Description
Book SynopsisThis revised and expanded second edition responds to new developments in the reception of Greece in contemporary popular culture, and particularly the impact of the film "300" (2006). Why, in a century of film-making, have so few versions of the story of Alexander the Great - or that of Troy's fall - made it to the big screen? In the aftermath of "Gladiator" (2000), with Hollywood studios rushing to revisit the ancient world with "Troy" and "Alexander" (both 2004), this question takes on renewed significance. Nisbet unpacks the ideas that continue to make Greece hot property - often too hot for Hollywood to handle. His lively explorations, which assume no prior expertise in classical or film studies, will appeal to all with an interest in 'reception': the present day's re-use and re-invention of the past. 'Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture' is a companion volume to 'Ancient Rome at the Cinema: Story and Spectacle in Hollywood and Rome', by Elena Theodorakopoulos (2010, paperback isbn: 9781904675280, hardback isbn: 9781904675540).
Trade Review… the time is ripe for turning scholarly (and student) attention to what Greece means in modern popular culture (and why). Gideon Nisbet’s book, part of Bristol Phoenix Press’s Greece and Rome Live series, serves as a brief but punchy account of the topic, and will be of considerable value to a wide audience. … this book should be of as much interest to those working in reception study, and classics and ancient history more generally, as it is to students and teachers at whom it is notionally aimed.
Joanna Paul, Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewIt is well suited to sparking discussion among undergraduates as well as introducing new perspectives to scholars. Course logistics permitting, I think it would be especially useful in combination with other recent studies as a stimulating introduction to the current scholarly conversation on Classics, media, and popular culture.
Seán Easton, Bryn Mawr Classical Review * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Table of Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface: The Dog in the Night-time
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on Terminology
- 1 Socrates' Excellent Adventure
- 2 Mythconceptions
- 3 Wars of the Successors
- 4 2007: It's Raining Men
- Epilogue: Radio Gaga
- Glossary
- Suggestions for Further Reading (and Viewing)
- Index
