Dragonboy!

Recently came across the following on YouTube:

Dragonboy is a short student film very much in the mode of the Shrek series (with a bit of Camelot thrown in for good measure) in that the princess falls for the unlovable monster and the othered monster proves that right makes might, when he finds the inner strength to challenge and (thanks to the timely aid of his spunky new friend) triumph over the hypermasculine posturing of the prince. Additional details on the making of the film can be found at its official website: http://www.dragonboythemovie.com/index.html.

Recent Reviews in Speculum

The medieval journal Speculum has recently begun publishing reviews of scholarship on filmic medievalisms. The latest include the following:


Kelly, Kathleen Coyne. Rev. Filming the Middle Ages. By Bettina Bildhauer. Speculum 87.2 (April 2012): 528-29. (web content)


Aronstein, Susan. Rev. Remaking the Middle Ages: The Methods of Cinema and History in Portraying the Medieval World. By Andrew B. R.  Elliott. Speculum 87.3 (July 2012): 867-68. (web content)

Both reviews offer insight into each study and position the author's work within the ever-growing corpus of scholarship on filmic medievalisms and the various practices they employ to (re-)create the medieval.  

Still Getting Medieval on TV Update (At Last)

I am pleased to (finally) announce the details of our session for the 2013 International Congress on Medieval Studies:


Still Getting Medieval on Television: Medieval-Themed Television of the Twenty-first Century and Its Impact on Medieval Studies (Roundtable)
Organizer: Michael A. Torregrossa, The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

Presider: Suanna Davis, Abilene Christian University

Paper 1: Hybrid Medievalisms in Arthurian Romance and the Historical Evolution of the Genre from Print to Television
Kevin Teo Kia Choong, Nagoya University

Paper 2: When Bows Don't Bow: Sherwood and Camelot in Conflict
Elizabeth Bernhardt, Abilene Christian University

Paper 3: Kaamelott/Camelot on the Small Screen
Tara Foster, Northern Michigan University

Paper 4: Medieval Themes in the Contemporary Newsroom
Charlotte A. T. Wulf, Stevenson University

Paper 5: Medievalism in Television's Popular Series Once Upon a Time
Mikee Delony, Abilene Christian University

Update for Still Getting Medieval on Television

We are still finalizing the details of our roundtable "Still Getting Medieval on Television" for next year's Medieval Congress. Details will be posted in a few days.

Michael Torregrossa

Auger on Lord of the Rings

From a recent issue of Mythlore:

Auger, Emily E. “The Lord of the Rings’ Interlace: The Adaptation to Film.” Mythlore 30.1-2 (Fall/Winter 2011): 143-62.

Recent Reviews from Arthuriana

Still catching up:

Reviews from Arthuriana 22.1 (Spring 2012):


REVIEWS

Bettina Bildhauer, Filming the Middle Ages
Kevin J. Harty 125-27

Andrew B.R. Elliott, Remaking the Middle Ages: The Methods of Cinema and History in Portraying the Medieval World
Kathleen Coyne Kelly 127-28

Kevin J. Harty, ed., The Vikings on Film: Essays on Depictions of the Nordic Middle Ages
Shaun F.D. Hughes 129-35 [an especially insightful review and commentary]

Medieval Papers at Film & History 2012

The 2012 Film and History Conference meets later this month from 26-30 September 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Downtown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The complete program can be accessed at http://www.filmandhistory.org/conference/conference2012.php.

The following sessions are of interest:

THURS., 27 SEPT

SESSION 1
PANEL 2716 Myths R Us III: The Sun Never Sets: British Identity in Film and Television
PAPER 2 OF 3: Brave Hearts and Minds: Scottish Politics, Nation-Building and the Myth-Making Power of Braveheart
Cody Neidert, University of Northern Colorado
PAPER 3 OF 3: “Decaying Splendours”: Landscapes of Absence, Loss, and Trauma in the Films of Stephen Weeks
Kevin M. Flanagan, University of Pittsburgh


SESSION 2
PANEL 2723 Medieval Myths II: Magic Beyond the Pale
The Dark Ages in the Cinema: A Case Study on Medieval Witchcraft
Tom Vercruysse, Kotholieke Universiteit Leuven
Father of Anarchy: Robin Hood and the Medieval Outlaw in Contemporary Culture
Melissa Sartore, West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Indistinguishable from Magic: Weapons of Mass Destruction in Robin Hood
Leah Larson, Our Lady of the Lake University

PANEL 2726 Mythos II: Goddesses: Armed and Dangerous
PAPER 2 OF 3: Arya, Katniss, and Merida: Three Screen Teen Amazon Archers
Beverly J. Graf, Pepperdine University


SESSION 3
PANEL 2733 Storytelling 101 II: Prominent Historical Figures: Anastasia,
Martin Guerre, Edith Piaf and Cleopatra
PAPER 2 OF 4: The Artful Historian and the Historical Filmmaker: Two Accounts of Martin Guerre
Mike Schraeder, M.F.A


SESSION 4
PANEL 2747 Medieval Myths I: Magical Medieval Realms in High
Definition
Politics, Magic, and Religion in the Middle Ages as Presented in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones
Thomas McBryde, Our Lady of the Lake University
To Infinity and Beyond: How Film and Television Have Influenced the Evolution of the Arthurian Legend through BBC’s Merlin
Vanessa Schuchardt McBryde. Our Lady of the Lake University
Arthur and Guinevere 2.0: The BBC’s Merlin and the Reimagining of Arthurian Legend for a Twenty-First Century British Audience
Antoinette Winstead, Our Lady of the Lake University



SAT., 29 SEPT.
SESSION 2
PANEL 2924 Myths of Place
PAPER 3 OF 3: Off to the Highlands: Pixar’s Brave and the Allure of Scotland to the American Imagination
Dorene Koehler


SESSION 3
PANEL 2931B | Medieval Myths III: Varied Visions of Medieval Legends
Beowulf and Grendel
Kris Kobold, York University
Artifice and Misrecognition in Zemeckis’ Beowulf
David Watson, Michigan State University

Elizabeth I on Film CFP

[UPDATE]: Elizabeth I on Film: Kalamazoo, May 9-12, 2013
full name / name of organization:
Queen Elizabeth I Society
contact email:
ariehl@auburn.edu

Our panel in 2013 will focus on representations of Elizabeth I in the classic and more recent film narratives. In the last decade alone, the image of Elizabeth I on film has ranged from Dame Judi Dench's aged but energetic queen to Cate Blanchett's preternaturally youthful 55 year old monarch to the adolescent princess played by Laoise Murray on _The Tudors_. This panel will seek to explore the general trajectories of representing Elizabeth I on screen as well as identify and analyze the developments, continuities, and significance of these representations in the 21st century.

This session is sponsored by Queen Elizabeth I Society.

Please email the abstracts (300 words or less) to Anna Riehl Bertolet, ariehl@auburn.edu, no later than September 15, 2011.

Medieval and Renaissance Drama on Film NeMLA CFP

Filming this Insubstantial Pageant: Medieval and Renaissance Drama on Film (Abstracts due Sept. 30)
full name / name of organization:
Northeast Modern Language Association (conference Mar. 2013)
contact email:
jackiec159@hotmail.com

This panel seeks papers about film adaptations of medieval and Renaissance English drama, both in English-speaking countries and around the world. The NeMLA conference will be held in Boston in March, 2013. Papers might compare different adaptations of the same play, discuss problems associated with the notion of fidelity to text or of relocating a play in a different historical or cultural milieu, or consider the effectiveness for use in scholarly work or in the classroom. We seek investigation of continuities across disciplines: medieval/Renaissance, cinema studies/literature. What is at stake in these adaptations? What do these directors, writers, performers, and audiences bring to the table? This panel should appeal to those interested in film and literary adaptation, world cinema and transnational influences, issues of cultural hegemony and exchange, and Shakespeare on film. Abstracts (250 words) should be emailed in MS format to jackiec159@hotmail.comandmorsed@newschool.edu by Sept. 30.

Corporate Medievalism on Screen

Catching up:

The latest number of Studies in Medievalism, entitled Corporate Medievalism, includes a number of essays devoted to medieval subjects on screen. Complete contents at http://popularcultureandthemiddleages.blogspot.com/2012/09/corporate-medievalism-contents-update.html.

Essays of interest to blog readers include:


2 Lives of Total Dedication? Medieval and Modern Corporate Identity (M. J. Toswell)
3 Reincorporating the Medieval: Morality, Chivalry, and Honor in Post-Financial-Meltdown Corporate Revisionism (Kevin Moberly and Brent Moberly)
4 Medievalism and Representations of Corporate Identity (KellyAnn Fitzpatrick and Jil Hanifan)
5 Knights of the Ownership Society: Economic Inequality and Medievalist Film (Harry Brown)
6 A Corporate neo-Beowulf: Ready or Not, Here We Come (E. L. Risden)

11 The Cinematic Sign of the Grail (J. Rubén Valdés Miyares)
12 Destructive Dominae: Women and Vengeance in Medievalist Film (Felice Lifshitz)
13 Neomedievalism Unplugged (Pamela Clements and Carol L. Robinson)

Disney Middle Ages Contents

My thanks to Tison Pugh for the update:

The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Disney’s Retroprogressive Medievalisms: Where Yesterday Is Tomorrow Today
Tison Pugh


Part I: Building a Better Middle Ages: Medievalism in the Parks

2. Mapping the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney’s Medieval Cartography
Steve Yandell

3. Disney’s Castles and the Work of the Medieval in the Magic Kingdom
Martha Bayless

4. Pilgrimage and Medieval Narrative Structures in Disney’s Parks
Susan Aronstein


Part II: The Distorical Middle Ages

5. “You don’t learn it deliberately, but you just know it from what you’ve seen”: British Understandings of the Medieval Past Gleaned from Disney’s Fairy Tales
Paul Sturtevant

6. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Animation and Alchemy in Disney’s Medievalism
Erin Felicia Labbie

