Dear Mythologists,
On Thursday, October 27, come to class for the sole purpose of taking our second quiz. Since I'll be away at a conference, I'll distribute the quiz by proxy; my proxy will collect the papers and leave them for me to grade.
This quiz will have the same format as our first, and should take about 30 minutes to complete (unless you've arranged to have extra time). Once you are finished, turn the quiz in, and have a good weekend.
DC
Showing posts with label Heracles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heracles. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Assignment for Tuesday, 10-25-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, October 25, please do the following:
(1) Watch the other big Hercules film of 2014, the simply-named Hercules (dir. Brett Ratner). In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. This film will conclude our second unit and ought to give us some closure.
(2) Read Angeline Chiu's essay-in-progress (distributed last class) on the interpersonal dynamics of the movie's characters.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
For Tuesday, October 25, please do the following:
(1) Watch the other big Hercules film of 2014, the simply-named Hercules (dir. Brett Ratner). In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. This film will conclude our second unit and ought to give us some closure.
(2) Read Angeline Chiu's essay-in-progress (distributed last class) on the interpersonal dynamics of the movie's characters.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Thursday, 10-20-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, October 20, please do the following:
(1) Watch The Legend of Hercules (Renny Harlin, 2014). The movie is available on DVD via closed reserve in Scribner Library, and is also streaming on Amazon. The film is one of two big-budget Hercules productions from this year.
NOTE: There's no scholarly resources on this film, but you might recall Gideon Nisbet's line of thought about Hercules being imported to Rome quite easily.
(2) Read pp. 121–57 of Looking at Movies Chapter 4 ("Elements of Narrative"). This will be one of our last assigned readings in LAM, so I hope you've enjoyed the book. Remember, it is a resource for you in your analyses and semester projects.
(3) Speaking of the semester project, please review the Project web page and come to class ready to ask questions, if necessary.
(4) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of sequences from our film to view in class.
DC
For Thursday, October 20, please do the following:
(1) Watch The Legend of Hercules (Renny Harlin, 2014). The movie is available on DVD via closed reserve in Scribner Library, and is also streaming on Amazon. The film is one of two big-budget Hercules productions from this year.
NOTE: There's no scholarly resources on this film, but you might recall Gideon Nisbet's line of thought about Hercules being imported to Rome quite easily.
(2) Read pp. 121–57 of Looking at Movies Chapter 4 ("Elements of Narrative"). This will be one of our last assigned readings in LAM, so I hope you've enjoyed the book. Remember, it is a resource for you in your analyses and semester projects.
(3) Speaking of the semester project, please review the Project web page and come to class ready to ask questions, if necessary.
(4) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of sequences from our film to view in class.
DC
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Assignment for Tuesday, 10-18-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, October 18, please do the following:
(1) Watch the nostalgia-inducing (Disney's) Hercules (John Musker and Ron Clements, 1997), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon.
(2) Read Chris Pallant's essay, "Developments in Peplum Filmmaking: Disney's Hercules," another entry from the terrific Of Muscles and Men volume. Pallant will help us connect the dots between Harryhausen, first-wave peplum films, and the Disney version.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
For Tuesday, October 18, please do the following:
(1) Watch the nostalgia-inducing (Disney's) Hercules (John Musker and Ron Clements, 1997), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon.
(2) Read Chris Pallant's essay, "Developments in Peplum Filmmaking: Disney's Hercules," another entry from the terrific Of Muscles and Men volume. Pallant will help us connect the dots between Harryhausen, first-wave peplum films, and the Disney version.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Assignment for Thursday, 10-13-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, October 13, please do the following:
(1) Watch the following episodes from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, widely acknowledged as being among the TV series' best:
(2) Read the excerpts from Chapter 2 ("Mythconceptions") of Gideon Nisbet's book, Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture (Liverpool University Press, 2008). Nisbet is that rare scholar who offers more than a descriptive appraisal of H:TLJ, and his analyses here will help us make sense of Hercules in the 90s and beyond.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of sequences from TWO of the three episodes to view in class.
