Antiquity Now The Classical World in the Contemporary American Imagination [Paperback]

This book examines the surprising uses, and abuses, of the classical world in contemporary popular media.Through the lens of reception studies, Antiquity Now examines the ideological uses of the classical world in contemporary media, including surprising new developments in comic books, film, drama and fiction. This book will be valuable to scholars and students of American, classical and cultural studies.Through the lens of reception studies, Antiquity Now examines the ideological uses of the classical world in contemporary media, including surprising new developments in comic books, film, drama and fiction. This book will be valuable to scholars and students of American, classical and cultural studies.Written in a lively and accessible style, Antiquity Now opens our gaze to the myriad uses and abuses of classical antiquity in contemporary fiction, film, comics, drama, television - and even internet forums. With every chapter focusing on a different aspect of classical reception - including sexuality, politics, gender and ethnicity - this book explores the ideological motivations behind contemporary American allusions to the classical world. Ultimately, this kaleidoscope of receptions - from calls for marriage equality to examinations of gang violence to passionate pleas for peace (or war) - reveals a 'classical antiquity' that reconfigures itself daily, as modernity explains itself to itself through ever-expanding technologies and media. Antiquity Now thus examines the often-surprising redeployment of the art and literature of the ancient world, a geography charged with especial value in the contemporary imagination.1. Introduction; 2. It's Greek to them: gay and lesbian receptions of the ancient world; 3. Classics and ideology; 4. September 11th on the Western stage; 5. From the borders: contemporary identity, community, and the ancient world; 6. Power, the canon, and the unexpected voice; Conclusion: on fractures and fracturing.'Every college library needs this lƒm