Film Review: Commercials pt. 1

Posted by Paula Stiles Sep 27, 2006

Ads for medieval-era films tend to focus on two major themes-ceremonial pomp and lots of action. The ads for Kingdom of Heaven, for example, show bone-crunching action, the odd flash of ceremonial robes and kohl-wearing women in exotic robes. Sex might figure into a movie ad, too, but advertisers have a rather strange idea that noblewomen in the Middle Ages didn't have sex. So, there isn't all that much of it in these ads. Advertisers are not interested in lower-class people unless said peasant is being gutted in some artful way by a major hero or villain. One might think that a film with a peasant hero, like A Knight's Tale, might have some nookie, but no dice.

Ads for local theme parks and events are a little sexier, since people going there expect to see knights on horseback and serving wenches with low-cut dresses falling off their shoulders. Never mind that medieval women generally wore ankle-length dress with long sleeves and wore headscarves.

Another aspect of such events is the emphasis on dress and customs that are more properly very late medieval, Renaissance or Reformation-era. At King Richard's Faire (a Renaissance-themed fair), for example, we see a king and queen dressed up in fashions dating from Henry VIII of England's day. We also tend to see customs that are very closely focused on the British Isles. This derives from the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval-themed group which is most popular in North America and the United Kingdom. The SCA therefore focuses on British history over the history of other languages and cultures.