Scanlyze

The Online Journal of Insight, Satire, Desire, Wit and Observation

Thoughts on the TV show Vikings

Vikings is the tale of the semi-historical Ragnarr Loðbrók and two of his wives, Lagertha and Aslaug, and their children, Bjorn Ironside, Ivar the Boneless, Hafdan Whitecoat, Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye and Ubba.
Ragnar is a wealthy farmer at the start of the show. He is a clever and brutal warrior, a combat pragmatist. But he is more, a visionary, a charismatic leader, intellectually curious, a technological innovator, shrewd judge of character, and a Machiavellian magnificent bastard of the first degree.
The show exists in a kind of magical realism where magic is believed in but whether it is ‘real’ is always up to the eye of the beholder.
The show is well grounded in the Norse culture and presents a lot of values dissidence through the vehicle of Æthelstan, a monk from Lindessfarne who Ragnarr makes captive during the first Viking raid on England.
The sets and costumes are reasonably accurate. In order to be more identifiable on the battlefield to the viewer, nobody wears helms in battle, which given the number of head wounds suffered is obviously quite stupid in-world. The depiction of viking and Anglo-Saxon and Frankish tactics is quite good.
They make hash of the topography. They have fjords in Kattegat, they have mountains by Uppsala, they have people crossing from Denmark to Sweden dryshod on land.
And being the we-used-to-be-a-history channel, they make hash of the history. For instance, Ragnarr did not succeed Horik I and king of Denmark, his son Horik II did.
The ships and houses and costumes are very nicely done and era-appropriate generally.
I’m curious to see if Rurik and Dyre will come in season 4 as the viking (varangian) founders of modern Russia were contemporaries of Ragnarr and his sons. Dyre’s companion Askold was the son of Hafdan Hvitsark Ragnarrson and thus grandson of Ragnarr and Aslaug and thus Ragnarr’s grandson.
Someone above scoffed at ‘conquering a new land with 30 guys’ well yes they didn’t have thousands of extras on set. But dark ages battles did not involve thousands of people either. The Great Heathen army of Ragnarr’s sons invaded and conquered most of England, the Isles, and northern Ireland with according to some scholars, less than a thousand men. Although Crusader Kings II gives them 15,000.
The show is very violent. It is about the events leading up to the Great Heathen Army which led the Christians of Europe to make special prayers for protection from them such as:
Pity [us] the highest favor by preserving and guarding our bodies, free us from the savage Norman tribe who devastates our realms.
They aged and young would have their throats slit, and maidens and lads too, and the multitudes also. Repel the evil from us, we altogether implore [thee]. Bring thee the ruling realm, we plead on our knees, to the king of glory, who pity us with true peace, soundness, hopes and strength. Give us peace and harmony. Bestow us unmitigated hope, genuine faith also; concede us continual charity and let completed be. Sanctify our prayers that we be availed in achieving this, that we be rejoiced in glorious measure. Praise be peace and glory, to the Trinity who [is] wholly most-magnificent for the people. Amen
–Charles the Bald
870
I give Vikings high marks for:
Music
Choreography
Values-neutral presentation of medieval Christianity vs Norse paganism. They are all anti-heroes at best except the Anglo-Saxon monk Aethelstan who is a viewer reference in that he is moral and isn’t murderous, Machiavellian, or batshit crazy. Well, he is Machiavellian, actually.
Acting, especially Travis Fimmel as the snarky, reserved, observant, calculating and ruthless Ragnarr and Katheryn Winnick as the stalwart shield-maiden Lagertha.
World-building set design and costumes are well thought out and authentic-ish. Such as the clinker-built ships they use.
Not so good for:
History, however Ragnarr isn’t acknowledged by all historians to be a historic character, although all his sons are. How could he not be real if his sons exist?
Ragnarr and Lagertha’s and Aslaug’s stories are caught up in the great cycle of Norse myths and legends such as Aslaug/Kraka/Ranhildr is the daughter of Sigurd the dragon-slayer and the shield-maiden Brynhildr. Her early story corresponds to “Clever Peasant Girl” folk tale, Aarne-Thompson no. 875, so either it nicely fit that pattern of changed with retellings to fit it.
Nevertheless the script has Ragnarr become King of Denmark, which for sure did not happen.
Geography as mentioned. Locations have been picked for their visual appeal and way of framing establishing shots, but have nothing to do with the actual geography of the places depicted in most cases.
There’s a lot more analysis at tvtropes but better not to read it yet because spoilers.
Overall, Vikings is a great show and well-worth watching.

http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/videos/the-strong-women-of-vikings?m=5189719baf036&s=All&f=1&free=false

Copyright © 2015 Henry Edward Hardy

5 June, 2015 Posted by | history, History Channel, media, review, scanlyze, television, Vikings | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riese: A Girl and her Wolf

Riese: A Girl and her Wolf

Riese and Fenrir
Riese and Fenrir

I recently ran across a new web-only action/adventure production called Riese. The eponymous main character, played by Christine Chatelain, is fleeing from a tyrannical regime in the steampunk kingdom of Elysia. I like the Mad Max look of the costumes and the Dr. Horrible like semi-pro abandon with which the series is being edited and shot. The general premise, good kingdom overtaken by evil cult; heir(ess) on the run… is as old as the stories of Theseus and Oedipus. The show has an appealing during/post apocalypse sense which puts one in mind of A Boy and His Dog, Mad Max, especially the third installment, Beyond Thunderdome, V for Vendetta, Children of Men, The Handmaid’s Tale and many others. However it is a nice place from which to explore good versus evil, individual versus society and such tropes. The heroine has at least one supernatural seeming ability: to keep her eyeliner and eyeshadow lipstick and foundation pristine and unsmeared despite being pursued through the woods while wearing goggles and bleeding from a side wound and then engaging in a rather clumsy knife fight with several Mad-Maxian attackers.

