tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2564536137041993314.post8624135317595081869..comments2019-02-07T23:16:32.287-06:00Comments on Post Medieval: Boys and Their Toys: The Impact of Arthur and Caliburn on Pop Culture Storytellingtom blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13413834098471441074noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2564536137041993314.post-75080207735590707222014-11-15T19:05:01.532-06:002014-11-15T19:05:01.532-06:00I wonder if the focus on a male character's we...I wonder if the focus on a male character's weapons is due to weapons such as swords and guns being phallic symbols and representing how masculine the character is. It doesn't even have to be a sword or gun either, from what I've read, anything vaguely phallic, like a cannon, can be used too. Circular weapons, on the other hand, are yonic symbols. I remember watching a documentary that tracked the size of guns yielded by male protagonists in American movies and tv, and the documentary found a correlation between how large the gun was and how violent and overly masculine the character was. For example, Humphrey Bogart used mostly handguns in his movies, but in later movies, characters like the Terminator and Rambo use much larger guns and are more overtly violent. Maybe the obsession with weapons to the point of naming them is an obsession with emphasizing the masculinity of certain characters, especially with heroic ones like Beowulf, Arthur, and Hercules.Grace Hanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16164840598799251947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2564536137041993314.post-30497896482518572812014-11-04T12:54:27.309-06:002014-11-04T12:54:27.309-06:00You make many interesting connections with the “na...You make many interesting connections with the “naming the weapon” trope in this post. Not only is this presented in books, movies, and video games, but in comic books as well. The thunder god Thor carries his hammer Mjolnir, a weapon that can only be controlled by him. Only Thor is worthy. This is another example of the common sword in the stone mythos. Why do writers continue to fall back on this convention? While you bring up the concept of materialism and its relation on our society, I think it has more to do with lazy character development. Associating a hero with his weapon’s back story is a much easier task than building a character’s own back story. Especially when the primary characteristics of the character include using violence with the named weapon.John Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07572978801566454146noreply@blogger.com