Ancient Violence in the Modern Imagination: The Fear and the Fury

Description

The collected essays in this volume focus on the presentation, representation and interpretation of ancient violence – from war to slavery, rape and murder – in the modern visual and performing arts, with special attention to videogames and dance as well as the more usual media of film, literature and theatre. Violence, fury and the dread that they provoke are factors that appear frequently in the ancient sources. The dark side of antiquity, so distant from the ideal of purity and harmony that the classical heritage until recently usually called forth, has repeatedly struck the imagination of artists, writers and scholars across ages and cultures. A global assembly of contributors, from Europe to Brazil and from the US to New Zealand, consider historical and mythical violence in Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus and the 2010 TV series of the same name, in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, in the work of Lars von Trier, and in Soviet ballet and the choreography of Martha Graham and Anita Berber. Representations of Roman warfare appear in videogames such as Ryse: Son of Rome and Total War, as well as recent comics, and examples from both these media are analysed in the volume. Finally, interviews with two artists offer insight into the ways in which practitioners understand and engage with the complex reception of these themes. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS FIGURES CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTE ON THE TEXT CHAPTER 1 THE THRILL OF ANCIENT VIOLENCE: AN INTRODUCTION Definition(s) of violence Violence from a transcultural perspective The spectacle of violence Structure of the volume PART I ANCIENT VIOLENCE IN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY PAINTING CHAPTER 2 ANCIENT WAR AND MODERN ART: SOME REMARKS ON HISTORICAL PAINTING FROM THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES Some modern debates concerning the representation of war, violence and pain War in Spanish historical painting during the nineteenth century A new vision of the dark side of war and violence Some brief final remarks: ethics instead of epic? Acknowledgements CHAPTER 3 VIOLENCE TO VALOUR: VISUALIZING THAIS OF ATHENS Introduction All her fault: Thais, Persepolis and Alexander in Antiquity From codex to canvas: Thais in the Renaissance and Baroque periods Thais goes to England Thais goes viral Sua Thais cuique: conclusions Acknowledgements PART II EMBODYING ANCIENT AND MODERN VIOLENCE IN CINEMA AND IN THEATRE CHAPTER 4 SCREENING THE FACE OF ROMAN BATTLE: VIOLENCE THROUGH THE EYES OF SOLDIERS IN FILM Introduction The face of battle: from Keegan to ancient Rome Fictionalization of soldiers’ experience in battle: literature and cinema The ‘battle piece’ in Roman epics before Gladiator Screening the ‘face of Roman battle’ in the twenty-first century Conclusions Filmography Acknowledgements CHAPTER 5 PERFORMING VIOLENCE AND WAR TRAUMA: AJAX ON THE SILVER SCREEN The fear and the fury on screen Performing madness Performing suicide Performing violence Filmography Acknowledgements CHAPTER 6 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL VIOLENCE WITHIN THE MYTH OF IPHIGENIA: STAGING MYTH TODAY Iphigenia’s myth – the index of violence Iphigenia by Antonina Grzegorzewska – the page-and-stage incident14 Conclusion CHAPTER 7 KSENI, THE FOREIGNER: A BRAZILIAN MEDEA IN ACTION Introduction Contexts: Brazilian Medeas and Oliveira’s operas Kseni and the production of Oliveira From Kseni to Medea Global Medea in action and conclusion Acknowledgements PART III DANCING VIOLENCE ON THE BALLET STAGE CHAPTER 8 CHOREOGRAPHIES OF VIOLENCE: SPARTACUS FROM THE SOVIET BALLET TO THE GLOBAL STAGE Introduction Spartacus: choreography and bodies through film Spartacus in ballet Leonid Yakobson: Pictures of Roman Life (1956–62) Yuri Grigorovich: Spartacus (1968) Carlos Acosta: the body of Spartacus Conclusions Acknowledgements CHAPTER 9 IOCASTE’S DAUGHTERS IN MODERNITY: ANITA BERBER AND VALESKA GERT The presence of metaphysical death in (philosophical) life The absence of physical death on the stage of classical theatre Heidegger’s philosophy and the presence of death in life Modernity and the presence of physical death in dance The film Just for Fun CHAPTER 10 DARK TERRITORIES OF THE SOUL: MARTHA GRAHAM’S CLYTEMNESTRA PART IV VIOLENT ANTIQUITY IN VIDEO GAMES AND COMICS CHAPTER 11 SI VIS LUDUM PARA BELLUM: VIOLENCE AND WAR AS THE PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE OF ANTIQUITY IN VIDEO GAMES Introduction The evolution of games: a history of violence? Why violence? A cultural and commercial phenomenon? A matter of (cultural) historical distance? CHAPTER 12 WAGING TOTAL WAR PLAYING ATTILA: A VIDEO GAME’S TAKE ON THE MIGRATION PERIOD The scenario of TWA The migration period in scholarship and popular culture TWA’s Huns – masters of violence? Hordes and the Hunnic nature (New) violent gameplay features Scorched Earth (campaign map) Dynamic fires and civilians (battles) Decimatio (campaign map) Conclusion Acknowledgements CHAPTER 13 SEXY GORY ROME: JUXTAPOSITIONS O FSEX AND VIOLENCE IN COMIC BOOK REPRESENTATIONS OF ANCIENT ROME Rome: sex and violence Comics ‘for adults’ The Golden Ass Julius Caesar Caligula Messalina Conclusions Acknowledgements CHAPTER 14 ARCHIMEDES AND THE WAR IN ITOSHI IWĀKI’S EUREKA Introduction A new Archimedes from Japan Archimedes at war: a brief history of a tradition Conclusion PART V MAKING RECEPTION: ANCIENT VIOLENCE AND LIVING HISTORY CHAPTER 15 FROM ANCIENT VIOLENCE TO MODERN CELEBRATION: COMPLEX RECEPTIONS OF ANCIENT CONQUEST WARS IN LAS GUERRAS CÁNTABRAS FESTIVAL A new way to approach the past: historical festivals Historical festivals in Spain Cantabria and Antiquity Las Guerras Cántabras Festival: war as the main topic Episodes and characters Conclusions CHAPTER 16 DRAWING RECEPTION CHAPTER 17 RE-ENACTING SOLDIERS AND DRESSING ROMAN WOMEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIELLE FIORE NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX