Reimagined Legends, New Beginnings

During the film King Arthur we were presented with a modern day version and what the producers say is a historically accurate look at the legend of King Arthur. But how true does the movie actually hold itself to the legend of Arthur? For our class on Monday we were told to read Geoffrey of Monmouth’s version of the King Arthur, and for myself personally I felt it was as historically accurate as it could be because at the end of the day it is still a legend, and a legend is usually a story told to entertain people. So is it wrong for the movie to claim that it represents a legend in a modern context, while not necessarily referencing the legend or holding true to the version of the legend that we read? Is it bad that this movie creates an almost new chapter to add to the legend of King Arthur? That it simply relies on the legend in name and some of the big overall details about the legend?

I don’t think so. Instead I believe that by creating this movie, the story of Arthur spreads to a wider and more diverse public. By making a movie about King Arthur, interest is created in the legend that the movie comes from. You also have a chance of spreading the legend to a wider audience. By creating a movie you create a more accessible way to learn about King Arthur because its easier to watch a movie than to read about a legend and since it is a movie, it is advertised to get people to go and watch it and this usually works out very well. So why create this movie that is loosely based on the legend of King Arthur that we read from Geoffrey of Monmouth view? The same can be asked of basically all other movies based on King Arthur throughout history, and any other movies based on legends. I believe the answer to this is to simply keep the legend alive and to keep spreading it. I believe by creating a newish movie we put the legend in a new modern day light and allow a new audience to learn about it in a way that feels so dated.

Portrayal of Joan in The Trial of Joan of Arc vs. The Messenger

We have spent the past week reading excerpts from the book The Trial of Joan of Arc, which is a translated transcript of the actual Trial of that took place in Rouen, France by the English. From the book, Joan was portrayed as a submitted girl to God whose will of action was only driven by nothing but God’s command. Even though there are some doubts on the legitimacy of the transcript (since the person writing it down is against Joan and it was translated twice), we can still tell that she is no doubt 100% loyal to God. Not only did she seem submitted and willingly to die for God, but also soft and calmer in the court. There were no records of traumas, physical resistance or attacks on the Englishmen. 

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, molded Joan into a completely different character from the transcript. It’s interesting to see Luc Besson giving Joan a false backstory (mother was raped and killed, hometown invaded) when according to the real story, Joan was the one who left her parents. It is obvious that Besson is giving Joan a different motive in being so eager in going to war with England: rather than God’s will, her enthusiasm is driven by vengeance. Her avengement comes with a price: persuading her consciousness that it’s okay. The day right after the traumatic event, the priest keeps repeating to her “The lord does things for a reason” “There’s a reason why you’re here and she’s not”. I believe the priest plays a big part in confirming Joan’s consciousness and directing her to become “The Messenger” (regardless whether she is really one or not). Her conscious seems the be responsible to her actions more than God’s command is.

 

Besson shaped Joan as not only violent, but also crazy. A crazy hero, is what I’d call her; the way she pulled out the arrow from her chest, the way she lash out on the english bishop, not to mention the way she clutches on the Charles VI like she’s a fanatic. That’s certainly not how Joan was like in the transcript at all. The lacking appearance of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret in the film also made me feel like Joan might be suffering from childhood trauma than acting on God’s command.
This can be because medieval films can’t survive without a little distortion to the context and a little spark to the characters. It relates back to how we perceive medievalism in modern days.