Chaucer: Literature Diorama

[Abishai100]

In the provocative but controversial 1995 David Fincher crime-thriller film Se7en, two detectives study the writing in The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) to understand the mind of a killer who seems interested in citing classic works in leaving intellectual footprints to his bizarre Christianity-oriented punishment-themed crimes.

Modern cinema seems to focus on special 'links' between the value of language and communication and the intelligibility of classical education. Perhaps because the modern age 'colloquializes' philosophy and politics (e.g., celebrity, cyber-warfare, etc.), there is interest in making the distribution and transmission of classical literature more 'convenient.'

You can find audiobooks and nice youth-friendly claymation adaptation films of Chaucer on YouTube, which invites educators to ask, "Should classical literature be presented with modern media (e.g., Internet uploaded recordings)?"

Here, for example, is a sample 'populism-education conversation' about the modern accessibility of Chaucer between the American comic book 'anti-hero' Deadpool (Marvel Comics) and the American comic book 'super-villain' Carnage (Marvel Comics).

The point of this 'mock dialogue' is to highlight the new age interest in 'intellectualism colloquialization' and invite comments about the intellectual desirability of literature adaptability.


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DEADPOOL: The mini-stories in The Canterbury Tales make me wistful.
CARNAGE: You're talking gibberish about mob psychology!!!
DEADPOOL: No, no. Chaucer is all over YouTube, so any maniac can learn.
CARNAGE: There are too many vigilantes out there for education to be 'classy.'
DEADPOOL: We can accent the Middle English classics with water-guns.
CARNAGE: Very funny, but kids look up to criminals.
DEADPOOL: True, but kids also appreciate the friendly cop!
CARNAGE: Chaucer's ethics lean towards the masses!!!
DEADPOOL: Mob psychology is assuaged by the Internet.
CARNAGE: Education should not be corrupted by traffic.
DEADPOOL: There's nothing immortal about YouTube.
CARNAGE: Defend your claims at the Smithsonian.

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The Canterbury Tales (Wikipedia)

 

[Abishai100]

Heresy or Heuristics?


An interesting corollary consideration is the 'personalization' of classic characters (e.g., Frankenstein, Robinson Crusoe, Sherlock Holmes, etc.).

The reason we're interested in finding Chaucer on YouTube or presenting media translations of Chaucer in the modern classroom is because new age students and audiences are curious about the 'personalization' of literature and philosophy.

Take for example, the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein which is a 'translation' of the classic literary work Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) or the new video game Mortal Kombat X which allows players to use the American horror film character Leatherface (from the iconic Texas Chainsaw Massacre film franchise) as a warrior-avatar.

Bride of Frankenstein and Mortal Kombat X could be construed as 'apocrypha,' inviting audiences to 'personalize' symbolic cinematic/literary characters for translation and adaptation.

If we can 'toy around' with Mary Shelley or American horror films, then we can certainly find ways to coordinate modern media (e.g., YouTube) with Chaucer-reading 'savvy.'

The key is to remove controversy from modernism dialogue.


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MARY SHELLEY: The modern world has too many 'gadgets'!
LEATHERFACE: Chainsaw!!!
MARY SHELLEY: You ought to play more video games, Leatherface!
LEATHERFACE: Chaucer!!!
MARY SHELLEY: I like Chaucer, but MKX is a violent video game!
LEATHERFACE: Violence!!!
MARY SHELLEY: Aren't you concerned you're being 'commercialized'?
LEATHERFACE: Celebrity!!!
MARY SHELLEY: Students demand conveniences today!
LEATHERFACE: Chocolate!!!

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Leatherface (MKX)

Bride of Frankenstein (Film)

 

[IsaacNewton]

I'd say it is an attempt by modern generations to 'feel' like they are grounded and appreciate the classics and somehow infuse the depth of those classics in the newer generations really juvenile Zeitgiest of visually dominated media. Most modern video games are about killing other people or killing zombies, hardly what anyone would consider high art. But toss in a bit of Beethoven or as mentioned, Chaucer, and users get 'something' of a feeling of being elevated above hacking up bloody zombies.