ANCIENT WORLD ON FILMK. Kapparis

Early Stories

• Early times: stories circulating orally contained people’s aspirations, hopes, fears , desires, ideals and cultural stereotypes.

• The stories were told to entertain, inspire and educate, and also to form morals and social standards

• The stories created a sense of community and belonging, and eventually a common heritage

• By doing so, stories sometimes were intended to control people’s hearts and minds, and keep them in line (e.g. stories about bravery or cowardice).

TROY

• Some of these stories were formulated into larger, more ambitious works, and eventually were written down

• ILIAD (c. 800 BC)

• ODYSSEY (c. 800 BC)

• The poem of Gilgamesh (1200 BC)

• Mahabharata (c. 350 BC)

• Ramayana (c. 350 BC)

• The earlier of such works were closely associated with religion (less so in the Greek world).

• Greek lyric (7th -5th c. BC) revolutionized literature by bringing it from the epic to the small and personal

Oedipus REx

• The great plays of the classical period draw from both, the mythological tradition of the epic cycles (Theban, Argive, Attic) but also from the exploration of the human psyche, emotions, fears and ideals.

• The stage is set upon which world literature will flourish, educate, inspire and entertain future generations.

Poetry vs prose

• Iliad, Odyssey

• Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica, Virgil, Aeneid, LPharsaliaucan, Statius Thebaid

• Beowulf

• La Gerusalemme Liberata Torquato Tasso

• Paradise Lost, Milton

• Chaireas and Kallirhoe

• Daphis and Chloe

• Satyricon

• Medieval Romance

• Modern Novel

• (War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, L’ etranger, Die Leiden des jungen Werther, Frankenstein)

CINEMA VS BOOK

• The two have relied on each other

• Films based on books or graphic novels

• Books based on films (e.g. 50 shades of grey)

• Film has largely taken over the function of the book, to tell a story, dramatize, inspire, convey a message and control public sentiment, opinions and morals, and to express social aspirations, fears, hopes and stereotypes.

• Cinema in big countries tends to be more of an industry, appealing to common sentiment, while in smaller markets it is viewed more as an educational/cultural tool, intended to make a commentary on social, political and religious issues.