‘Beasts of battle’ via Wikipedia

Via wikipedia: Beasts of battle:

The Beasts of battle is a poetic trope in Old English and Old Norse literature. It consists of the wolf, the raven, and the eagle, traditional animals accompanying the warriors to feast on the bodies of the slain. It occurs in eight Old English poems and in the Old Norse Poetic Edda.

The term originates with Francis Peabody Magoun, who first used it in 1955, although the combination of the three animals was first considered a theme by Maurice Bowra, in 1952.

The beasts of battle presumably date from an earlier, Germanic tradition; the animals are well known for eating carrion. A mythological connection may be presumed as well, though it is clear that at the time that the Old English manuscripts were produced, in a Christianized England, there was no connection between for instance the raven and Huginn and Muninn or the wolf and Geri and Freki. This mythological and/or religious connection survived for much longer in Scandinavia.

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Damsel in Distress: Part 1 – Tropes vs Women in Video Games

The first video from Anita Sarkeesian’s kickstarter project “Tropes vs. Women in Video Games” is up and running, covering the “Damsel in Distress” trope.

You might remember that when Sarkeesian started this Kickstarter project, there was a huge surge of harassment directed at her for even starting the research, before she had even expressed her ideas on the subject [Slate article: Online Misogyny: Can’t Ignore It, Can’t Not Ignore It]

Sarkeesian’s story is a doozy, by the way. She started a Kickstarter page to raise money to make a documentary about the tropes used by video game designers to portray female characters. She hadn’t expressed an opinion about video games yet, but simply by stating that she would at some point in the future do so, she had to endure an absolute avalanche of misogynist abuse from men who hoped they could silence her before her too-scary-to-be-heard opinion could be voiced. Every access point they could exploit was used to try to get to her, especially her YouTube page. Her Wikipedia page was repeatedly vandalized with lies, links out to porn sites, and pornographic pictures.* Eventually, Wikipedia shut it down. Unfortunately for the misogynists, this sort of thing generated a lot of sympathy for Sarkeesian, and she was able to fundraise well beyond her original goals. Like, more than $90,000 beyond what she originally wanted to raise.

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Only on afterellen.com would lesbian stalkers be a feel good story

Only on that site would no one question a story like this:

The 8 Craziest Pop Culture Lesbian Stalkers

When you hear the term “lesbian stalker,” it’s usually referencing someone you or your friend broke up with that you just can’t get away from. Well I’m sorry to say but lesbian communities are oh-so-small, my friends, and we’re all someone’s crazy ex. But sometimes there are legitimate stalkers who send Ellen Page creepy letters or sit outside Kerry Katona’s house. I’d like to think these people aren’t truly lesbian but just women who are weirdly obsessed with celebrities. But that doesn’t mean true lesbian stalkers don’t exist in the wonderful world of film and TV tropes! In fact, the obsessive gay woman that is willing to go to any length to have what she wants is quite popular. And because it’s that time of year when you like to cuddle up with your closest ladyfriend and watch a scary story, how about one of these true nuts?

Given that the “Predatory Lesbian” trope is even called out as a massive anti-gay stereotype on TV Tropes.com, which actually takes the time to note that much of the time, heterosexual people wrote these stories to scare women back into the closet and to justify homophobic behavior towards lesbians, one would think that a list like this from After Ellen would, I dunno… maybe include why this trope is problematic in it’s portrayal of lesbian characters?

But of course After Ellen would never ever question whether pop-culture’s portrayals of gay women are problematic, because they’re owned and managed by a pop-culture producer themselves, and giving actual critique of a semi-political nature wouldn’t be good for their bottom-line.

Sigh. I don’t know why I read this site anymore, really.

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MacGuffin

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Wikipedia definition of the Alfred Hitchcock concept of a MacGuffin.

In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The MacGuffin’s importance to the plot is not the object itself, but rather its effect on the characters and their motivations.

The MacGuffin technique is common in films, especially thrillers. Usually, the MacGuffin is revealed in the first act, and thereafter declines in importance. It can reappear at the climax of the story but may actually be forgotten by the end of the story. Multiple MacGuffins are sometimes derisively identified as plot coupons.

Definitive List of Hitchcock McGuffins

Also, Hitchcock Mania has a collection of stills from all of the Hitchcock films, including several MacGuffins.

Rope MacGuffin - The Wrong Hat

Rope MacGuffin – The wrong hat

The Spare Key to the Apartment

Dial M for Murder MacGuffin – the spare key to the apartment

Strangers on a Train MacGuffin

Strangers on a Train MacGuffin – The lighter implicating Farley Granger

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