CONF: Masks, Echoes, Shadows: Locating Classical Receptions in the Cinema: 29th May 2012

Seen on the Classicists list:

Masks, Echoes, Shadows: Locating Classical Receptions in the Cinema
29 May 2012
Institute of Classical Studies, London

Cinema’s fascination with the classical past can take many forms. In recent
years, scholarly and popular attention has mostly been directed at films
that recreate and reconstruct the narratives of ancient history and
mythology, such as Gladiator and Clash of the Titans. Alongside these
high-profile titles, though, are a wide range of other films whose
relationship to antiquity may be much more intangible and ephemeral. Whether
identifying Homeric references in O Brother, Where art Thou? or Mike Leigh’s
Naked, assessing Star Wars’ debt to Roman history, or examining the
recurrence of the Oedipus story in the cinema, there are a multitude of ways
in which shadows of the past can be detected, classical motifs can be masked and unmasked, and echoes of ancient texts or events can reverberate. Recent publications by scholars such as Martin Winkler and Simon Goldhill have advanced this area of classical reception studies, but the underlying theoretical issues require further attention. This one-day colloquium will bring together scholars and students of classics and film in order to
discuss new research in this area.

Programme

10.30-10.45 Introduction
10.45-11.45

Anastasia Bakogianni, ‘ Masked celluloid classics: ancient shadows in Theo Angelopoulos’ The Weeping Meadow (2004)’

Kristen Gunderson, ‘ A Lacanian reading of the Theseus myth in Inception ‘s mental labyrinth’

11.45-12.00 Refreshments
12.00-13.00

Ricardo Apostol, ‘ From Album Alitem to Black Swan : Horace and Aronofsky on Poetic Perfection and Death’

David Scourfield, ‘A Classical Lens for Eyes Wide Shut’

13.00-13.45 Lunch

13.45-15.15

Trevor Fear, ‘ Cleopatra in the 26 th century: the long reach of a
historical icon’

Tom Garvey, ‘Reaping the benefits of Serenity’

C. W. Marshall, ‘The Tragedy of Anakin Skywalker’

15.15-15.45 Refreshments

15.45-16.15 Sara Monoson, ‘Socrates Fortlow: An Urban Fable on Screen’

16.15-16.30 Final thoughts

Registration fee: £10 which includes a sandwich lunch and refreshments

To book a place or for more information please contact the organisers:
Anastasia Bakogianni, Open University a.bakogianni AT open.ac.uk
and Joanna Paul, Open University Joanna.Paul AT open.ac.uk