Welcome back! We hope you had a great weekend. This week for Pagan News Beagle's Airy Monday section we take a look at what is arguably the biggest pop culture phenomenon of our times: Comic Con! We share a number of stories from the cross-media extravaganza held at the end of last week, including new details about Once Upon a Time, The Legend of Korra, and Warcraft. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
ABC's Once Upon a Time, inspired both by classic fairy tales and the Disney films based upon them, has been a big success ever since it debuted four years ago in 2011. Last year the series added Elsa from Disney's big hit Frozen, loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. Now, it looks as though ABC's trying to recapture the same magic by adding Princess Merida from Pixar's Brave to the mix.
Among the many witch trials in history the Salem trials are no doubt among the most famous, well-known through their portrayal in media such as The Crucible or Salem. But what's the truth about the Salem witches? For those interested in learning, Cherry Hill Seminary is hosting a class on the subject beginning July 27.
The Avatar franchise of Nickelodeon (not to be confused with James Cameron's film of the same name) has been one of the most surprising and critically acclaimed successes in Western animation, with both the original series and its sequel The Legend of Korra drawing considerable praise for their representation of non-European cultures, political drama, and feminism. The latter series ended recently but according to news revealed last week Dark Horse Comics will be continuing the story of its lead female characters, Korra and Asami, in comic form.
There's been a lot said about female representation in comics over the years, with much of it focused on the way heroines are commonly sexualized and marginalized in comparison to their male counterparts. But what about the way in which they've inspired fans? Feminist website The Mary Sue takes a look at one of the most celebrated heroines, Jean Grey of the X-Men, and what makes her so inspirational.
We don't know how many of you play fantasy MMO World of Warcraft or its real-time strategy predecessors but we're sure you've heard of it. But now Duncan Jones, the director of Moon and Source Code and the son of famed singer David Bowie, is looking to adapt the video game series to film. At Comic Con, Time caught up with Jones and asked him about his direction for the movie, which debuts next year.