My Myth Colleagues Rock

I’m all about sharing the love here at Mythic Ramblings. So when one of my closest friends writes an fantastic article, I just have to support her. I know a lot about a lot of things, but RPGs is one of my shortcomings. Good thing I have the wonderful Whitney Beltrán to educate and inform me about all the ways some indie RPGs are bringing diversity and inclusivity to their games. It’s amazing, scholarly, and very accessible to those of you who may not have a ton of experience with RPGs. I’m very proud and inspired to see how one of my myth colleagues is making mythology and narratives work in a fun medium. Head on over to Tor to read it.

Rockstar Founding Fathers

Hello again! Sorry for the long break – I’ve been busy with life stuff and my mom visiting. Yes, I’m blaming my mother. I am not above that.

I’m all about the myths over here at Mythic Ramblings. (For that matter, I’m also all about the rambling.) I’m fascinated by what our American, western culture takes to be myths and mythological figures. So much of our relatively short history is cataloged and recorded. We don’t have much ambiguity for a mythic narrative to play around in. You might think then that we as Americans don’t have a mythology, not in the same sense that other cultures did and do.

I would argue against that, obvi. I think the Marvel and DC characters are a mythology. I think that even corporate entities like Disney and Lego, which base a lot of their products and narratives off of the mythologies or materials of previous manufacturers, have created their own mythologies. Universal Films has its own mythology. To get really meta, our economy even has its own mythology, that of Capitalism. (Hint: if it’s capitalized, it’s important.) However, we have a very strong and historically embedded mythology in the form of … the Founding Fathers. But I’ve noticed a trend in the mythos surrounding them. Lately we’ve been seeing a lot of movies and shows that are attempting to revisit and update the myths about these men. I’d like to look at what exactly these changes are, and offer a few of my ideas about what’s started the change. More after the jump: Continue reading “Rockstar Founding Fathers”

Building a Hero: Selma and American Sniper

Hi everyone! I’ve had a great week of watching many shows and movies. But I don’t want to focus on any of them! Instead, I thought I’d tackle something that had been bugging me ever since I saw Selma and American Sniper. I was interested in why Selma made me feel flat, whereas American Sniper didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, American Sniper didn’t inspire or wow me. I simply recognized that American Sniper made the better hero. I have a few ideas about why that is.

If you want to hear more of my opinions about the two films, head over to the podcast I co-host, The Hermit Cave. I go into the films a little bit more generally during the podcast. Here, though, I’ll be focusing on the differences between the two films in terms of their respective heroes. Spoilers after the jump.

Continue reading “Building a Hero: Selma and American Sniper”

Writing Off a Character: Elementary and Sleepy Hollow

When I started this site, I had a list of all these bigger, larger posts in mind to talk about the general state of affairs in visual media today. But I also knew I wanted to incorporate some timely reactions to the movies and shows I watch. I settled down today to catch up on my shows, as I do most every Tuesday. I was slightly blown away by the comparisons and lines of thought popping up. And so here I am, with a nice long list in my pocket, about to make a post on how Elementary and Sleepy Hollow recently wrote out a new character. Spoilers for both shows after the jump. Continue reading “Writing Off a Character: Elementary and Sleepy Hollow”