Directors, writers and producers of some of the most popular films and television series visited Union College for a two-day conference on how Hollywood treats the ancient world of Greeks and Romans.
Among those who participated in the April 27-28 conference, “Recreating the Classics: Hollywood and Ancient Empires” were Brad Silberling, Jonathan A. Zimbert and Niels Mueller.
They were joined by some of the top Classics scholars in the country for a series of roundtable discussions and presentations. Participants examined how the ancient world has enjoyed a resurgence in film, television and popular culture in part because of “Gladiator,” “300” and “Rome,” and why many scholars and students of antiquity vilify these productions, assailing them for their historical inaccuracies.
“The conference will question how films on the ancient world recast and reinterpret classical texts to reflect modern interests,” said Stacie Raucci, assistant professor of Classics at Union who organized the conference. “We would like for scholars and filmmakers to come together to discuss how and why such films are being made. It will be an opportunity for the campus community to engage in an intellectual discussion about how the past intersects with and is reflected in the present.”
The conference is related to a course Raucci is teaching this term called “The Ancient World in Film and Literature.” Students are required to read classics like Homer’s “Iliad” and Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex,” as well as view movies such as “Gladiator,” “Spartacus” and “Troy.”
Mueller, the writer and director of “The Assassination of Richard Nixon,” was instrumental in bringing several of the filmmakers to campus. His brother, Hans-Friedrich Mueller, is a professor and chair of Classics and interim chair of Modern Languages and Literatures at Union.
Zimbert, executive producer of films including “The Presidio,” “American Outlaws” and “Narrow Margin,” also has ties to the College. His son Max is set to graduate from Union in June.
Among the films directed by Silberling are “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “City of Angels” and the upcoming “The Lost Boys of the Sudan,” about children orphaned by the nation’s civil war.
"You are playing with dynamite when you interpret historically documented facts," Siberling said during a roundtable discussion about the responsibility for accuracy in historic films. "But I would argue that you can take some liberties because you are doing a literary interpretation."
Others participating included Emmy-award winner Jonathan Stamp, historical consultant and co-producer of “Rome” and other series featuring ancient themes; Kevin Kennedy, writer and producer of “The Assassination of Richard Nixon”; and cinematographer Nate Goodman (“Heroes,” “Grey’s Anatomy”).
"Movies are now a primary way that younger people learn about history and the past," said Stamp. "So you have to be careful about skewing certain realities that people might take as truth when they are developing their views of the past."
In addition to Raucci and Hans-Friedrich Mueller, other scholars who participated included Monica Cyrino, University of New Mexico; Judith Hallet, University of Maryland; Christopher McDonough, University of the South; Kristina Milnor, Barnard College; Jon Solomon, University of Illinois; and Martin Winkler, George Mason University.
Funding for the conference was provided by the Ahmanson Foundation and the Office of the Dean of Faculty at Union College.
For a conference schedule, go to http://www.union.edu/News/RecreatingtheClassics_prog.pdf