7. The Sword in the Stone: American Translatio and Disney’s Anti-medievalisms
Robert Gossedge

8. Walt in Sherwood, or the Sheriff of Disneyland: Disney and the Film Legend of Robin Hood
Kevin J. Harty

9. Futuristic Medievalisms and the U.S. Space Program in Disney’s Man in Space Trilogy and Unidentified Flying Oddball
Amy Foster


Part III: Disney Princess Fantasy Faire

10. “Where happily ever after happens every day”:The Medievalisms of Disney’s Princesses
Clare Bradford

11. Disney’s Medievalized Ecologies in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty
Kathleen Coyne Kelly

12. The United Princesses of America: Ethnic Diversity and Cultural Purity in Disney’s Medieval Past
Ilan Mitchell-Smith

13. Esmerelda of Notre Dame: The Gypsy Girl in Medieval View from Hugo to Disney
Allison Craven

14. Reality Remixed: Neomedieval Princess Culture in Disney’s Enchanted
Maria Sachiko Cecire

Shrek Book

Catching up:

Investigating Shrek: Power, Identity, and Ideology (click for Amazon preview)
Edited by Aurélie Lacassagne, Tim Nieguth, and François Dépelteau

Palgrave Macmillan, August 2011
ISBN: 978-0-230-11415-9, ISBN10: 0-230-11415-6,
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 202 pages, Includes: 3 pgs figs, 1 pg table,
Hardcover $85.00

An exploration of the social significance of Shrek from a variety of theoretical perspectives, this book pursues two different, yet intertwined objectives. The first is to present Shrek as pedagogical tool that could be usefully employed in a number of different disciplines. Shrek is approached from a political science angle, a sociological perspective, and applied to the tenets of evolutionary psychology. The second objective is concerned with outlining some of the ways in which Shrek is actively bound up with various aspects of social reality--such as capitalism, power relations, inequality, rule and resistance. This book analyzes the green ogre and his companions in a way that is entertaining as well as informative.

About the Editors:

Aurélie Lacassagne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Laurentian University. Tim Nieguth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Laurentian University. François Dépelteau is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Laurentian University.

Contents:

Through the looking glass: Shrek in perspective--Aurélie Lacassagne, Tim Nieguth, and François Dépelteau 

* Shrek in the classroom * 

Representing political regimes in the Shrek trilogy-- Aurélie Lacassagne 

Big (and green) is better: Shrek and female body image--Mary Ryan

Green consciousness: Earth-based myth and meaning in Shrek--Jane Caputi

“Happiness is just a teardrop away”: A Neo-Marxist interpretation of Shrek--Alexander Spencer, Judith Renner, and Andreas Kruck

* Shrek in context * 

The mouse is dead, long live the ogre: Shrek and the boundaries of transgression--Daniel Downes and June Madeley

Kantian cosmopolitanism and the DreamWorkification of the next generation--Marianne Vardalos

An evolutionary psychological perspective on Shrek and Fiona--Gayle Brewer 

Shrek as a non-human transactor and social movements--François Dépelteau

Potholes of knowledge: The politics of studying Shrek--Tim Nieguth 

Filmography

Disney Middle Ages Coming Soon

Nothing yet from the publisher but online booksellers now include information for the following new collection:

The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past (The New Middle Ages)

Edited by Tison Pugh and Susan Aronstein

List Price: $85.00

Expected publication 12/11/12

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (December 11, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0230340075
ISBN-13: 978-0230340077


In addition, WorldCat offers the following details:

"The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past examines the intersection between the products of the Walt Disney Company and popular culture's fascination with the Middle Ages. The Disney Middle Ages have come, for many, to figure as the Middle Ages, forming the earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary western (and increasingly eastern) imaginary. The Disney Middle Ages explores Disney's accounts of the Middle Ages and their political and cultural ramifications, analyzing how these re-creations of a fairy-tale history function in modern society"

Tudors on Screen Book

Coming soon from McFarland: 

The Tudors on Film and Television
Sue Parrill and William B. Robison

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-5891-2
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-0031-4
ca. 25 photos, chronology, filmography, bibliography, index
softcover (8.5 x 11) 2012

Price: $75.00

Not Yet Published, Available Fall/Winter 2012

About the Book

With its mix of family drama, sex, and violence, Britain’s Tudor dynasty (1485-1603) has long excited the interest of filmmakers and moviegoers. Since the birth of movie-making technology, the lives and times of Kings Henry VII, Henry VIII, and Edward VI and Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I have remained popular cinematic themes. From 1895’s The Execution of Mary Stuart to 2011’s Anonymous, this comprehensive filmography chronicles every known film about the Tudor era, including feature films; made-for-television films, mini-series, and series; documentaries; animated films; and shorts. From royal biographies to period pieces to modern movies with flashbacks or time travel, this work reveals how these films both convey the attitudes of Tudor times and reflect the era in which they were made.

