The ancient world and archaeology are huge parts of our
history, and so it follows that these aspects would bleed into other parts of
our culture as well. The obvious film is Indiana
Jones of course, and then there’s Tomb
Raider and National Treasure; but
I’m not just talking about films that feature archaeology as a major plot
design. I’m talking about the more subtle uses – where films include
archaeology in the background, as the heritage or culture of the world they
have built for that specific film.
Archaeology is seen as something that links us to the past,
and as such is created and incorporated into fiction in order to establish this
connection and authenticate the history of the imagined world. One of the most
famous movies where this is evident is Harry Potter.
Hogwarts grounds [1]
The grounds of Hogwarts have been created to include a stone
circle. The fictional magical castle is located in Scotland, and stone circles
are very common there (as they are in other parts of Britain). Why was this
circle included? It seems to add an aura of history, of longevity and tradition
to the site – it gives it credibility.
This is what fantasy films in particular lack – the depth of
cultural history and tradition that is embedded within human history and
society. Lord of the Rings is another excellent example of this. Tolkien was
highly educated, and the richness of his imagination is evident in Middle
Earth. Edoras, for example, is clearly a hillfort (in my opinion!), and it’s fun to see
Tolkien’s reflection of this and his interpretation of how such a site would
have been used and occupied.
Edoras [2]
The locations in Middle Earth all have rich histories
associated with them, and many of the sites were influenced in Tolkien’s
imagination by aspects of sites and buildings across England. It’s also
encouraging that these world builders turn to archaeology in order to create
their realities. I think this is a good sign for the perception of archaeology in
terms of its relevance to popular culture and modern life - I hope this can be
reflected in our political spheres as well.
At the other end of the spectrum is what might be termed
‘the archaeology of film sets’. Staying within the realm of science
fiction/fantasy, the Star Wars saga offers us a beautiful example. The desert planet
of Tatooine was filmed in the Tunisian desert, and the houses and other
structures of the film set still sit in the desert today.
The above photo is part of a collection at the Tate Modern
called ‘Project Space: Ruins in Reverse’, thinking about the divide between
archaeology, fiction and reality. Already they look like ‘credible’
archaeological ruins, all too easily mistaken for the actual remains of past
civilisations. And in a way they are – archaeology is the physical remains of
past societies, and the Star Wars movies do play their part in modern culture.
It is also amusing to think what conclusions future archaeologists might come
to when they stumble across the ruins in the future, after all knowledge of
them has been lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment