EMP: The Incredible Music, Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction Museum

Almost everyone reading this blog is really interested in fantasy or horror, or both. Magical creatures, supernatural, myths, legends and spooky stories. Now, imagine a place where you can explore in real life the history of fantasy and horror, as well as the history of music, a place where you can find out more about literature and art, walking into a huge fantasy art salon or a gallery, with imaginative depictions of other worlds, from The Wizard of Oz to Harry Potter; this place really exists!

The EMP museum in Seattle is a structure made of several electric guitars sliced into pieces and used as building blocks to create a structure that evokes the history of rock ‘n’ roll, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Frank O’ Gehry, reminding the audiences of the evolution of music and culture.

This is one of the most amazing museums in the entire world! EMP has a rich collection of pop culture content and the purpose of the museum is to inspire creativity to everyone and to create a positive change in the society, as well as inform and pay tribute to different genres, such as fantasy, science fiction and horror literature and art in general.

Here you can view an original manuscript page from Game of Thrones, several weapons used in The Lord of the Rings movies, and real costumes from The Chronicles of Narnia, among other things. You really lose track of reality here and you enter into another world.

But, if you’re more interested in horror, the EMP museum offers an exhibition where you can learn more about how horror is expressed through cinema, biology, history and contemporary culture; you will not be disappointed: in fact, you can find the original axe from The Shining here, the Nighthawk stake from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the artifacts from Alien. Plus, three horror experts and iconic horror directors, Roger Corman, John Landis and Eli Roth, have made a selection of the best cinematic horror from its origins, until today.

If you’re interested in music as well, at EMP you can find an exhibition called Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses, where you can explore the story through many objects and music,  of one the most iconic  groups and musical artists in the world: more than 150 instruments, artwork, photographs, albums, films and much more, this is the world’s most extensive exhibition of memorabilia celebrating Nirvana.

Here is the link to EMP’s website, where you can find more info about this beautiful cultural place. 

http://www.empmuseum.org/

The History of Fantasy: when the genre arose

Fantasy is a very ancient art, and it has developed throughout the centuries in various subjects: cultural studies, history, literature, music, art, plays, music, cinema… and I could go on and on. But what are the elements that make a fantasy work? The predominant characteristics of Fantasy are tales or stories in which we have myths, imagination, supernatural, symbolism and surreal elements; but we can also have dark elements, magic castles and creatures, and most of the times, a really close correlation with nature. Fantasy has many subcategories.

 

We have the first written forms of the Fantasy genre in ancient Classic Latin, Egyptian and Greek mythology, but also in the Celtic and Scandinavian tradition.

The Medieval period played a very important role in the distribution of written Fantasy fairytales and stories; in fact, scribes used to spend years writing down several copies of ancient literature, so they would be transmitted to the future generations and their work is very precious today (despite many works was destroyed and burned by repressive censorship, if it was believed that the work was against the religion of the moment).

 

A fundamental role was played, as I already said, by J. J. R. Tolkien, from 1954 and until now. He is considered the “father” of Fantasy because he managed to take this genre at its peak and make it one of the most important and followed today, by young generations and old ones.

Some names of talented fantasy authors today are J. K. Rowling (how can we not mention her?), Stephen King, George Martin, and Christopher Paolini; these are some of the names that have greatly contributed to make the Fantasy genre successful today.

 

We also can’t forget that from the seventies the first Fantasy role plays was created, as Dungeons & Dragons. Nowadays there are fantastic role plays that you can physically play with, but with technology the development of computer and Play Station video games are real (as Final Fantasy or The Lord of the Rings).

Fantasy is wonder, imagination. You get to know new worlds and fantastic stories.

What’s your favorite Fantasy work?

Visiting the Norwegian Film Museum

Yesterday I visited a very interesting place, the Norwegian Film Museum in Oslo, a museum with a unique collection of objects and authentic film sets. I thought I would do some researches and tell you more about fantasy and horror Norwegian filmography in particular.

The first official film was played in Paris by the French Lumière brothers, year 1895; but, we have to wait until 1891 for the first cinematograph, by the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison.

In Norway, if we think about animation and fantasy films, the most important name to remember is Ivo Caprino; he made films of the most famous fairytales of the authors H. C. Andersen and Asbjørnsen and Moe. He used dolls and made them seem like real characters. There have been periods in history where many films were censored, due to political or social reasons (like during the Nazi era); today, many critics in Norway discuss about the age limit for various fantasy films, and children must be at least 11 to watch fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings and Twilight.

Furthermore, one of the first horror movies ever projected in Norway was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, by the American Tobe Hooper, in 1978 (despite the fact that the film was made some years before, in 1974). It’s simple to imagine that this brutal film caused several discussions because of its content and horrible images.

If you happen to be in Oslo and you’re interested in film industry and history, go visit this place, you won’t regret it.

 

 

 

Creatures into The Woods

 

The place of myths, magic and mystic stories, literature, movies and legends, a place of inspiration, and where beauty of nature is at its best: the woods. I always love films or books that have their set into the woods; so, I decided to do a list for you, of the most common mythological creatures that we think about if we imagine trees, rivers and nature.

 

Elves – The folkloristic supernatural being I’ve already talked about in this blog has always been connected with the woods; it is said that its home is in holes under particular giant pine trees.

Trolls – The giant Old Norse mythological creatures are always described living on isolated rocks into the woods especially on high mountains or caves; often in small family units and far from human habitations.

 

Fairies – The imaginary creatures with magic powers, usually represented as very small and with beautiful wings, live in the forest. They hide from humans with their green clothing and underground homes.

Tree Spirits – We refer to them also as Tree Deities, and they are a common figure in several cultures (like in Buddhist or Hindu mythology). Usually they are represented as young women and often related to ancient fertility believes.

Witches – This is I think one of the most fascinating figures, believed to live in little wooden houses into the woods, and collecting herbs to practice their magical skills and ability.

Nymphs – Divine spirits who animate nature in Greek and Latin Mythology, usually depicted as beautiful creatures living near or inside rivers or lakes in the forest. They are often associated with flowers and lilies.

 

These are only a few of the creatures often related with forest all over the world. The wonderful woods have always inspired authors and writers during the centuries.

Turning back to reality, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United States reported that world pollution is, as it has been for several years now, a huge humanitarian problem and still continues at a high rate everywhere. The forest, as we all know, is vital for every form of human life. The main message I want to spread to everyone with this article is, respect nature and all forms of human creatures. Walk through the woods and have an unforgettable picnic near the river, but don’t throw away trash around you. That’s not respectful, not for yourself as a person, and not for everyone and everything around you.

 

The magic of Eluveitie

When it comes to the music session of this blog, I’ve written about great musicians and composers always related to particular soundtracks, so you could know more about how the scores you listen to are created and who deserves to be remembered for creating them. But, as we all know, there are many amazing musicians that are not necessary bound to a particular movie, that are representing Celtic and folk music though, so I’ve decided to begin write about them too.

The fist band I want to tell you about is a Swiss folk metal band called Eluveitie. They have meaningful and interesting texts, and many songs are written in Gaulish, with many references to Celtic Mythology. They managed to translate the texts with the help of David Stipfer, a professor at the University of Vienna. The name of the band is an Etruscan form of Celtic “helvetios”, meaning “the Helvetian”. Helvetians was a tribal confederation that occupied Switzerland before and during the contact with the Roman Republic in the 1th century. The founder of the band, Chringel Glanzmann, talked about how important it is to him to remember the culture and the traditions of a civilization that lived ages ago where he lives now and that Eluveitie want to symbolize past and hand it down to new generations.

Eluveitie are active since 2002 and while the first albums are more impregnated with black metal influences, the third album, Evocation I: The Arcane Domination has divided fans all over the world, because it’s more concentrated on Celtic and folk melodies. The singer Anna Murphy is amazing.

I’ll link here my favorite song of this talented band; I really love those kind of videos, where you see nature and you feel the music match perfectly with what it’s around.

 

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien: How Everything Began

I just made some researches on J. R. R. Tolkien and found the story of his life so interesting and inspiring that I just wanted to share it with you all.

The popular fantasy novel The Hobbit was first published in 1937, and it is now recognized as a classic in literature. Tolkien’s son Christopher remembers when his father used to stand with his back to the fire in his small study in the house in North Oxford during their winter reads after tea in the evening and tell stories to him and his brother, and in particular when for the first time he started to tell the story of a small being with furry feet, the Hobbit.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” is the first line of the novel The Hobbit; it all began as a story told to his children.

When Tolkien then began writing and was finished with the entire story, he managed to publish it, with the help of the British publisher Stanley Unwin, the first person who believed in his work and founder of the company George Allen and Unwin UK. Subsequently, Unwin urged Tolkien to write another book about hobbits, because the first edition was sold out. He answered that he didn’t know it would have been such a success and wondered for himself: what else can I write about hobbits? Three days later he wrote to Charles Furth, another member of Allen and Unwin: “I have written the first chapter of a new story about hobbits, A Long Expected Party.”

That, was the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings.

