The Second Sally of Our Worthy Knight Don Quixote de la Mancha

It's been a while since my introductory post, and I thought it best not to let it go on too long before starting another, so here we are. I would like to start off this blog of literary allusions in modern media with the instance that gave me the idea for it.

Shortly before beginning this endeavour, I watched The Man of La Mancha (1972) for the first time with my brother. I admit rather ashamedly that at the time I was wholly unfamiliar with the story of Don Quixote or its esteemed author, Miguel de Cervantes, having heard only of the title. However, some things in the film appeared somehow familiar to me. I had indeed heard the name Cervantes before, though in a very different context, and the appearance of Don Quixote in the film struck me as oddly familiar. The Cervantes that I knew was the one that bore this close resemblance to the Man of La Mancha, and was none other than the Master of the Mercenaries in the Nintendo 3DS game, Fantasy Life (2014).

A man past his prime who still believes in knightly values, now who might that remind you of? Indeed, there is no doubt that the character of Cervantes in Fantasy Life is based on the famous Don Quixote, and takes his name from the author. This discovery inspired me to start this blog because it just amazed me that a 17th century Spanish novel could be relevant in a Japanese video game aimed at children. As a student of literature it is easy to think that only other students of literature or languages would be interested in such texts so long after their initial publication; it is easy to forget just how far into modern thinking older literature pervades. So much of popular culture owes itself to great literature, even if audiences don't realise it. Little Easter eggs like this remind us that literature is still so important in the modern world, even in industries where you might not expect it to be.

Another instance of Don Quixote's influence can be found in the 2014 film The Equalizer, which could be said to be a modern adaptation of the text. It certainly bears a narrative resemblance: the retired CIA agent Robert who still holds on to his beliefs and befriends a beautiful young prostitute and defends her honour against a group of thugs lines up almost identically to the elderly knight Don Quixote who falls in love with a beautiful young prostitute and defends her honour against a group of thugs, and in both cases the young woman suffers terribly. Additionally, part of Robert's story is that he is reading the 100 books to read before you die for his wife who died before she could finish the list, and he describes the book he is currently on as 'A guy who thinks he's a knight in shining armour, the only thing is, he lives in a world where knights don't exist anymore.' If the narrative similarities didn't make it obvious, this subtle reference solidifies it. Although he doesn't mention the book by name, it is clear that it is the one and only Don Quixote.

This is how we can tell that a piece of literature is truly great. It can fit so securely into the period in which it was written, and can be clearly defined as a 17th century text, and yet it can still be relevant in 2014 films and video games. The Equalizer is essentially Don Quixote copied and pasted into a modern setting, and somehow it is still new and exciting. The themes and values it displays are still so engaging and appealing to audiences, because they tap into human ideals and desires that are not bound by any particular time period. Don Quixote clearly fits this idea of a timeless essence, and it will be interesting to explore which other texts do the same.

For a Holy Endeavour is Now to Begin

Welcome to my blog! As this is my first post, I will use this opportunity to introduce myself and the nature of this blog. My name is Ellen and I am an undergraduate student of English Literature. I want to work in the publishing industry, specifically in an editorial role. That's why I think it is important to create this blog, so that I can have a showcase of my writing readily available for prospective employers. Additionally, I'm sure it will be very therapeutic to write down my thoughts.

'But what are these thoughts?' I hear you ask. Well, to tell you that, I must first tell you a little bit more about myself. I had recently been having some difficulty reconciling my love of great literature with my love of pop-culture media. How can I truly call myself a student of literature if there are some evenings I would prefer to watch some absurd anime or whatever is next on my Netflix list than go anywhere near a book? It seemed to me that this was an impossible contradiction and I was therefore a disgrace to my university's English department.

After thinking this way for several months, I eventually came to the realisation that 'high-culture' literature and 'low-' or 'pop-culture' media are not mutually exclusive. I think I knew this deep down, since I have studied Communication & Culture and Media Studies in the past, but for some reason it didn't seem obvious to me. For it is not the age or prestige of the medium that makes a story great, but the quality of the narrative and its characters. This seems like such a simple and obvious idea, but we are taught from such a young age that canon texts are somehow superior to any modern-day storytelling that it doesn't necessarily occur to some people for a long time. From King Lear to Breaking Bad, from A Tale of Two Cities to The Walking Dead by Telltale Games, the universal element that unites these cultural texts is their quality. The medium doesn't matter if the storytelling is strong and the characters are engaging. The fact is, literature is simply the oldest version of storytelling media. If it was available, who is to say Mary Shelley wouldn't love Orange is the New Black? Or that H.G. Wells wouldn't watch Star Trek or play video games? Goodness knows Tolkien would have been the greatest Dungeon Master of all time if he'd lived one more year to see the invention of Dungeons & Dragons.

In all seriousness, the point is that modern media may have evolved and moved on from the potential restrictions of literature, but they certainly still owe it as their ancestor, the original form of massively consumed narratives. And this brings me to the intention of this blog. As a lover of both literature and modern media, what is more entertaining than spotting an allusion to literature where you would least expect it? There are some films, games, and television programmes that acknowledge their debt to the written word with a silent nod in the form of a passing reference or familiar character. For students of literature such as myself, these are exciting little Easter eggs that make you feel at once knowledgeable for recognising the allusion and as though you understand the text better for it. It is the modern equivalent of Renaissance poets using classical allusions in their work, but without quite as much of the elitism and exclusivity. I will use this blog to document examples of this phenomenon that I find in everyday life and evaluate what they mean for the worlds of literature and modern media.

I already have a few examples in mind, so keep an eye out for those in the near future!