About the Authors
Sue Parrill is professor emeritus and former head of the department of English at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. William B. Robison is a professor of history and heads the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana University. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Still Getting Medieval on Television CFP

CALL FOR PAPERS
STILL GETTING MEDIEVAL ON TELEVISION:
MEDIEVAL-THEMED TELEVISION OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AND ITS IMPACT ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES
A ROUNDTABLE FOR THE 48TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES (WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY, KALAMAZOO, MI) FROM 9-12 MAY 2013
SPONSORED BY THE VIRTUAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR CULTURE AND THE MIDDLE AGES
PROPOSALS BY 1 SEPTEMBER 2012 (EARLY SUBMISSION RECOMMENDED)


In the twentieth-century, film and later television were the primary media for disseminating information about the Middle Ages to mass audiences. However, in the twenty-first century, that paradigm has shifted—a fact we had not yet realized in organizing our 2007 sessions at both the Popular Culture Association Annual Meeting and the International Congress on Medieval Studies—with the “reel Middle Ages” of film giving way almost completely and the “televisual Middle Ages” becoming the dominant texts in our contemporary (re)construction of the medieval. Consequently, thanks to the healthy manufacturing of new works for distribution on television as well as (in defiance of the hithertofore ephemeralness of television programming) the preservation of older ones online and on DVD, we should not discount their impact on us and our students, both now and in the generations to come.

In apparent ignorance or (perhaps) denial of television’s usurpation of film’s role as the major innovator of medieval-themed texts, the study of medieval-themed film continues to expand, while research on televisual medievalisms remains limited despite the growing number of high profile programs both in the United States and abroad. Currently, television produces an overabundance of one-offs, series, telefilms, miniseries, commercials, and documentaries, all created in ever-increasing numbers for an incredibly diverse audience across the globe and provides viewers, starting with simple plots for young children and culminating in an increased sophistication and content for older adults, with vivid, informative and entertaining recreations of the medieval past (either as they truly were or, more usually, as we wish they had been) and/or transformations of that past in a vibrant medieval present. We can no longer ignore television’s Middle Ages as a fertile ground for discussion and debate—a fact addressed in the call for proposals for three recent collections on the topic. In this roundtable session, designed to continue the ongoing work of the Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages, we hope to further alleviate some of the disparity between filmic and televisual medievalisms and provide both a gateway into accessing this material as well as to evaluate how these programs might be profitably integrated into medievalist research and teaching.

Please note, all submissions will also becinsidered for inclusion in an essay collection on medieval-themed TV.

PLEASE SUBMIT PROPOSALS OF 500 WORDS OR LESS, PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FORM (AVAILABLE AT http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/submissions/index.html), AND A COPY OF YOUR CV TO THE ORGANIZERS AT Popular.Culture.and.the.Middle.Ages@gmail.com PLEASE INCLUDE “KALAMAZOO 2013 PROPOSAL” IN THE SUBJECT LINE

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIRTUAL SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR CULTURE AND THE MIDDLE AGES, PLEASE ACCESS OUR BLOG AT http://PopularCultureandtheMiddleAges.blogspot.com/

Syfy April 2012

This past April's listings from Syfy:


MON., 9 APR
1:30 AM
Movie: Wes Craven Preents Dracula III: Legacy


FRI., 13 APR
09:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Book Of Beasts, The
11:30 AM
Movie: Merlin - Part One
01:30 PM
Movie: Merlin - Part Two
03:30 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Thor: Hammer Of The Gods


SAT., 14 APR
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Thor: Hammer Of The Gods
06:00 PM
Movie: Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade


SUN., 15 APR
03:00 PM
Movie: Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade


SAT., 21 APR
Apr 21
06:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


SUN., 22 APR
03:00 AM
Movie: Outlander

Legend Quest

Last year Syfy aired the series Legend Quest with a number of Arthurian-themed episodes, but one was more generally medieval:




The complete series can be viewed at Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/legend-quest.

Glowing Gargoyle?

I'm unclear at this time of the context but Syfy's Fact or Faked includes a recent episode this month called "Glowing Gargoyle/Phantom Feline". Here's a bit of preview:

Syfy March 2012

Catching up still. Here's Syfy for March:


[Missed listings for 3/1-3/2 ]

SAT., 3 MARCH
06:00 AM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans
09:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


SUN., 4 MARCH
01:00 AM
Movie: Wes Craven Presents Dracula III: Legacy
03:00 AM
Bram Stoker's Way of the Vampire
07:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


THURS., 8 MAR
08:00 AM
First Wave: Blue Agave
09:00 AM
First Wave: Cul-de-sac


FRI., 9 MAR
10:00 PM
Merlin: A Herald Of The New Age


SAT., 10 MAR
12:00 AM
Merlin: A Herald Of The New Age


MON., 12 MAR
09:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dark Relic


TUES., 13 MAR
08:00 AM
Ghost Hunters, Season 7: Knights Of The Living Dead


WEDNES., 14 MAR
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Fire And Ice


FRI., 16 MARCH
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Hunter's Heart


SAT., 17 MARCH
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Hunter's Heart



THURS., 22 MAR
02:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: Thor's Hammer
04:30 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest
06:30 PM
Movie: Brothers Grimm, The
09:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Red: Werewolf Hunter [content dubious]


FRI., 23 MAR
03:00 AM
Movie: Dragonquest

09:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Fire And Ice
11:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dragon Sword
01:30 PM
Movie: Brothers Grimm, The
04:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest
06:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchslayer Gretl

10:00 PM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 1

SAT., 24 MAR
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 1


SUN., 25 MAR
06:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


MON., 26 MAR
03:00 PM
Movie: Outlander


WEDNES., 28 MAR
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Thor: Hammer Of The Gods


THURS., 29 MAR
08:00 AM
Merlin: Aithusa
09:00 AM
Merlin: His Father's Son
10:00 AM
Merlin: A Servant Of Two Masters
11:00 AM
Merlin: The Secret Sharer
12:00 PM
Merlin: Lamia
01:00 PM
Merlin: Lancelot Du Lac
02:00 PM
Merlin: A Herald Of The New Age
03:00 PM
Merlin: The Hunter's Heart
04:00 PM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 1


FRI., 30 MAR
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 2


SAT., 31 MAR
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Sword In The Stone - Part 2

June 2012 on Chiller

Finally up to date. This month on Chiller:



[Missed listing for Sun. 6/3]

FRI., 8 JUNE

09:00 A ET
The Twilight Zone (1985): The Last Defender Of Camelot


WEDNES., 13 JUNE

01:00 P ET
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Buffy Vs. Dracula (see previous post for Hulu link)


THURS., 28 JUNE

08:00 A ET
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: End Of Days (King Arthur parallels)

Watch on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/158843/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-end-of-days

May 2012 on Chiller

Last month on Chiller:

WEDNES., 23 MAY

10:00 A ET
Supernatural Science: King Arthur (again, see March for YouTube link)



SAT., 26 MAY

07:00 P ET
Movie Marathon: Vlad

Chiller April 2012

More from Chiller:



SUN., 8 APR
10:00 AM
Supernatual Science: King Arthur (see last month for YouTube link)


FRI., 6 APR
09:30 A ET
The Twilight Zone (1985): The Last Defender Of Camelot



TUES., 9 APR
07:00 A ET
The Outer Limits: The Tipping Point

Watch at Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/129166/outer-limits-the-tipping-point

06:00 P ET
The Outer Limits: The Tipping Point


THURS., 11 APR
02:00 P ET
The Outer Limits: The Tipping Point

Chiller March 2012

Listing for Chiller from March:

[Missed details for 3/1 and 3/2]

MON., 12 MAR

09:00 A ET
Forever Knight: Dark Knight
10:00 A ET
Forever Knight: Dark Knight: The Second Chapter
11:00 A ET
Forever Knight: For I Have Sinned
12:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Last Act
01:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Dance By The Light Of The Moon
02:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Dying To Know You
03:00 P ET
Forever Knight: False Witness
04:00 P ET
Forever Knight: Cherry Blossoms


WEDNES., 21 MAR

3:00 P ET
Outer Limits: The Shroud [details on Wikipedia]

Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqFf-O8SCRA



MON., 26 MAR

10:00 A ET
Supernatural Science: King Arthur

Watch on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLATxHGRqFg&list=UUTRBHRMHX3uZNWDbmoN-23g&index=2&feature=plcp


THURS., 29 MAR
08:00 A ET
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Buffy Vs. Dracula

Watch on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/158813/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-buffy-vs-dracula


FRI., 30 MAR
05:00 A ET
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Buffy Vs. Dracula

Catching Up (Again)

I've been remiss of late in posting the monthly TV lists from Chiller and Syfy but hope to rectify this omission in the next few days. I also have a large number of television productions to add links for as we gear up for a new/revised call for papers for Getting Medieval on Television.

Michael

Kalamazoo 2013 Proposal

Here are the details of our proposal for sessions for next year's International Congress on Medieval Studies:

Still Getting Medieval on Television: Medieval-Themed Television of the Twenty-first Century and Its Impact on Medieval Studies (Roundtable) (x2)

In the twentieth-century, film and later television were the primary media for disseminating information about the Middle Ages to mass audiences. However, in the twenty-first century, that paradigm has shifted—a fact we had not yet realized in organizing our 2007 sessions at both the Popular Culture Association Annual Meeting and the International Congress on Medieval Studies—with the “reel Middle Ages” of film giving way almost completely and the “televisual Middle Ages” becoming the dominant texts in our contemporary (re)construction of the medieval. Consequently, thanks to the healthy manufacturing of new works for distribution on television as well as (in defiance of the hithertofore ephemeralness of television programming) the preservation of older ones online and on DVD, we should not discount their impact on us and our students, both now and in the generations to come.

In apparent ignorance or (perhaps) denial of television’s usurpation of film’s role as the major innovator of medieval-themed texts, the study of medieval-themed film continues to expand, while research on televisual medievalisms remains limited despite the growing number of high profile programs both in the United States and abroad. Currently, television produces an overabundance of one-offs, series, telefilms, miniseries, commercials, and documentaries, all created in ever-increasing numbers for an incredibly diverse audience across the globe and provides viewers, starting with simple plots for young children and culminating in an increased sophistication and content for older adults, with vivid, informative and entertaining recreations of the medieval past (either as they truly were or, more usually, as we wish they had been) and/or transformations of that past in a vibrant medieval present. We can no longer ignore television’s Middle Ages as a fertile ground for discussion and debate—a fact addressed in the call for proposals for three recent collections on the topic. In these roundtable sessions, designed to continue the ongoing work of the Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages, we hope to further alleviate some of the disparity between filmic and televisual medievalisms and provide both a gateway into accessing this material as well as to evaluate how these programs might be profitably integrated into medievalist research and teaching.

Name Change

Released 1 June 2012:

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages is pleased to announce that the Medieval Studies at the Movies website is now and forever Medieval Studies on Screen (and our addressed altered to http://medievalstudiesonscreen.blogspot.com/), a change designed to better reflect the realities of our access to medieval-themed texts on film, television, computers, and  portable electronic devices.

Michael Torregrossa
Co-Founder, The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages

Television Medievalisms CFP (10/1/12)

Courtesy of the International Studies in Medievalism(s) listserv:

Call for Submissions

Television Medievalisms

Desperate cries that Medieval Studies is a dying field can often be heard from medievalists these days.  Yet the Middle Ages seems to be thriving in popular culture.  In particular, television presents us with a wide and diverse array of “medieval” offerings.  Shows such as Merlin, Game of Thrones, and Camelot, amongst others, address a variety of audiences.  Many of these programs target younger audiences--for example, both Merlin and the made-for-TV movie Avalon High appeal to adolescents.  In the next few years, we can expect a revival of interest in Medieval Studies, a discipline to which our students will have been introduced primarily through television medievalisms.  Because this creates a need to examine these popular products in light of their focus on the Middle Ages, we welcome contributions to a collection of essays that explore television medievalisms.  Contributions dealing with television programs in English and/or other languages are welcome.  Scholars interested in the following areas are particularly encouraged to contribute:

?       Literary Studies

?       History

?       Communications

?       Gender Studies

?       Art History

?       Music History

?       Film History

?       Cultural Studies

?       Pedagogy

Abstracts of approximately 500 words and a brief academic bio should be sent to Dr. Meriem Pagès at mpages@keene.edu by October 1, 2012.  Authors will be notified of the status of their abstracts by November 15, 2012.  Acceptance of the abstract does not guarantee inclusion in the volume.

Upon preliminary acceptance, contributors will be asked to submit articles of approximately 7,000 words by June 1, 2013. Editors reserve the right to reject articles that do not meet editorial standards. We anticipate a Winter 2014 publication date.

Brave Update

Disney now has a wealth of information available at the website for Brave, the latest Disney-Pixar co-production, set to be released on 22 June. Set in medieval Scotland, Brave appears to be Pixar's version of the "princess" movie, and it will be interesting to see whether they stick to the traditional Disney formula or, as usual, go their own way to create something fresh.

A number of videos are available from Pixar's YouTube Channel including the following:



Two that offer further details:



One clip


And, last but not least, some humor:

DeVries on Game of Thrones

A recent issue of the Medieval News blog features a link to an article by Kelly DeVries on Game of Thrones (a series I need to post more about). The full piece can be accessed at: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137363/kelly-devries/game-of-thrones-as-history?page=show.

Thoughts on Kalamazoo 2013

The Virtual Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages is now preparing our session proposal for the 2013 International Congress on Medieval Studies and is contemplating a session on medieval-themed television. If this might be of interest to you, send us an email.

Neo-medievalism in the Media (At Last)

My thanks to Richard Utz for the head's up on the imminent release of this long-awaited collection:

Neo-medievalism in the Media: Essays on Film, Television, and Electronic Games
Edited by Robinson, Carol L. , & Clements, Pamela

Imprint: Edwin Mellen Press
USA List Price: $169.95; UK List Price: £109.95
ISBN10: 0-7734-2662-0;   ISBN13: 978-0-7734-2662-7

Pages: 452 

Year: 2012

Subject Areas: Cultural Studies, Film Studies, General Literature & Art -- Medieval, Literature - Medieval, Medieval & Renaissance - History, Popular Culture.

Description

This is a collection of essays that study the contemporary cultural depictions of medievalism. The book attempts to unravel distortions that tend to domesticate the era and represent it as an extension of modern life. Several authors claim that modernity is so radically different to medieval life that we can only view the past as an extension of the present, rather than as radically different. The present distorts, and often politicizes the past, and these essays explore how everything from commercials, and video games, to the war on terror can contain elements of neo-medieval revisionism. Some authors argue that even though nobody alive today has a lived experience of the period, and holding an authentic medieval experience is almost impossible, there seems to be a sort of nostalgia about medieval times that indicates dissatisfaction with contemporary life.