DC
For Thursday, October 13, please do the following:
(1) Watch the following episodes from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, widely acknowledged as being among the TV series' best:
- (2.8) "The Other Side" (George Mendeluk, 1995);
- (5.3) "Resurrection" (Philip Sgriccia, 1998); and
- (6.8) "Full Circle" (Bruce Campbell, 1999).
(2) Read the excerpts from Chapter 2 ("Mythconceptions") of Gideon Nisbet's book, Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture (Liverpool University Press, 2008). Nisbet is that rare scholar who offers more than a descriptive appraisal of H:TLJ, and his analyses here will help us make sense of Hercules in the 90s and beyond.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of sequences from TWO of the three episodes to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Tuesday, 10-11-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, October 11, please do the following:
(1) Watch the third-wave peplum Hercules (Luigi Cozzi, 1983), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library,the film is
also streaming on Amazon (though, oddly, the "cover" image there is from the 1958 Steve Reeves version). Our task is to make sense of this movie within the peplum tradition and in the context of its own times: toward that end, Clash of the Titans (1981) might provide some instructive parallels.
(2) Read the following sections of Looking at Movies Chapter 3 ("Types of Movies"): "Six Major American Genres" (pp. 90–108) and "Evolution and Transformation of a Genre" (pp. 108–11). Since peplum was clearly an evolving genre, these sections might help us think about its form and content in the 1980s and beyond.
(3) Read the following sections from chapter 7 of Emma Stafford's book, Herakles (Routledge, 2012): "Hercules the Movie Star" and "Conclusions: Herakles/Hercules." These sections trace the history of the peplum genre but quickly branch out into the 1980s and beyond, and so set the tone for the latter half of our Heracles/Hercules unit. Stafford herself is not kind toward the film we will watch for today's class, but, knowing that, we might aspire to try harder.
(4) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
For Tuesday, October 11, please do the following:
(1) Watch the third-wave peplum Hercules (Luigi Cozzi, 1983), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library,
(2) Read the following sections of Looking at Movies Chapter 3 ("Types of Movies"): "Six Major American Genres" (pp. 90–108) and "Evolution and Transformation of a Genre" (pp. 108–11). Since peplum was clearly an evolving genre, these sections might help us think about its form and content in the 1980s and beyond.
(3) Read the following sections from chapter 7 of Emma Stafford's book, Herakles (Routledge, 2012): "Hercules the Movie Star" and "Conclusions: Herakles/Hercules." These sections trace the history of the peplum genre but quickly branch out into the 1980s and beyond, and so set the tone for the latter half of our Heracles/Hercules unit. Stafford herself is not kind toward the film we will watch for today's class, but, knowing that, we might aspire to try harder.
(4) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Assignment for Thursday, 10-06-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, October 6, please do the following:
(1) PEPLUM DOUBLE FEATURE! Watch Hercules Unchained (Pietro Francisci, 1959), the sequel to Hercules (1958); and Hercules against the Moon Men (1964). Take notes as you see fit. In addition to being reserved at the library (both are on disk 5 of the Sci-Fi Classics series), the films are also streaming on Amazon. As you watch, you might consider how the films uphold and/or subvert the conventions of the Hercules peplum genre as we have begun to define it.
(2) Read "Hercules, Politics, and Movies" by Maria Elena D'Amelio. Her essay — which appears in Of Muscles and Men (ed. M. Cornelius), a volume devoted to peplum — discusses how the late-50s and early-60s Hercules movies played in both Italy and the U.S.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of sequences from BOTH FILMS to view in class.
DC
For Thursday, October 6, please do the following:
(1) PEPLUM DOUBLE FEATURE! Watch Hercules Unchained (Pietro Francisci, 1959), the sequel to Hercules (1958); and Hercules against the Moon Men (1964). Take notes as you see fit. In addition to being reserved at the library (both are on disk 5 of the Sci-Fi Classics series), the films are also streaming on Amazon. As you watch, you might consider how the films uphold and/or subvert the conventions of the Hercules peplum genre as we have begun to define it.
