Representations of Antiquity in Film - From Griffith to Grindhouse - Kevin M. McGeough
The New Epic: Ultraviolence, Comic Books, and CGI
Representations of Antiquity in Film - From Griffith to Grindhouse - Kevin M. McGeough
Kevin M. McGeough [+]
University of Lethbridge
Kevin M. McGeough is professor of archaeology in the Department of Geography at the University of Lethbridge and holds a Board of Governor’s Research Chair in Archaeological Theory and Reception. Having excavated in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Canada, he is the co-editor of the Alberta Archaeological Review and chair of publications for the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR). He is currently researching the reception of Near Eastern Archaeology in a variety of media and has recently published a three-volume book on archaeological reception in the Victorian era, The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century (2015).
Description
Chapter 9 discusses how the treatment of the ancient world has been transformed through the advent of CGI technology and the acceptance of ultraviolent aesthetics. It deals with the most controversial films of the past thirty years, such as The Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ, Alexander, 300, and Apocalypto. It also looks at why Gladiator was such a success in relation to others that have not been as well received, like Troy.