{"id":397,"date":"2023-06-23T04:45:10","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T04:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/?p=397"},"modified":"2023-06-23T04:45:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T04:45:10","slug":"proteus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/23\/proteus\/","title":{"rendered":"Proteus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Eve & the Elijians <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll talk more about my definition of #Xena\u2019s canon, & how I intend to comply with it, next week, but a big part of it is its referential style. That is, the way it borrows from various sources. Without those, it\u2019s a very different show, in my opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In keeping with that, I want to make sure I\u2019m also borrowing from the same, or similar types, of sources. Since Greek theatre was a big part of the show, I plan to also incorporate it. It\u2019s not hard, but for this story, it\u2019s a bit tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I draw upon a number of Greek plays, but the main inspiration is \u201cProteus,\u201d a Greek comedy that Aeschylus wrote as the brief ending for his famous Oresteid trilogy (the only surviving Greek trilogy from its golden age). It\u2019s difficult to borrow from it because it\u2019s lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 1 Greek comedy survives, & half of another, so we know what the genre was like. We can use our imaginations to figure out how \u201cProteus\u201d must\u2019ve looked. We know the general plot, & we have a single surviving quote, about a slain dove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t know anything about the context of this quote. What did this poetic image mean? Since \u201cRock of Ages\u201d is a story about Eve, a disciple for Peace, I use it as a symbol of endangered peace. In Homer\u2019s \u201cOdyssey,\u201d Proteus is a wizard, & sea god, who lives on an island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen of Troy\u2019s husband, Menelaus, lands on this island, en route from the conquest of Troy, & needs directions home (or he\u2019ll be lost, like Ulysses, for 10 years). He meets Proteus\u2019s daughter, who tells him the secret of persuading her father to help him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because he\u2019s the God of Change, a magical shape-shifter, Menelaus\u2019ll need to catch him & not let go until he stops changing shapes. It works! Menelaus gets directions home, while finding out his brother Agamemnon got home 1st<\/sup> but was killed (i.e., the plot of the Oresteid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because this is a \u201csatyr\u201d play, as Greeks called their comedies (they used goatmen as comedy relief), a typical Greek myth gets turned into a screwball comedy as a result. I love the themes of change, romance, family strife, & bawdy hijinks all in the service of peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s the perfect inspiration for this webcomic. I want to glean its details for use in \u201cRock of Ages,\u201d just like the show runner clearly did elsewhere for #Xena. How to do that if the play is lost? By writing it and drawing it myself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever I got stuck in the story, I would consult my version of \u201cProteus\u201d, its plot, motifs, & images. It worked! It provided a general unifying logic to \u201cRock of Ages\u201d that kept the story on track. This mini-comic will be the first part of this project that I\u2019ll post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it\u2019s unabashed & a bit bawdy (though nothing you wouldn\u2019t see in a Danny Kaye movie), I modeled it after \u201cJack of All Trades,\u201d & took inspiration from Bruce Campbell in shaping the performance of the lead role of Menelaus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019ll be drawn in the style of Disney\u2019s \u201cHercules\u201d cartoon, which came out shortly before \u201cHercules and Xena: The Battle For Mt Olympus\u201d. Disney is an influence for me, drawing-wise, so it\u2019ll be good practice, before I start to draw the main story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To end this week\u2019s theme, I want to post a video that influenced me a lot while writing \u201cRock of Ages.\u201d Its story has Eve entangled with numerous sects of the Elijian peace movement, some violent, some peaceful, some strict & severe.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This video inspired my portrayal of a fourth group: the freewheeling Elijian youth movement swept up in the Dionysiac enthusiasm of its teachings, wanting to spread its message in the form of music & dance. There was a similar movement during the 1960s which inspired the protean musical \u201cGodspell\u201d, among others. A modern-day reenactment of the gospel, this scene shows John the Baptist as a voice in the wilderness (modern-day New York), gathering the disciples, preparing for the long-awaited messenger of peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My story sticks to the show\u2019s portrayal of the Elijian movement as incorporating tropes from Hollywood\u2019s classic Bible epics (such as Ben Hur, in \u201cThe God You Know\u201d), but I\u2019ve also borrowed from later musicals & film treatments as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll talk more about Eve & the Elijians in a few weeks, & how we should think about them, as well as the practice of alluding to a modern-day religion, & the sensibilities of its followers (as well as the feelings of those not always keen on present-day religious values).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I drew a lot from the images in this video for the story, which inspired its central set, Aphrodite\u2019s Fountain of Love. I really like the way this scene captures the burst of Dionysiac freedom of the times, joyful & bittersweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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