(2) Read "Hercules, Politics, and Movies" by Maria Elena D'Amelio. Her essay — which appears in Of Muscles and Men (ed. M. Cornelius), a volume devoted to peplum — discusses how the late-50s and early-60s Hercules movies played in both Italy and the U.S.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of sequences from BOTH FILMS to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Tuesday, 10-04-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, October 4, please do the following:
(1) Watch the epoch-making Hercules (Le fatiche di Ercole) (Pietro Francisci, 1958), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. Remember that this is the film that launched the peplum genre and its Hercules sub-genre.
(2) Read Chapter 8, "Editing" in Looking at Movies, pp. 339-75. Here you'll learn about the work of the film editor and techniques of transitioning between shots.
(3) Read "Peplum Traditions: Hercules," which is Chapter 3 of Alastair Blanshard's and Kim Shahabudin's 2011 book, Classics on Screen. This chapter covers the origins of the peplum genre, with case studies from our film.
(4) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
For Tuesday, October 4, please do the following:
(1) Watch the epoch-making Hercules (Le fatiche di Ercole) (Pietro Francisci, 1958), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. Remember that this is the film that launched the peplum genre and its Hercules sub-genre.
(2) Read Chapter 8, "Editing" in Looking at Movies, pp. 339-75. Here you'll learn about the work of the film editor and techniques of transitioning between shots.
(3) Read "Peplum Traditions: Hercules," which is Chapter 3 of Alastair Blanshard's and Kim Shahabudin's 2011 book, Classics on Screen. This chapter covers the origins of the peplum genre, with case studies from our film.
(4) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Hercules to view in class.
DC
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Assignment for Thursday, 09-29-16
Dear Mythologists,
On Thursday, September 29, our unit on Heracles/Hercules begins, as before, with a look at some ancient sources on the hero.
(1) Read the articles on Heracles and his labors in the Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts. Given the hero's vast popularity in antiquity and beyond, you'll quickly discover that these article are long, with sections devoted to each of Heracles' canonical labors, along with an annotated lists of relevant visual and literary works. Remember, don't sweat the details of these lists, but do peruse them and see if you can identify any trends.
(2) Watch the podcast on the tragic poet Euripides and the podcast on Greek tragedy for context on item (3).
(3) Read Euripides' tragedy, Heracles, one of the major primary sources about the hero. As you read, consider the various ways in which Euripides has adapted the story to suit his genre. You might also ask yourself: If you were going to see a tragedy about Heracles, what would your expectations be?
(4) Read Looking at Movies Chapter 6 ("Cinematography"), pp. 259–86 (on camera angles, camera movement, shots, and special effects). Optional: If you're enjoying yourself, begin with the first part of the chapter, pp. 225–59.
DC
On Thursday, September 29, our unit on Heracles/Hercules begins, as before, with a look at some ancient sources on the hero.
(1) Read the articles on Heracles and his labors in the Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts. Given the hero's vast popularity in antiquity and beyond, you'll quickly discover that these article are long, with sections devoted to each of Heracles' canonical labors, along with an annotated lists of relevant visual and literary works. Remember, don't sweat the details of these lists, but do peruse them and see if you can identify any trends.
(2) Watch the podcast on the tragic poet Euripides and the podcast on Greek tragedy for context on item (3).
(3) Read Euripides' tragedy, Heracles, one of the major primary sources about the hero. As you read, consider the various ways in which Euripides has adapted the story to suit his genre. You might also ask yourself: If you were going to see a tragedy about Heracles, what would your expectations be?
(4) Read Looking at Movies Chapter 6 ("Cinematography"), pp. 259–86 (on camera angles, camera movement, shots, and special effects). Optional: If you're enjoying yourself, begin with the first part of the chapter, pp. 225–59.
DC
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