Mythology in Literary Culture

What does Bart Simpson have in common with the dusty old character of Hermes? Well, the pervasive nature of Greek and Roman mythology has so shaped Western culture that a wide range of our stories today--in books, movies or TV--owe some debt to the "best-selling" tales of antiquity, including The Simpsons. Hosted by two engaging teens who fling around pop cultural references like confetti, Mythology in Literary Culture sheds light on our ancient heritage, providing context for those obscure characters found on old vases and broken statues. After discussing what mythology is and is not, the five fundamental archetypical character models are presented, drawing on examples from Greek/Roman legends (Hades, for instance), which are then compared to echoes in modern literature (such Poe's Masque of the Red Death) and film or television (Freddy Krueger). Subject matter-wise, this is a very clever and creative way to answer the question students have posed throughout the ages: "What does this have to do with real life?" Unfortunately, the creativity does not translate into the actual production, which relies too much on talking heads and badly designed computer graphics screens, rather than displaying what's actually being discussed (although, in fairness, film clips--especially from feature films--are very expensive). This would still be useful for any English Lit class as an introduction to a mythology unit, and is therefore a strong optional purchase. Aud: J, H. (E. Gieschen)