Mmm, Vikings (Arthurian Vikings, but whatever, it's cool)

[ealgylden]

Okay, I know everyone was all giddy yesterday about the King Arthur pics of Keira looking fierce (but cold. Poor girl, that costume looks really uncomfortable) or Ioan looking terribly butch, or both. I was too, believe me. But I want to throw a little love in the direction of Stellan Skarsgard. Come on, is that not the face of a Viking who knows he's doomed to die, and wants only to die well? I've only seen Stellan in contemporary roles, so I had no idea he had such a great look for period pieces. Nice surprise. I also have no idea who this Cedric he plays is (Cedric the Saxon, kidnapped and sent back in time from Ivanhoe?), but I'll admit freely that the Arthurian mythos is not traditionally my thing. I had one Medieval Comp. Lit. class on it as an undergrad (Gildas to Mallory, yeehaw), and that's pretty much it. Anyway, Stellan has definitely made the cast of my fantasy Beowulf and/or Viking saga movie, along with Dennis Storhoi and Vladimir Kulich from 13th Warrior (not a great pic of Dennis, but Vladimir looks fearsome), possibly Rutger Hauer (he did "nobly doomed" wonderfully in Ladyhawke, but that was a long time ago, and he's not aging well) and pretty much all of the Rohirrim. Some of the extras in King Arthur seem to fit the bill as well, and who is that long-haired cutie? Him too. I'll make him Wiglaf or something.

And speaking of King Arthur, I’m not in favor of banning books, but damn if I'm not tempted when it comes to Mists of Avalon. Not permanently, but just long enough so that there's one generation of teenies that doesn't shriek, "But Guinevere was blonde! She was a pious Christian virgin! Why isn't it all about the women? Where's Morgaine/Viviane/Morgause/whotheheckever?" whenever something Arthurian arises in pop culture. And I like MoA, or at least I did when I read it at thirteen (haven't read it since, and from what I hear it often doesn't hold up well after adolescence). But kiddies, it is not the Arthurian gospel. It's certainly not very good history, Arthurian or not. Or, you know, history at all. It's just a novel. Honestly.

Comments

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah, hyperbole, that's it. Sure was! (heh. Yeah, it was. The book annoys me, but so do teenyboppers, and I wouldn't ban them either.)

I read MoA at just about the only moment when it would have resonated for me- my brief preteen foray into neo-paganism (which was fun, but just wasn't for me in the end). So the whole goddess worship/woman power thing, stuck in Renn Faire dress, was really fun. But like I said, I was thirteen. I can't get into that mindset anymore, and the flaws in the writing and the research (not to mention the whole Mystical Shamanism/womyn power thing that got me in the first place) wrecks any fun that was left. And the medieval historian in me can't take it- it's not my period, it's not my field, but even so, the mistakes and modern mentalities are glaring. And annoying.

[amberite.livejournal.com]

See, I'm a devoted chaos-pagan, and have been for, oh, four years now. :-) And I STILL opine that Bradley's wack-assed notions are irritating!

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, I hope I didn't insult you. Didn't mean to. It was an interesting belief system, and I ended up incorporating some of it in my own beliefs anyway, but in the end I got lonely. No other pagans in my little farm town (not like there were any other Jews, either, but at least there was my family). But hey, if she irritated you too, I won't feel as guilty. *g* I'm glad she wrote it and I'm glad it's out there, but the amount of influence it has is daunting, and not always in good ways.

[amberite.livejournal.com]

No, you didn't insult me. Because, well, there's paganism and then there's paganism, you know? I'm just backing you up: what's not to like about MoA is far more in the lack of scholarly attempt than in the religious background of the author.

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Yes! Yes, that's what I meant. But by this point, I have no faith in my ability to communicate on this subject, so I thought I'd better check.

(and apropos of nothing, I've had "I'm Dreaming of a Dead City" stuck in my head all day. I blame you entirely. And so does Bob the Stuffed Cthulhu, who sits onto of my computer. *g*)

[amberite.livejournal.com]

Aww, yeah.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu Rlyeh wgah'nagl ftaghn!

[amberite.livejournal.com]

(On that note, I had "Es Y'golonac" stuck in my head this morning, singing softly "On his hands he's got orifices, on his hands he's got orifices, on his hands he's got orifices, and he hasn't got a heeeaaaaad!" on the commuter train . . .)