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Ancient stories reborn

- August 27, 2008

¹ó¾±±ō³¾²õĢż¾±²Ō³¦±ō³Ü»å¾±²Ō²µ O Brother, Where Art Thou, Unforgiven and Troy will be screened in Leona MacLeod's new class, Myth IntoĀ Film: the Greek World.Ā (Danny Abriel Photo)

Live theatre was the popcorn fare of the ancient Greeks.

ā€œPeople came from all over the Mediterranean to view these tragedies,ā€ enthuses Professor Leona MacLeod. ā€œToday, everyone comes to film. Film performs the same role in our society as it (drama) did in Athens.ā€

Skeptics doubting that such classical literature could be ā€œentertainingā€ to modern crowds are directed to Homerā€™s epic poems. Filled with dramatic love affairs, massive action and tons of beach scenes, The Iliad is the original summer blockbuster.

The Iliadā€™s staying power is epic; after presumable millennia in development hell, a silver screen Iliad remake ā€“ Troy ā€“ was released in 2004. Featuring Eric Bana as Hector and an implausibly stalwart Brad Pitt as Achilles, Troy is just one of manyĀ films on the syllabus when Dr. MacLeod premiers her new course offering ā€“ Ā (CLAS 2515).

Nor is Prof. MacLeod stopping at Troy. During our interview, Iā€™m boggled to see the DVD of 300 sitting on her desk. ā€œYou can go and watch them as entertainment or you can get something more out of itā€¦ Thereā€™s a lot of enthusiasm out there for something like this,ā€ she says cheerfully, describing the course as an ā€œintroduction to the ancient world through the medium of film.ā€

ā€œMy second love after classics is film, so this is just perfect for me, (but) I wasnā€™t sure how well it would go over,ā€ she adds. ā€œSome classicists are a little, um, reluctant to bring in the popular culture.ā€ When the course was proposed, however, her peer response was overwhelmingly supportive. Now, as September looms closer, Prof. MacLeod is fine-tuning the ā€œreading listā€ for Myth into Film.

"You can divide people into two kinds of peopleā€”Iliad people and Odyssey people."

ā€” Prof. Leona MacLeod

It wonā€™t all be swashbuckling adventure flicks, of course. She will be teaching historical texts as well, including Homerā€™s Iliad.

ā€œYou can divide people into two kinds of people,ā€ Professor MacLeod declares, ā€œIliad people and Odyssey people.ā€ She is an Iliad person. ā€œThe very first work I read (in university) was The Iliad, and I just fell in love. Homer is a fantastic storyteller. I find myself today still impressed by his storytelling capabilities... he takes this little slice out of what is a much larger story and makes that the main level. I sometimes think weā€™ve never surpassed it in terms of storytelling techniques.ā€

Of course, no oneā€™s going to argue that The Iliad isnā€™t literature. But the movie version is a harder sell. ā€œThe first time I watched it (Troy)ā€¦ā€ Professor MacLeod shakes her head. ā€œ(But) you have to kind of look beyond that, see why things are the way they are. Heā€™s much more sympathetic to the Trojans than the Greeksā€¦ Why is (the director) so uncomfortable with a character like Achilles? Why all these changes? ... This movie is far more about us than it is about the ancient world.ā€ The divergences, the ā€œmodernizationsā€ and anachronisms, are part of the point. ā€œWe return to the Greek world again and againā€¦ we find something in those stories.ā€

So, what will this class have that you canā€™t get anywhere else? What are people going to ā€˜findā€™?

ā€œA blend of the ancient and modern world,ā€ Prof. MacLeod replies. ā€œWhat the ancient world can do is offer us a broad perspective, a new way of looking at the modern world.ā€

Plus Brad Pitt. Really, what more do you want?