Images of Beowulf Part 2: Animation Creation

The 2007 Beowulf movie directed by Robert Zemeckis is a computer generated animation film. The film endeavored to be different in both story and animation style. It takes liberty with the plot of the original Beowulf legend under the guise of portraying the "truth" behind the epic; assuming that the old English version is an oral tale that was distorted with time. The film is built on the idea that no man is perfect and the "real" Beowulf was flawed. This premise proves interesting, since literary the Beowulf was nearly perfect. I think that this assumption improves the story greatly, since the traditional tales of how Kings are remembered are rarely synonymous with not how they truly were. Furthermore, many of the side characters give the movie an unexpected depth, especially the Queen, who survived three corrupt rulers. She was one of the only genuinely good characters and a true pleasure to watch.

However, even though the story was enjoyable, the animation was not. In an attempt at realism, the 3D computer animation mimics real people, using actors as models and then animating over. This tactic failed. The main characters felt fake, with the stress on realism becoming a distraction. Instead of falling into the world of the film, every flaw in the recreation of the actors kept the view at arm's length. Moreover, the side characters are caricatures of people that barely fit in the world created. While the animation failed in its portrayal of people, the monsters were fantastic. Both Grendel's and the dragon's forms were a blend of the expected and the creative. Grendel is a humanoid with a unique physical feature that clearly explains his hatred for humans, in contrast with Grendel's mother who is a modern portrait of the perfect feminine form. She is curvaceous with gentle and delicate hands. Her monstrous feet and tail are reminiscent of a Judeo-Christian demon. She is clearly a Lilith type creature, as referenced in the original tale, beautiful and deadly. If only the majority of the film could have focused on the monsters, it might have been spectacular.

Since it did not, I give the animation a 2 out of 5 and the story a 3.5 out of 5.

Still waiting to be impressed by Beowulf,
J.R. West the Raccoon

The Best Holiday Ever!

With Halloween just past, I thought now would be perfect time to hit on a common figure currently saturating our culture: The Vampire. Therefore, I took a moment on this lovely holiday to assess the vampire overload in my own life.

Example 1:
Midnight Opera by Hans Steinbach is a OEL (original English language) manga. The main character is a guitar playing vampire with a nemesis for an older brother. The first manga in the series was decent enough, but I have not gone through the trouble of finding the next.

Example 2:
Vampire Wars is a facebook application which doubles as a game. You create a gothic vampire avatar who then completes missions for his or her clan. You can fight other vampires in an old world based gaming style. It is a basic game, but I do love collecting pieces for my avatar.

Example 3:
Foxtrot had a brilliant comment on Twilight's destruction of the traditional vampire last Sunday. And as much as I love Twilight, I agree with Jason. Nothing beats the traditional Nosferatu.


Example 4:
The Vampire Diaries is a CW television show for teenagers. It is a cliché story of girl lover’s vampire, but he thinks he is wrong for her. There is even a nemesis brother; it really is just another Twilight. The only saving grace is that the vampire looks far more vampire-like than the guy that plays Edward in the Twilight movies.

This is just a quick guide to my recent encounters with vampires. It does not include the wide number of book, movie, and comics surrounding vampires, or even the White Wolf role-playing game. Take a moment and count the number of vampire inspired things in your life, you will be amazed.

Loved the Recent Holiday,
J.R. West the Raccoon

Luonnotar

Dear readers,

This is very worth a look -- a setting of Sibelius' tone poem Luonnotar to some beautiful video photography of northern Finland and the Arctic:



Those of you new to this particular piece can read more about Luonnotar here. I had quite forgotten how beautiful this composition was, and the video above reminded me.... Watching the end of it particularly, those towering mountains of ice in the sea, while listening to Sibelius' music, one feels in the presence of an old and terrible beauty.

Few traditions have spoken (or sung) of the beauty of singing and the power of song as the Scandinavians have:

The old man said from the stove:
'Here there has been heard
either heard or seen
ever in this world
no better singing
no more careful cunning man
than when I cooed, I
carolled as a younger man
sang upon the bay's waters
and echoed upon the heaths
cuckoo-called in the spruces
recited in the backwoods.
My voice was great and graceful
my tone very fair:
as a river then it ran
as a stream it flashed
travelled like a ski on snow
a sailing ship on the waves.
But now I cannot recite
nor this can I rightly tell--
what has stifled my great voice
laid my sweet voice low: now it
does not as a river run
nor as waves ripple, but it
is like a harrow among
treestumps, a pine on hard snow
like a sledge on seashore sands
a boat on dry rocks.'

(From the twenty-first book of the Finnish Kalevala, Keith Bosley's translation.)

Such of a love of song shines in modern singers from that region of the world, no less; ABBA's Thank You For the Music comes to mind.

Not that I want to sound superlative -- one might praise the American blues or a number of other traditions for their celebration of the way 'that nothing can capture the heart / as a melody can' as well as the Swedish or the Finnish. But something in me today longs for the subarctic.

Dante's Heart Art Contest - And Tricksters

Dear readers,

There are a lot of new plans for the first half of 2010 that I wanted to share with you! We have grown our team of editors, which means that we have also grown our ability to run new calls for submissions, contests, and other opportunities to invite fresh work. Here's what's coming:

Trickster Works

One of our fiction editors, Ashley Argyle, has this to say about tricksters in literature, art, and lore: "Tricksters live in a world of ambiguity and chaos. They know no boundaries--with nowhere they can't go and nothing they can't do, they are oftentimes the world's ultimate creators and destroyers."


