Michael Camille, This American Life, and Beowulf 3D

After the experience of Beowulf in 3D, I can't help asking why Hollywood reproduces the Middle Ages for entertainment. A while back, Michael Camille, author of Image on the Edge, appeared on This American life, where host Ira Glass took Michael to Medieval Times. Since the program is an hour long, his appearance is in the last 20 or so minutes of this episode and I find his explanation of how "medieval" Medieval Times is to be relevant to the spectacle of Beowulf 3D. What's interesting about Michael Camille's analysis of Medieval Times is that, although he points out historical inaccuracies, he also is thrilled by the tournament, describing it as "Spectacle. Circus. Populous. Lowbrow in the best possible way."

I have to say, I kind of feel that way about Beowulf. Although, some elements of the movie are absurd beyond belief, I find that in being populous, in being an absurd, over-the-top spectacle of images and blood and gore and monstrosity, it keeps to the spirit, if not to the text. Reworking the text to appeal to a modern audience (the millions of dollars in box office tickets) can be likened to poets elaborating and further embroidering the "text" of heroic conquest just to keep everyone interested. Granted, I did prefer reading the text, but I can go with the spirit of the film.

However, actually listening to the actors and the producers of the film, might make you think otherwise. We live in confusing times, my friends.

Beowulf - Story Featurette

Posted Nov 08, 2007

An inside look at the story behind Beowulf.

Slightly Strained Analogies to Medieval Literature: I'm Sure There's Plenty More Where this Came From

"Over the final four months of 2007, there was no position player more valuable to the Red Sox than Pedroia, who played his position like a 10-year veteran and who every time to the plate swung the bat like someone out of Beowulf."

Okay, I'm willing to go along with this one; I think carving a swathe through the Colorado Rockies can, in the interests of colorful sportswriting, be compared to decapitating Grendel's mother. Others are free to disagree, I suppose. But I think we can unanimously assert that, however dubious, this usage pales in comparison to Karl Rove's forays into the field.