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Back to Camelot: 21st-Century reinterpretations of the Arthurian mythos

— Jennifer W. Spirko; Scott E. Johnson, Oakton Community College; and Bradley McIlwaine

Paper given 1 January 1970 at Mythcon 51 Session 6

With David Lowery’s film, The Green Knight, headed for a pandemic-delayed opening this summer, the Arthurian mythos re-enters popular culture yet again. How do this and other recent retellings of the Matter of Britain connect our world with its roots? We’ll consider not only the new film, but also such novels as Kingfisher, by Patricia McKillip; Once & Future, by A.R. Capetta; and Cursed, by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler, alongside the TV series based on it. What version of Camelot and its attendant tales and heroes do today’s Arthurian works present? How are they in dialogue with earlier renditions? How are they in dialogue with earlier renditions? What keeps us returning again and again to this most evergreen of myths?

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date recorded 📅2022-01-23
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