Dante's Heart invites you to explore the unruliness of the trickster and is calling for submissions featuring trickster works in all media -- literary or artistic, fiction or drama, photography or mixed media. Check here for more details; entries are due March 1, 2010 and the most compelling entries will be considered for a special edition of Dante's Heart.

(The artwork shown above is an interpretation of Wagner's Loki from the never-forgotten Arthur Rackham.)

Urban Fantasy Art Contest

As our first issue began with a range of mythopoeia and fairytale work, this year our art editor is interested in something (potentially) a bit grittier. Send us your best urban fantasy -- whether photography, drawing, painting, or other -- we are open to all visual art forms. Submissions must be digital, though the original medium need not be. Previously unpublished work only.


Check for the contest rules here. Entries are due April 15, 2010, and will be judged by Jessica Fusch, Dante's Heart art editor and owner of Seaelven Studios.

(The image pictured above is Sandow Birk's Inferno, an urban interpretation of Dante's Divine Comedy.)

Spread the word -- and we look forward to seeing what appears in our inbox!

With great joy and a sense of play,

The Editors,
Dante's Heart
www.dantesheart.com

Faye Stories Part 5: Spinning Spider Stories

There is nothing like telling old fairy tales with a new twist. My father used to tell me a story where the Big Bad Wolf was a man named Abdul from Cleveland. Marvel has done the same thing, but instead of naming a wolf after a Basketball player, they have put Peter Parker into famous fairy tales from around the world.

"Spider-Man Fairy Tales", written by C.B. Cebulski, is a collection of four stories: "Off the Beaten Path", "The Spirit of Friendship", "Eclipse", and "What You Wish For". These are retellings of "Little Red Riding Hood", "Anansi the Spider God", "Tsuchigumo the Japanese Spider Spirit," and "Cinderella". The stories chosen to be retold says a lot about the character of Spider-Man. Spider-Man, who was destined to be the Totem of the Spider, flawlessly translates into the role of Anansi and Tsuchigumo,they are both totems in their own culture. The spider and the spider-man is not unique to marvel or western culture. The animal exists around the world and has continually captivated imaginations, and therefore, it was right and proper to include tales from around the world.

With the more western tales of "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Cinderella", the comic has its own flare. With Mary Jane as a strong Riding Hood and Peter as a timid woodsmen they work together to save the day. Their teamwork reflects some of their better relationship moments in the comics. Peter then takes on the role of Cinderella to the Osborne family, with Mary Jane as his helper in making it to the ball. Following the Spider-man mythos, the Princess dies while Mary Jane pines for Peter. While keeping the main elements of the Cinderella tale, the comic is loyal to the Spider-man Mythos.

"Spider-Man Fairy Tales" is a creative collection of known stories with a marvel twist. While the graphic novel is a fairly quick read it is worth picking up. Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5.

Watching for Spiders,
J.R. West the Raccoon

The Myth of the Dark Knight

Tonight while channel flipping I found “Batman Unmasked: Psychology” on Hist-1 at 8pm EST. The nerd in me had to watch. The episode had psychology experts, DC editors and writers, literary experts and other professionals. They gave their opinions of the mythology behind the Batman.

I found that some of the experts offered interesting insights into Batman. There of course was the main question, who is the real man: Batman or Bruce Wayne. The creators of the batman comics, as well as, the psychologists could not agree. As a general trend the creators claim he is Batman, which I agree with, however the psychologists felt that Bruce Wayne’s past and humanity was of more importance.

Additionally, they give insight on Batman’s villains (the rogue’s gallery). His enemies are sociopaths, narcissist, and the worst of humanity. The experts showed how his enemies are his opposites, with their personality flaws causing villainous habits. Each villain is compared to real-live villains and their form of psychosis. The villain that gets the most focus is of course the Joker. A villain with a completely evil nature whose main goal is the corruption of others. He is a Batman without any morals, causing mayhem for his own twisted amusement. His every desire plays out without care. He lives to entertain himself with suffering. The villains are the darkest, most vile traits of humanity.

Batman is a hero to us because his lives in a world built out of the most horrible parts of our reality. His world may be a dark reflection of our own, but it only makes him shine so might brighter. The mythology of Batman differs from other superheroes because he is a hero dwelling in a world where only monsters can thrive. We cheer for a man that in reality would horrify us if we ever actually encountered him. His world puts him in a hero’s cowl not a murder’s ski mask.

Reading my Batman comics again,
J.R. West the Raccoon

Madame Aradia

Madame Aradia is a wonderful artist I discovered only recently. Her work depicts the most dark, haunted and fabulous scenes. Some of her works are illustrated folktales, others are inspired by the world of fairies and fairytales and then there are those which come from her own imaginination. But all of them are simply beautiful and make us long to hear the story behind it. Luckily, Madame Aradia tells us about the tales behind her work at her DeviantArt page, so we can not only enjoy her works of art but also read about the characters depicted in her work.

(story can be found here)

(story can be found here)

Besides making art Madame Aradia spends her time as a garden-witch. At her website you can find articles on magic, folklore and symbolism connected with plants and flowers accompanied by photographs of her own garden.

It is a true pleasure reading her articles and watching her art works. I am certain most of you will love it!