ENGLISH 7_Q4_LESSON 2_ Employing a Variety of Strategies for Effective Interp...
Classic Literary Themes in Modern Media
1. Multimedia Project Explanation
Tiffany Raleigh
ENG 203
November 16, 2011
Upon looking at the Slaughterhouse 90210 website I was shocked to see how they take
these classic works of literature and place them with pop culture images and the text still
makes complete sense and relates to images from today. Looking at a picture of “Snookie”
from The Jersey Shore on MTV and seeing how it compares to a quote from the Grapes of
Wrath is just not something one expects to see. The fact that modern media is still using ideas
and themes from classic literature are what I found to be the most interesting. For my
presentation I choose three quotes from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and placed them with
images I thought still carried the same meaning today.
In my first slide I used the quote, “…freak sounds hold no fear…” which was said as
Gawain was attempting to make his way to the Green Chapel for the first time, and kept
encountering various obstacles in the forest along the way. I related it back to a picture of a
young boy playing a violent video game for the simple fact that I feel explosions and gun fire
should evoke fear in people, especially small children, and this boy obviously shows no
fear. Honestly, when my guy friends play this game around me I end up falling asleep, and the
fact that I can sleep through the sounds of buildings exploding and people getting killed is
depressing. Our culture is so desensitized to the violence going on around us that we don’t
2. even acknowledge it with the kind of attention we should. Back in the time of Gawain hearing
the sounds of animals in the distance is what people had to grow accustomed to, today in some
parts of the world it’s gunfire, showing just how much the times have changed.
For my next slide I used the quote, “But what lady in the land wouldn’t latch the door,
wouldn’t rather hold you as I do here…” and I associated it with the video for the country group
Sugarland’s “Stuck on You”. In the video it shows a girl who is so obsessed with a man that she
kidnaps him and holds him against his will in this makeshift house. The theme of a woman
wanting a man so badly she goes to the extent of holding him hostage to keep him to herself is
one that can be seen throughout history. In Gawain, the lady of the castle tucks Sir Gawain so
tightly into his bed that he can’t move giving off the ideal that he is stuck there until she says
otherwise. The video is a good representation of this theme because throughout the man
whom she has taken is bound in some way.
For the final slide I used the quote about the green sash, “…so simple in itself, or so it
appears, so little and unlikely, worth nothing, or less. But the knight who knew of the power
knitted in it would pay a high price to possess it, probably.” To relate to this picture I found a
picture from the Harry Potter movies in which Harry is carrying his cloak of invisibility. To
anyone the cloak looks like a dingy hand me down, that has seen better days, but to those who
know its secret it is a great asset. Just as the green sash looked ordinary on the outside it
contained the power to save the person wearing it from getting injured in battle. Here we are
seeing the theme of everyday objects having significant value to those who obtain them.
Once completing this project I found it surprising how many movies and T.V. shows that
are using themes found in classic literature, or creating a character that is extremely similar to
3. one from a piece of literature. The use of these themes make it clear that these reoccurring
themes are indeed timeless, and will continue to apply to everyday life for years to come.
4. Works Cited:
Gelinas, Justin. Career in Multimedia.Digital image.Justin GelinasBlogspot. Blogspot.com, 13 Sept. 2011.
Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://justinqgelinass.blogspot.com/2011/09/style-multimedia-icon-set.html>.
Hany.Goodbye Football. Digital image.World Cup Blog.BootsnAll Travel Network, 2 Apr. 2011. Web. 16
Nov. 2011. <http://egypt.worldcupblog.org/uncategorized/the-end-of-egyptian-football.html>.
Mercury Nashville.Sugarland's "Stuck On You" Digital image. Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment
Weekly Inc., 26 July 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/07/26/sugarland-stuck-
like-glue-video-chuck-exclusive-first-look/>.
Munar, Aubree. Invisibility Cloak From Harry Potter. Digital image.The Shy Traveler. Wordpress.com, 21
Nov. 2008. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://theshytraveler.wordpress.com/page/3/>.
N. A. Threat: Violent computer games and TV programmes could make boys turn a blind eye to real
violence. Digital image.WhatsOn Ningbo. WhatsOn Ningbo, Inc, 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.whatsonningbo.com/tech36.html>.