Farscape Movie on the Way
Apparently a Farscape movie is in the works, dealing with what happens to the next generation, following John and Aeryn’s son D’Argo. With other such projects like Muppets Most Wanted and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge, we seem to be in a resurgence of Muppet mania.
http://youtu.be/9JYlC7Xrocs
Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath (Scene 4)
In Your Eyes Released
In case you missed it while celebrating Easter, in a surprise move Joss Whedon released his latest film, In Your Eyes, directly online.
Prof. Suspended for Game of Thrones T-Shirt
In academia, allowing your daughter to wear Game of Thrones apparel is a sign of dangerous mental illness.
Anyone who finds this situation improbable has never worked in higher education.
In an effort to get myself similarly suspended, here is a picture of my own children cosplaying a few years ago. Note the belligerent nature of their costumes — the Unabomber-like Ludditism of my son’s steampunk attire, and the appearance of my daughter as a masked vigilante (no doubt a sign of Klan sympathies). Also, the sign “WESTin” is prominent in the background — clearly a pro-Western (and therefore a colonialist, anti-other-cardinal-directions) message.
Hey There, Ophelia — MC Lars
MC Lars has been on the nerdcore scene for some years, and given how often he turns to literary topics, he’s a great favorite of Professor Awesome. Though he’s probably better known for songs like “This Gigantic Robot Kills” and “Lars Attacks,” you might want to check out some of his Poe-inspired work, like “Annabelle Lee, RIP,” “Flow Like Poe,” and “Mr. Raven.”
Beautiful Post on Adventure Time
Maria Bustillos has an article on Adventure Time that is beautiful — complete with interviews and clips, she delves into the literary theory that undergirds the show. I may make it required reading next time I teach my “Myth and Folklore” class.
The New Yorker on Adventure Time
The New Yorker has some commentary on Adventure Time, with a very similar take to “Adventure Time and Geek Culture.”
Antony and Cleopatra
Beowulf’s Sword in Young Justice
Young Justice, the animated series about D.C. comic book sidekicks getting their own covert Junior Justice League, had a throw-away Beowulf reference in episode 19, “Secrets.”
In that episode, a villain named “Harm” (who obnoxiously always referred to himself in the 3rd person) steals Beowulf’s sword, which can only be wielded by the pure of heart — and as his heart is pure evil, it counts. Once he has learned the incantation to make the sword work (which is vaguely-Old-English sounding gibberish), he uses it to wreak a bit of havoc.
Beyond that, it isn’t really clear what sword this is supposed to be, since in the Old English poem Beowulf fights Grendel unarmed (heh heh), and in the battle with Grendel’s mother Unferth’s sword Hrunting fails, and the Beowulf has to kill her with a giant sword she happens to have lying around her lair.
One cool potential reference to Grendel, though — the sword is actually sheathed in what looks like a mummified arm. Not exactly canonical to the medieval poem, but cool nonetheless.