Table of Contents

Preface: A Moveable Feast: Repositionings of “the Medieval” in Medieval Studies, Medievalism, and Neo-Medievalism by Richard Utz

Introduction: Neomedievalism in a Vortext of Discourse: Film, Television, and Digital Games by Carol L. Robinson

1. Remembering Dismembering: Reading the Violated Body Medievally by Leslie A. Coote

2. NeoMedieval Trauma: The Cinematic Hyperreality of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales by Pamela Clements

3. The Use of Nature: Representing Religion in Medieval Film by Christopher Roman

4. Neo-Bushido: NeoMedieval Anime and Japanese Essence by Jennifer de Winter

5. “You’re Still Living in the Middle Ages!”: Time Travel in Doctor Who and Pseudo-Historical, Neo-Medieval, Alternate Realities by Dave Rolinson

6. “What do we do? Hop on a Bus to Medieval Times?”: The Use of Medievalism in Television Fiction by Roderick W. McDonald

7. “What’s in your wallet?”: How to Construct an “Authentic” Middle Ages by Alison Tara Walker

8. The New Scriptoria: NeoMedievalism and Online Textual Communities by Lauryn Mayer

9. Gaming with Odin: Myth, Context, and Reconstruction of Hnefa-tafl, an Old Norse Board Game by Leon Wild

10. The Name of the Game: Misuses of Neo-Medievalism in Computerized Role-Playing Games by Clay Kinchen Smith

11. Commodifying the Medieval in Magic Online by Kelly Ann Fitzpatrick

12. Blood Will Out: Genealogy as Destiny in Medieval(ist) Gaming by Amy S. Kaufman and Cory Grewell

13. “For Your Labor I Will Give You Treasure Enough”: Labor and the Third-Estate in Medieval-Themed Role-Playing Games by Kevin Moberly and Brent Moberly

14. Neo-Tolkienism: Plays upon Playing with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Playing With Language by Carol L. Robinson and Pamela Clements

15. “I’m Not Dead Yet!” – Tracing the Pythonesque in Neo-Medievalist Media by Carol L. Robinson

Epilogue: Recreating the Medieval World by Terry Jones

Medieval Film Now in Paperback

Published late last year in a new paperback edition (though the publisher's web site mysteriously only lists the hardcover):

Medieval Film

Edited by Anke Bernau and Bettina Bildhauer
Pb. ISBN 978-0719086472
$24.95

This book examines why and how cinematic representations of the Middle Ages remain a popular, mainstream phenomenon.

Instead of taking the usual approach of focusing on the issue of historical accuracy, this collection explores wider theoretical questions about the ideological, artistic, emotional and financial investments inhering in cinematic renditions of the medieval period. What does it mean to create and watch a ‘medieval film’? What is a medieval film and why are they successful? This is the first work that attempts to answer these questions, drawing, for instance, on film theory, postcolonial theory, cultural studies and the growing body of work on medievalism. Contributors investigate British, German, Italian, Australian, French, Swedish and American film, exploring topics such translation, temporality, film noir, framing and period film – and find the medieval lurking in unexpected corners. In addition it provides in-depth studies of individual films from different countries; these range from The Birth of a Nation to Nosferatu, from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves to Kingdom of Heaven. This interdisciplinary collection should become essential reading for all those interested in cinema’s complex relationship to history.

*Medieval film* will be of part interest to medievalists working in a range of disciplines including literature, history, art history; to scholars working on medievalism; as well as to scholars working on film and in cultural studies. This book will also be of interest to undergraduates at all levels, as well as to postgraduates and to an informed lay enthusiast in film or/and medieval culture.

Contents
List of figures
List of contributors
Acknowledgments
The a-chronology of medieval film (Bettina Bildhauer and Anke Bernau)
1. Cinematic authenticity-effects and medieval art: a paradox (Sarah Salih)
2. Forward into the past: film as a medieval medium (Bettina Bildhauer)
3. A time of translation: linguistic difference and cinematic medievalism (Carol O’Sullivan)
4. ‘Poison to the infant, but tonic to the man’: timing The Birth of a Nation (Anke Bernau)
5. The medieval imaginary in Italian films (Marcia Landy)
6. Towards a theory of medieval film music (Alison Tara Walker)
7. Border skirmishes: weaving around the Bayeux Tapestry and cinema in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and El Cid (Richard Burt)
8. Medieval noir: anatomy of a metaphor (John Ganim)
9. ‘Medievalism’, the period film and the British past in contemporary cinema (Andrew Higson)
Further reading

Dr Anke Bernau is Lecturer in Medieval Literature and Culture at the University of Manchester. Dr Bettina Bildhauer is Lecturer in German at the University of St. Andrews.

SyFy February 2012

This month on SyFy. Note that Season 4 of Merlin continues this month.

