A Humorous Reinterpretation of Ancient and Modern Myths in Murdoch Mysteries Television Series
A Humorous Reinterpretation of Ancient and Modern Myths in Murdoch Mysteries Television Series
Author(s): Zamfira-Maria Petrescu, Nadia-Nicoleta MorăraşuSubject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Social history, Sociolinguistics, Stylistics
Published by: Editura Alma Mater
Keywords: myths; humour; reinterpretation; Murdoch Mysteries TV series;
Summary/Abstract: Used for centuries as means of clarifying certain phenomena and occurrences or the causes for unexplained events, myths have adorned human reasoning with metaphors and allegories that kindle imagination and hope. Throughout historical eras, myths have been continuously adapted to the public, starting with ancient myths up to the modern ones that include urban myths, and they have served various purposes such as justifying the origin of words, rituals or even actions. Most of the myths with which we are familiar incorporate surrealistic creatures, among which one can discover vampires or werewolves, whose existence proves difficult to demonstrate since they inhabit the deserted realms of the Americas or the isolated European communities. Even though there is little evidence that Krampus haunted the houses of misbehaving children or that a reminiscent dinosaur swam in the Loch Ness, these mythical occurrences were reinterpreted within amusing approaches to taboo topics that might elicit wonder or cynicism. Such comic interpretations of one of the latest modern myths, the extra-terrestrials abducting cattle for experiments and the famous marks left by their UFOs, or the so-called “crop circles”, together with other Ancient or Medieval myths, can be identified in some of the episodes belonging to Murdoch Mysteries television series.
Journal: Cultural Perspectives - Journal for Literary and British Cultural Studies in Romania
- Issue Year: 2023
- Issue No: 28
- Page Range: 213-236
- Page Count: 23
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF