randomness

[katekat]

for you Merlin watchers who complain that they're not following "the story", here's a lovely little rebuttal from icarusancalion (via malnpudl)

Negotiating the Boundaries of Legend

I've been hearing all over the Merlin fandom how Merlin tramples the Arthurian legend into dust -- "but we don't care! We love it anyway!"

Well. Ahem. I just finished my Arthurian Lit class.

I'd like to call into question first the idea that there's "one" Arthurian legend. Second, certainly the BBC's Merlin tramples Malory's popular Morte d'Arthur, yes, but it returns to a tenth century Arthurian text, Geoffrey of Monmouth, where Uther raises Arthur, and then runs from there. The BBC's writers show a familiarity with a breadth of Arthurian texts as they remake the legend.

If you're going to depart from the legend, you'd better know what you're doing. And they do.

Comments

[kivrin.livejournal.com]

dude! Thanks for the link; I look forward to reading that post.

[katekat]

absolutely! sharing is good. and he may take himself quite seriously, but i like that sometimes

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Psst... Icarus is a she. FWIW. :-)

She's also a tiny little bit of a thing, which made my brain go "does not compute" when I first found out. She has a very large presence... and rather fierce... in the good way. *g*

You might (?) be interested to know that she's a former Buddhist nun who's currently taking classes in Buddhist studies, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc. School-related and personal posts are locked, but if you friend her and ask to be included in that filter, she'll add you. Feel free to drop my name if it's something that tickles your curiosity.

[that_mireille]

How 'bout if I complain that they have tomatoes and sandwiches and all kinds of other things they're not supposed to have? I'm cool with the Arthurian legend (since those have so many versions that I can't see any "right" or "wrong" one), but I snicker at the unnecessary anachronisms. (Also, it is a cheesy show made of cheese with cheese sauce, but I love it like pie. :) )

[katekat]

HA! really? oh dear. well, they're having fun,which ultimately i think was his point.

question - are you watching it on TV? because I really want to watch it and I haven't seen an episode, but I'm CURIOUS!

and yeah, i have heard about the cheesy! and i'm cool with that. *grin*

[that_mireille]

No, I watched it on Sofy's computer while she was here, and have now acquired the rest of it (so far) because I need more. (I'm watching for 1. Uther, 2. slash (both m/m and f/f), 3. Cheese. :D )

[mishloran.livejournal.com]

Surely people are used to the BBC messing about with 'accuracy' (like one of your flistians says, tomatoes and sarnies for example) by now?

It's like when people get all het up and can't enjoy a film set in, say, ancient Troy (hey, this is what I know), because they see Athenian vases from centuries later in one scene, or whatever; the point is not wholly to point out the inaccuracies (although sometimes it is fun!) but to get an overall 'feel' and just go with the flow. If you didn't know, you wouldn't be too bothered.

That's what I reckon, anyway. That's why it's fiction...

[katekat]

It's a bit of a funny complaint, isn't it? I linked in part because I love how it's a smart rebuttal to all of that. :D

the Cab of Calloway?

[capybaron.livejournal.com]

Having neither antennas nor cable attached to my television, I am unfamiliar with this show of which you write. Even the Arthurian videos cover quite a range, such as Bugs Bunny's "Knight-mare Hare" (where "Merlin of Monroe" ends up making an ass of himself), Rohmer's "Perceval" and the adaptation of Bradley's "Mists of Avalon" (to say nothing of Gilliam's "The Fisher King" and George Romero's "Knightriders").

Although I may often dislike the results, every generation does seem bound to reinterpret the legends of old.

Re: the Cab of Calloway?

[katekat]

Although I may often dislike the results, every generation does seem bound to reinterpret the legends of old.

Indeed. And sadly, even if you had antenna/cable, unless you're in the UK it's not really available. Though I do tend to like things more when they switch genres...