World History
Even though I like science fiction, I have never been a big fan of Flash Gordon. He always is crashing his space ship and having to rescue his helpless girl friend. The 1980 movie was too campy for me even when I was ten but I did like (and still do) the cool Queen soundtrack.
However, even campy science fiction should have it's history honored to a certain degree. Reimage a franchise for the 21st century all you want. However, some things should be sacred. One example that comes to mind is that Starbuck (Buck!) is a man and not a woman like the current retelling of Battlestar Galactica has been presenting. And further, Ming the Merciless is based on Asian dictators!
The new Flash Gordon series on the SciFi Channel has partially turned this aside. He is now white. Of course, he still has an Asian name (Ming!). I guess cultural sensitivity to Asians means a classic historical supervillain in popular culture history now has to have his identity challenged and changed for political sensitivity. How sad. What is wrong with a strong Asian villain? It is not as though they do not exist in the real world. (Kim Il-sung anyone?)
I will watch this series. It is pretty good so far. But I am going to be viewing the "benevolent leader" of Mongo (Asian name again?) through a different frame than most viewers.
- 10 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies?
Yahoo! has an article up titled 10 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies. The subtitle notes, "Films that make your high school history teacher cry." Here are the ten that made the list: 1. 10,000 B.C. 2. Gladiator 3. 300 4. The Last Samurai 5. Apocalypto...
- Arlo & Janis On The History Channel
I was very amused to see the Arlo & Janis comic strip by Jimmy Johnson in the paper today. It is not only historians who note that the History Channel is not always a font of historical wisdom. The strip reads: Frame 1: (Milo on couch)- History Channel,...
- Asian History Carnival Coming To The World History Blog
I will be hosting the next Asian History Carnival here at the World History Blog on July 7th. Nominate posts here or send them directly to ?miland[at]usa2014[dot]com?. Here is some information on the Asian History Carnival from Jonathan Dresner: "When...
- Links For Teaching About Asia
Here are some great links to fascinating stories about Asia. All but one are from historian Gordon Stewart, a senior research scholar at the University of Michigan?s Center for South Asian Studies. Stewart examines Asia in more detail in his 2009 book,...
- Salt: A Brief Big History On Tv
Program your VCR for what looks like a great series. The H2 channel will premiere a 16 part series on salt this Saturday at 10 PM. The H2 channel is an extension of the History Channel. Here's how AP New summarizes the series: "The series uses science...
World History
Ming the Merciless on the SciFi Channel
Even though I like science fiction, I have never been a big fan of Flash Gordon. He always is crashing his space ship and having to rescue his helpless girl friend. The 1980 movie was too campy for me even when I was ten but I did like (and still do) the cool Queen soundtrack.However, even campy science fiction should have it's history honored to a certain degree. Reimage a franchise for the 21st century all you want. However, some things should be sacred. One example that comes to mind is that Starbuck (Buck!) is a man and not a woman like the current retelling of Battlestar Galactica has been presenting. And further, Ming the Merciless is based on Asian dictators!
The new Flash Gordon series on the SciFi Channel has partially turned this aside. He is now white. Of course, he still has an Asian name (Ming!). I guess cultural sensitivity to Asians means a classic historical supervillain in popular culture history now has to have his identity challenged and changed for political sensitivity. How sad. What is wrong with a strong Asian villain? It is not as though they do not exist in the real world. (Kim Il-sung anyone?)
I will watch this series. It is pretty good so far. But I am going to be viewing the "benevolent leader" of Mongo (Asian name again?) through a different frame than most viewers.
- 10 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies?
Yahoo! has an article up titled 10 Most Historically Inaccurate Movies. The subtitle notes, "Films that make your high school history teacher cry." Here are the ten that made the list: 1. 10,000 B.C. 2. Gladiator 3. 300 4. The Last Samurai 5. Apocalypto...
- Arlo & Janis On The History Channel
I was very amused to see the Arlo & Janis comic strip by Jimmy Johnson in the paper today. It is not only historians who note that the History Channel is not always a font of historical wisdom. The strip reads: Frame 1: (Milo on couch)- History Channel,...
- Asian History Carnival Coming To The World History Blog
I will be hosting the next Asian History Carnival here at the World History Blog on July 7th. Nominate posts here or send them directly to ?miland[at]usa2014[dot]com?. Here is some information on the Asian History Carnival from Jonathan Dresner: "When...
- Links For Teaching About Asia
Here are some great links to fascinating stories about Asia. All but one are from historian Gordon Stewart, a senior research scholar at the University of Michigan?s Center for South Asian Studies. Stewart examines Asia in more detail in his 2009 book,...
- Salt: A Brief Big History On Tv
Program your VCR for what looks like a great series. The H2 channel will premiere a 16 part series on salt this Saturday at 10 PM. The H2 channel is an extension of the History Channel. Here's how AP New summarizes the series: "The series uses science...