Representations of Antiquity in Film
From Griffith to Grindhouse
Kevin M. McGeough [+–]
University of Lethbridge
Kevin M. McGeough is professor of archaeology in the Department of Geography at the University of Lethbridge and holds a Board of Governor’s Research Chair in Archaeological Theory and Reception. Having excavated in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Canada, he is the co-editor of the Alberta Archaeological Review and chair of publications for the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR). He is currently researching the reception of Near Eastern Archaeology in a variety of media and has recently published a three-volume book on archaeological reception in the Victorian era, The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century (2015).
Representations of Antiquity in Film offers an introduction to how the ancient world is represented in film and especially Hollywood cinema. McGeough considers the potential that movies have for helping us think about antiquity and their relationship to more traditional academic historical work. The book shows how contemporary issues are drawn out through the cinematic presentations of the past and how modern values are naturalized through their presentation in ancient settings. Through discussion of films from the silent film era to the present, McGeough traces the formative role that films of various genres have had in shaping our perceptions of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Holy Land, Greece, Rome, barbarian Europe, and the Maya. Not ignoring the traditional historical epic film, the book also presents detailed analyses of comedies, action films, art house fare, exploitation flicks and any type of movie in which audiences experience depictions of the past. By considering cinematic narrative as well as various elements of film design, McGeough presents a comprehensive overview of the topic designed for students and scholars with varying backgrounds in media studies, archaeology, religious studies, and ancient history.
Series: Discourses in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Importance of Popular Culture [+–] 1-14
The book opens with a discussion of why representations of film matter, why they matter to film scholars, why they matter to historians, biblical scholars, classicists, and archaeologists, and why they matter to the public that watches them. It also provides some orientation regarding how films create meaning and how the stories and other elements of movie are and can be interpreted. Some of the key themes in the representation of Egypt, the Near East, the biblical world, Greece, and Rome are introduced.
Chapter 1
Film as History and History as Hyperreality [+–] 15-44
The first chapter offers a brief survey of thinking on how movies can work as attempts at telling history, focussing on the major debates that have emerged since the 1990s. It introduces debates surrounding the archaeological authenticity of these films (and the rhetorical strategy surrounding “realism”). Another major theme brought up here is how the ancient world is used as a film setting for making arguments about the present. The last two sections address the topics of material culture in film (of particular interest to archaeologists and anthropologists) and the appeal of hyperreal representations to popular audiences.
Chapter 2
The second chapter of the book discusses the formal features of the “epic” genre, the main genre through which the ancient world is explored in film. It provides historical background on how the ancient world was first a subject of silent films. Then it discusses the various technical aspects of filmmaking that emerged as means of making historical arguments: widescreen framing, the presentation of spectacle, archaeological authenticity in design, and the kinds of historical arguments that are embedded in such techniques.
Chapter 3
The third and fourth chapters deal with the kinds of arguments about the present that are embedded in historical fiction presented on film. Chapter 3 is most concerned with politics and statecraft, exploring how messages about fascism, communism, Christianity and McCarthysim have been presented, both overtly and covertly, intentionally and unintentionally.
Chapter 4
Like Chapter 3, Chapter 4 addresses the arguments about the present made in historical films. Specifically, this chapter explores questions of gender as expressed in the epic films of the 1950s and 1960s and deconstructs the heteronormative gender roles that such films reified. It concludes, however, by looking at how those same messages were “queered” by different audiences and how camp readings of these movies offered alternatives to the heteronormativity presumed on screen.
Chapter 5
The Judean People’s Front and Jesus’s Mod Tour Bus: Musicals and Comedies Set in the Ancient World [+–] 148-175
Moving away from the epic tradition, Chapter 5 examines comedic and subversive treatments of the ancient world in film. It discusses vaudeville traditions in comedic musicals about ancient Rome and traces this through to Jesus Christ Superstar. It relates this to British comedic traditions such as the Carry On series and Monty Python’s Life of Brian also discussing American satire in Mel Brooks’ films and more recent attempts (like Meet the Spartans).
Chapter 6
This chapter looks at darker treatments of the ancient world, such as Fellini’s Satyricon and the brief but pivotal moments where the ancient world is depicted in A Clockwork Orange. The central role that the ancient world plays in the short films of Kenneth Anger provides a window into how independent cinema can perpetuate alternative and esoteric interpretations of the past. The chapter then goes on to discuss the depiction of the ancient world in grindhouse and exploitation cinema and concludes with a discussion of how the television series I, Claudius reflects a type of anti-spectacle.
Chapter 7
Gods, Monsters, and Musclemen [+–] 207-248
Often overlooked in the discussion of ancient history on film is the treatment of Greek myths. Chapter 7 addresses this, first by looking at how Harryhausens’s stop-motion animation influenced generations in regards to classical storytelling. Following this is a discussion of the Italian Hercules film and later muscleman films, such as the Scorpion King series and especially the Conan the Barbarian films. Particularly addressing issues of gender and race, this chapter explores how the past provides a setting for particularly regressive fantasies in relation to these issues to be played out and expressed.
Chapter 8
Cavegirls and the Upper Paleolithic Fur Bikini [+–] 249-276
Gender and gender roles are also the subject of Chapter 8 which explores the depiction of “cavemen” on film, both realistic attempts (like Quest for Fire) and fantasy visions (like One Million Years B.C.). Of particular interest in this chapter is how the “caveman” setting allows filmmakers to debate issues related to gender roles and offers the possibility for feminist critique of the contemporary world.
Chapter 9
The New Epic: Ultraviolence, Comic Books, and CGI [+–] 277-331
Chapter 9 discusses how the treatment of the ancient world has been transformed through the advent of CGI technology and the acceptance of ultraviolent aesthetics. It deals with the most controversial films of the past thirty years, such as The Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ, Alexander, 300, and Apocalypto. It also looks at why Gladiator was such a success in relation to others that have not been as well received, like Troy.
Chapter 10
Conclusions [+–] 332-338
A brief concluding chapter draws together the themes of the book and offers some concluding thoughts on the relationship between film and the study of the ancient world.
End Matter
References 339-349
Subject Index 351-366
Film and Television Index 367-370
Actor/Performer Index 371-373
Filmmaker Index 374-375
Scholar Index 376-378
ISBN-13 (Hardback)
9781781799802
Price (Hardback)
£90.00 / $110.00
ISBN-13 (Paperback)
9781781799819
Price (Paperback)
£45.00 / $55.00
ISBN (eBook)
9781781799826
Price (eBook)
Individual
£45.00 / $55.00
Institutional
£90.00 / $110.00
£45.00 / $55.00
Institutional
£90.00 / $110.00
Publication
22/06/2022
Pages
392
Size
244 x 170mm
Readership
scholars
Illustration
64 figures colour and black and white
