinematic cities prompts important and timely consideration of whether digital technology necessarily improves our access to the past, or rather compromises it.

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“…30 'The Silent Echo' exhibition catalogue, http://media.wix.com/ugd/8574eb_6f15e879c68642afadd03d37fe93ae51.pdf.31 SeePaul (2013);Carlà-Uhink (2017: 321-323). hands…”

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Drones over Pompeii: cinematic perspectives on antiquity in the digital era

Paul

2019

Classical Receptions Journal

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“…17. Works that offer analyses of the representation of both ancient history and myth on screen include ; Winkler (2001); Nisbet (2006); Lowe and Shahabudin (2009); Winkler (2009); Blanshard and Shahabudin (2011); Cyrino (2013); Paul (2013a); Michelakis (2013); and Nikoloutsos (2013).…”

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Classical Myth on Screen

2015

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“…18 E.g. Gladiator (2000) in Winkler (2004); Troy (2004) in Winkler (2007b); or the epic tradition in Elley (1984) and Paul (2013). Heracles is a potential exception, having received extensive discussion via the peplum genre e.g.…”

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“…Bibl. 2.4.12-5.12; Hardwick (2003), 76-77;Paul (2013), 1-35. 398 Blanshard and Shahabudin (2011), 125-126;Solomon (2001), 131. superhuman feats; creatures/monsters as figures of 'otherness'; and the divine.…”

Section: (B) Hades' Definitive Filmic Traits (I) Greco-roman Mythic Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who the hell is Hades? An examination of Hades' reception within modern film

Gordon¹

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<p>This thesis seeks to engage with modern receptions of Hades, the ancient god of the underworld, within the medium of film. Although reception studies encompasses a broad variety of themes and subject matters, filmic characterisation (especially that of a deity) is presently an under-represented topic. Hades’ unique persona provides further incentive for this study; not only does he hold an ambiguous position within antiquity but this is similarly echoed throughout much of Hollywood’s own history, up until the turn of the 21st century. Hades’ filmic persona has, however, received a revitalisation within modern blockbusters which draw their inspiration from ancient Greek mythology. With prominent appearances in the likes of Disney’s Hercules (1997), Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (2010), Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012), Hades has now become a staple character within the film industry. Hades’ recent stardom is not without issues. It appears that mass culture has freely refashioned Hades’ mythic persona in order to better fit a particular cinematic presentation, epitomised by Hades’ association with the Judeo-Christian Devil. I will argue, however, that the figure which has resulted does not have to be viewed as marking a rupture with classical thought but should be seen rather as a continuation of Greek mythological concerns. While this suggestion, following Martin Winkler’s theory of neo-mythologism, is not particularly original, I seek to explore it in an entirely new manner, highlighting the iconographical and narrative tropes which define Hades’ filmic persona. This requires a unique approach, one not yet found within contemporary scholarship. In drawing upon modern film theory for inspiration, this thesis seeks to engage with Hades’ reception while letting the medium in question shape the methodology. Such considerations should be fundamental to reception studies.</p>

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Film and the Classical Epic Tradition

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Drones over Pompeii: cinematic perspectives on antiquity in the digital era

Drones over Pompeii: cinematic perspectives on antiquity in the digital era

Classical Myth on Screen

Who the hell is Hades? An examination of Hades' reception within modern film

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