FRI, 3 FEB
05:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: Arthur's Mantle
10:00 PM
Merlin: His Father's Son


SAT., 4 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: His Father's Son
6:30 pm
Movie: Outlander
11:30 PM
Movie: Outlander


MON., 6 FEB
04:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: Crusade


TUES., 7 FEB
02:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: Camelot


THURS., 9 FEB
02:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: Morpheus
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Witchville
05:00 PM
Stargate SG-1: The Pegasus Project


FRI., 10 FEB
10:00 PM
Merlin: A Servant Of Two Masters


SAT., 11 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: A Servant Of Two Masters


TUES., 14 FEB
08:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Grendel (Wikipedia)


FRI., 17 FEB
03:30 AM
Stargate SG-1: The Quest - Pt 1
04:30 AM
Stargate SG-1: The Quest - Pt 2
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Secret Sharer [Intriguing episode.]


SAT., 18 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Secret Sharer


MON., 20 FEB
09:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dragon Dynasty [Marco Polo and dragons!]

[I think I missed the film Gryphon (see Wikipedia).]


FRI., 24 FEB
01:30 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Rise Of The Gargoyles
10:00 PM
Merlin: Lamia


SAT., 25 FEB
12:00 AM
Merlin: Lamia
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Reign Of The Gargoyles
09:00 AM
Movie: Enchanted [the Disney film]
11:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Beyond Sherwood Forest (watch on Hulu)
01:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Rock Monster
05:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Red: Werewolf Hunter
07:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest
09:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Gretl: Witch Hunter
11:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Black Forest


SUN., 26 FEB
01:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Gretl: Witch Hunter
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dragon Sword [St. George]

Chiller February 2012

Another late set of belated posts. Here are the all-Arthurian listings for Chiller this month:

WEDNES., 8 FEB
09:00 A ET
Supernatural Science:  King Arthur (on YouTube)

THURS. 9 FEB
12:30 P ET
The Twilight Zone (1985): The Last Defender Of Camelot (Wikipedia)

MON., 27 FEB
11:00 P ET
The Outer Limits: The Tipping Point (Wikipedia and watch on Hulu.com)

New and Recent from SMART

I've lately been catching up on recent issues of Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching, and the following essay are of interest:

Adams, Jenny. “Breaking the Waves: Margery Kempe Goes South.” Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching 18.1 (Spring 2011): 96-109. [Breaking the Waves (1996)]

Cook, Alexandra. “ ‘Why Study the Middle Ages?’ On Re-Imagining the Medieval Literature Survey.” Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching 18.2 (Fall 2011): 117-30.

Stevenson, Barbara. “Representation of Saladin in the (New) Middle Ages.” Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching 18.2 (Fall 2011): 23-34. [Kingdom of Heaven]

Syfy January 2012

Late again.  Note especially the return of Merlin this month.


TUES., 3 JAN
06:30 PM
Movie
Outlander


FRI., JAN. 6
(Merlin Season Three marathon)
08:00 AM
Merlin: The Tears Of Uther Pendragon - Part 1
09:00 AM
Merlin: The Tears Of Uther Pendragon - Part 2
10:00 AM
Merlin: Goblin's Gold
11:00 AM
Merlin: The Crystal Cave
12:00 PM
Merlin: The Changeling
01:00 PM
Merlin: The Castle Of Fyrien
02:00 PM
Merlin: The Eye Of The Phoenix
03:00 PM
Merlin: Love In The Time Of Dragons
04:00 PM
Merlin: Queen Of Hearts
05:00 PM
Merlin: The Sorcerer's Shadow
06:00 PM
Merlin: The Coming Of Arthur - Part 1
07:00 PM
Merlin: The Coming Of Arthur - Part 2

(Merlin Season Four Premiere)
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Darkest Hour - Part 1


SAT., 7 JAN.
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Darkest Hour - Part 1


SUN., 8 JAN
09:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Dark Relic


TUES., 10 JAN
02:00 AM
Stargate SG-1: Avalon - Pt 1


FRI., 13 JAN
10:00 PM
Merlin: The Darkest Hour - Part 2


SAT., 14 JAN.
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Darkest Hour - Part 2



THURS., 19 JAN.
09:00 PM
Movie: Constantine [Spear of Destiny]


FRI., 20 JAN.
02:00 PM
The Twilight Zone: The Bard

05:30 PM
Movie: Constantine

10:00 PM
Merlin: The Wicked Day


SAT., 21 JAN.
12:00 AM
Merlin: The Wicked Day

07:00 PM
Syfy Original Movie: Wyvern [ties into Norse myth]


SUN., 22 JAN.
03:00 AM
Syfy Original Movie: Rise Of The Gargoyles


TUES., 24 JAN.
09:00 AM
Ghost Hunters International: The Spirit Of Robin Hood


FRI., 27 JAN.
10:00 PM
Merlin: Aithusa


SAT., 28 JAN.
12:00 AM
Merlin: Aithusa


SUN., 29 JAN.
04:30 PM
Movie: Constantine

09:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans


MON., 30 JAN.
01:30 PM
Movie: Constantine

06:00 PM
Movie: Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans

Chiller Jan 2012

Another belated posting, I'm afraid. Chiller listings of relevance are light this month:

MON., JAN 9
06:30 A ET
The Twilight Zone: The Last Defender Of Camelot
06:30 P ET
The Twilight Zone: The Last Defender Of Camelot