I am generally happy with people taking their vision directly to web rather than letting it be ground up and homogenized by the “entertainment” industry.

Whether it be “Star Trek Phase II”, Star Wars Revelations, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, lonelygirl15, or the semi-professional docu-humor of Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock, such efforts can be good even if writing/acting/scripting/editing are not all that they could be because they are fun and true and come from the heart.

So bon chance to Riese. Here’s hoping it is not too horrible.

Copyright © 2009 Henry Edward Hardy

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3 November, 2009 Posted by | Christine Chatelain, independent production, internet, media, scanlyze, science fiction, steampunk, television, TV, video, web, wolf | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NSA Whistleblower details allegations of widespread warrantless spying in US

Rawstory reported as follows:

Whistleblower: NSA even collected credit card records
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster
Published: Thursday January 22, 2009

Ex-analyst believes program actually the remnants of ‘Total Information Awareness,’ shut down by Congress in 2003

On Wednesday night, when former NSA analyst Russell Tice told MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann that the Bush administration’s National Security Agency spied on everyone in the United States, specifically targeting journalists, the Countdown host was so flabbergasted that Tice was invited back for a second interview.

On Thursday, he returned to the airwaves with expanded allegations against the NSA, claiming the agency collected Americans’ credit card records, and adding that he believes the massive, warrantless data vacuum to be the remnants of the Total Information Awareness program, shut down by Congress in 2003.

Asked for comment by Olbermann’s staff, the agency responded, “NSA considers the constitutional rights of US citizens to be sacrosanct. The intelligence community faces immense challenges in protecting our nation. No matter the challenges, NSA remains dedicated to performing its mission under the rule of law.”

see: Whistleblower: NSA even collected credit card records

If accurate, the allegations could lead to charges prosecutable under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the General Prohibition on Pen Register and Trap and Trace Device Use, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

See:
18 U.S.C. § 2510
18 U.S.C. § 3121
36 U.S.C. § 1801

Copyright © 2009 Henry Edward Hardy

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23 January, 2009 Posted by | government, intelligence, lies, more lies, news, NSA, rule of law, scanlyze, spying, surveillance, television, Total Information Awareness, whistleblower | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

BBC: More on Tal Afar Iraqi soldiers rape accusation

BBC quotes acting Tal Afar mayor Brig Gen. Nijm Abdullah with more information regarding the alleged rape and torture of a mother of 11 by Iraqi soldiers in northern Iraq:

Iraqi soldiers charged with rape

…Gen Abdullah said he had received a complaint from tribal leaders that a group of soldiers had entered the woman’s house “a few days ago” and raped her.

“One of the soldiers did not approve. His name is Mushtaq Taleb from Basra. He wanted to stop his comrades by threatening them with weapons because it is an immoral act, but the rape took place anyway,” Gen Abdullah added.

He said he had referred the troops to the judiciary for prosecution.

The woman is thought to be a 40-year-old married mother of 11 from Iraq’s Turkoman minority.

The defendants are identified as a lieutenant and three enlisted men.

If the BBC report is correct, then Mushtaq Taleb should be commended for trying to stop the rape and torture of this mother.

Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy

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22 February, 2007 Posted by | allegations, BBC, crime, human rights, Iraq, media, Mosul, mothers, news, Nijm Abdullah, peace, politics, radio, rape, repression, scanlyze, Tal Afar, television, torture, TV, war, war crimes | 1 Comment

Xinhua news agency: ‘Four Iraqi soldiers arrested for rape in N Iraq’

The second public accusation of rape by Iraqi soldiers this week was reported by the Chinese news agency Xinhua. According to Xinhua,

Four Iraqi soldiers arrested for rape in N Iraq
http://www.chinaview.cn 2007-02-22 21:55:06

MOSUL, Iraq, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — Four Iraqi soldiers have been arrested for raping an ethnic Turkoman woman in the town of Tal Afar, some 400 km north of Baghdad, the second such allegations being leveled against Iraqi security personnel in a week, an official said on Thursday…

The 40-year-old woman first appeared on a Turkoman satellite channel on Wednesday evening and alleged that she was raped by the soldiers after Iraqi forces stormed her house in the town. The woman said they also videotaped the rape, then tortured her and threatened to rape her young daughters if she didn’t cooperate with them and provide them with information on terrorists.

Copyright © 2007 Henry Edward Hardy

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22 February, 2007 Posted by | China, crime, Iraq, media, Mosul, mothers, news, peace, politics, rape, repression, scanlyze, Tal Afar, television, torture, TV, war, war crimes, Xinhua | Leave a comment

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