 

 

The Elf throughout the centuries

Elves have been depicted several times in modern and ancient literature by excellent writers; Tolkien let them play a central role both in his Silmarillion and into The Lord of the Rings. He even invented Elvish languages! He describes them as good-looking immortal creatures with melodious voices and very agile. J. K. Rowling change the classical image of the Elf, depicting it as a domestic creature, wizard’s housekeeper, very humble, minute and gifted with immense powers.

But, what is the origin of this controversial and fascinating creature in literature?

The Elves are originally described by Norse mythology, the mythology that dates back to the Norse Paganism Period, prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia. We have evidence of several beautiful tales – but also ballads, folktales and prayers – from that period that tells us about beings (such as elves, trolls, and others), but also various heroes. The numerous sources are from both before and after the Pagan Period, including also several Medieval manuscripts.

 

The English word Elf comes from Old Norse and before that from Common Germanic, the ancestor language of both English and all the Scandinavian Languages such as Norwegian and Swedish, and the meaning of the word seems to be related to the world “white” or “whiteness”, but some linguists do not agree completely with this theory.

 

According to Scandinavian Mythology, the Elf is in symbiosis with nature, seeing it as the Mother of all beings, and it can pass through all the four elements: water, earth, air and fire. Elves have great experience in healing and magic herbs, and they could find hidden treasures in the woods in their sleep. They cannot be seen by humans though.

There are several legends of this mythological figure in history, some of them are not so positive about their behavior, claiming how angry they can be to Humans. So this figure has not always been seen as a good creature. With the Christianity, for example, elves have been identified with demons.

Obviously, most of the elves stories was originally only told and preserved orally. The earliest surviving manuscripts are from Anglo-Saxon England, and in Old English. The tradition of Elves became then a fundamental part also of English and Anglo-Saxon mythology, and here they were seen yet another time differently, as small invisible beings causing damage and illness with their arrows into the woods.

It was first in the nineteenth century that the elves were seen in American Christmas tradition as Santa Claus’ little helpers, with pointy noses and green clothes, making toys in the North Pole for all the children in the world.

I personally love this magic creature, and how such a controversial figure it is, seen differently by people from place to place. This is the real magic of mythology.

 

The Lord of the Rings Soundtracks

Howard Shore is the musician that composed the beautiful melodies of all The Lord of The Rings movies; he actually wrote many hours of music, and ten of them was released in a complete CD/DVD boxing set.

While we’re watching the films the music always fits in brilliantly, with the protagonists, their actions and the places they discover during the path. To achieve this goal, Shore composed the music threading through the scores more than 90 leitmotifs. We’re talking about one of the best cinematic soundtracks of all time, winning literally every possible recognition: Oscar for Best Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, and many more. Shore’s music for The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular motion picture score in history!

The music for the films was performed by the amazing London Philharmonic Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the main instruments used was flutes, horns, piano, harps, and violins.

What’s amazing about this music and what not so many people know is that the great majority of the lyrics used into the film score of The Lord of the Rings are in the invented languages of Middle-Earth, representing various cultures and races in Tolkien’s writings; the score has also been analyzed by a very famous linguist, David Salo, who have studied for the most of his life Tolkien’s languages and has also written a book, A Grammar for An Elvish Language from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

All the music from The Lord of the Rings is now performed by orchestras and choirs all over the world in various concert halls, with visual art shows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The real story behind The Lord of the Rings

You always think about The Lord of the Rings as one of the best-selling novels ever written, but what’s the story behind? What made Tolkien write this masterpiece of literature and when?

Many critics have analyzed this work and made several assumptions about it. We know that John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892 – 1973) was professor of Anglo-Saxon and professor of English Language and Literature at the Merton College, Oxford. Thanks to his great successes such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, he is identified as the father of modern fantasy literature. Writing The Lord of the Rings, he was influenced his great interests: philology, Norse, Germanic and Celtic mythology, religion (Roman Catholicism), but also his distaste for the effects of industrialization and his personal experience as lieutenant in World War I. Other influences have also been seen in Welsh Language; in fact, all the names of persons and places into the book The Lord of the Rings were modelled on those of Welsh, although some locations were inspired by Tolkien’s childhood in Birmingham.

Tolkien began writing this work at the age of 45, and the writing lasted for 12 years (from 1937 to 1949); for publication, the books were divided into three volumes: The Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

Not everyone knows that Tolkien was so fond of philology that when the novel was translated into 38 languages, he examined many of these translations himself.

The Lord of the Rings become immensely famous in the United States in the 1960s, and from that year until now it has been considered the most popular work of fiction of the twentieth century.

The main theme of The Lord of the Rings is the battle between Good and Evil and the allegory of The Ring, indicating power.