Beowulf With Postmodern Glasses

Sillygoose4

4th Period

Final Exam Beowulf Blogpost

Introduction

Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, tells the story of Beowulf as a heroic figure. He is called down by the Danes and Geats to come defeat a monster that has been terrorizing their home. Grendel, the monster, is a savage animal that sneaks into the central town areas every night and kills any civilians inside. Many prideful men have tried to stay awake to catch and kill him with the element of surprise, but everytime Grendel is the only one who walks away from the horrific scene. Beowulf eventually defeats the monster, but faces many challenges on the way. Throughout the story, the authors uses postmodern elements such as black humor and magical realism. 

Summary of Element One - Black Humor

Links to Postmodernism in Beowulf

When Beowulf was fighting Grendel’s mother with the Hrunting, “they wrestled, she ripped and tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet, and that too failed him; for the first time in years of being worn to war it would earn no glory” (Raffel ll. 481-4). The one sword that had so much value and a reputation full of victories, had broken as Beowulf was attempting to defend himself against Grendel’s mother. It is intriguing that the poet makes it clear that Beowulf was specifically called and traveled so far to attempt to defeat Grendel and his mother, but now it seems that he is failing. 

This is considered black humor because Beowulf also has a reputation of victories and they are joking about a heavy subject: violence. The poet chose to use black humor to show the reader how powerful Grendel is. Even the infamous Beowulf, who reigns in power and authority, is struggling to defeat Grendel.

Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)

Black humor is used when someone tries to make a joke about something that really shouldn’t be joked about. The jokes are often unconventional, dark, and opinionated. In “Sure, the Velociraptors are Still on the Loose, but That’s No Reason NOT to Reopen Jurassic Park,” Greaves notes, “So rather than concentrating on so-called life-saving measures like “staying in designated safe areas” or “masking your scent,” we’ll be focusing on the details that will get our customers really excited, like a wider selection of fun hats, a pterodactyl-shaped gondola ride to the top of the island, and a brand new Gordon Ramsay designed menu at the Cretaceous Cafe” (Greaves). Greaves uses black humor to mock safety measures that were never put in place when public schools reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

My Take - Beowulf and Sure, the Velociraptors are Still on the Loose, but That’s No Reason NOT to Reopen Jurassic Park both use black humor as an attempt to mock someone or something. The Beowulf poet is mocking Beowulf and Greaves is mocking any position holders that took part in reopening public schools after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Summary of Element Two - Magical Realism

Your Literary Tradition Text

Grendel and his mother “live in secret places, windy cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours from the rocks, then runs underground, where mist steams like black clouds, and the groves of trees growing over their lake are all covered with frozen spray, and wind down snakelike roots that reach as far as the water and help keep it dark. At night that lake burns like a torch” (Raffel ll. 425-33). It is obvious that this scene is uncanny, mysterious, and mystical all at the same time. This is magical realism because it has contrasting themes of fairytale colors and creepy elements. The poet chose to use magical realism to fully immerse the reader into Grendel’s home. It also adds personality to Grendel. In our world today, many people’s homes reflect the way they live their life. It reflects their personality, how they were raised, their priorities, and more. Therefore, Grendel’s mysterious home shows the readers more of Grendel’s personality (characterization) and how his public actions are connected to his life hidden from the rest of civilization.

Links to Postmodern Media Source(s)

Magical Realism is described by Ms. Leach as an, “ecosystem that is uncomfortably uncanny, magical, yet utterly photo-realistic” (from source #3 blog post instructions). In the music video, What Does The Fox Say?, Magical realism becomes evident in the forest setting as the dancers make different animal sounds. The moody colors (deep colors on white clothing), lighting effects (smoke), costumes (white contrasting dark background, animal mask), and movement of the dancers (hip hop genre imitating movement of fox) all point towards magical realism. The most uncanny part of the entire video is the animal masks that each dancer is wearing. They look like human-sized foxes with bad intentions. It is edgy and mysterious, but also intriguing and mystical. The consumer feels intrigued and pulled into the environment Ylvis has created, yet they also feel they want to distance themselves from this captivating scene. 

My Take -  Beowulf and What Does The Fox Say? both use magical realism to portray a scene that is both compelling and fearful. Beowulf’s home is mysterious and moody, while the forest in the music video What Does The Fox Say? is creepy and the definition of uncanny.

Conclusion

As we have seen throughout these different sources, postmodernism carries farther than it’s assigned time period. It is the definition of timeless existence. 

Works Cited

Raffel, Burton, transl. Beowulf, A Raffel Translation, W.W. Norton & Company, docs.google.com/document/d/1Ad2fID0z9VoUrE0iyEHiKIc9J0cu50gZ-PRjwfsVDMU/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs. Accessed 10 April 2024.

ABC10. “COVID-19 in Schools: What is being done to keep kids safe?” YouTube, 2 September 2021,  youtu.be/2xb5El4pyi8?si=h7Q5owBrG2ifQDbn. Accessed 30 April 2024.

Greaves, Carlos. “Sure, The Velociraptors Are Still on The Loose, But That’s No Reason Not to Reopen Jurassic Park.” McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Daily Humor Almost Every Day Since 1998. McSweeney’s Publishing LLC, 6 May 2020, mcsweeneys.net/articles/sure-the-velociraptors-are-still-on-the-loose-but-thats-no-reason-not-toreopen-jurassic-park. Accessed 29 April 2024.

Jackson, Ashawnta. ““Everybody Look What’s Going Down”: The Sunset Strip Riots.” JSTOR Daily, 17 August 2022, JSTOR, daily.jstor.org/everybody-look-whats-going-down-the-sunset-strip-riots/. Accessed 3 May 2024. 

Kristin. “What Does the Fox Say? Could this be Educational?” Mama Luvs Books. 23 October 2013, mamaluvsbooks.com/2013/10/what-does-the-fox-say-could-this-be-educational.html. Accessed 7 May 2024.

Stills, Stephen. Buffalo Springfield. “For What It’s Worth.” YouTube, 7 April 2016, youtu.be/1eD-8NTwP9I?si=GvlAF-USrQyJEG9K. Accessed 2 May 2024. 

TV Norge. “What Does The Fox Say?” YouTube, 3 September 2013, youtu.be/jofNR_WkoCE?si=gdEbe7O20fymAPXx. Accessed 6 May 2024