Germanic mythology is currently experiencing a significant boom in audiovisual media, especially among younger audiences. Heroes such as Thor, Odin and Siegfried populate television and comic series, films, and video games. When and why did this interest in Germanic mythology emerge in the media? Starting from the interpretation of the myths used by Richard Wagner in 'The Ring of the Nibelung' at the end of the 19th century, the contributions in this volume examine the reception of Germanic myths in audiovisual media in the course of the 20th and 21st century.

Zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts machte zeitgleich mit dem Expressionismus eine neue Kunstform ihre ersten Schritte, die Bild, Sprache und Musik in sich vereinte: der Kinofilm. In Deutschland hatte die expressionistische Ästhetik einen enormen Einfluss auf dieses neue Medium, der sich in Filmen wie Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920), Der Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922) oder Metropolis (1927) zeigt und bis heute seine Spuren hinterlassen hat. Dieser Band analysiert, wie Themen, Motive, Mythen und Ästhetik des expressionistischen Kinos der 1920er Jahre in den audiovisuellen Medien bis ins 21. Jahrhundert fortwirken und welchen Einfluss sie auf Myth Criticism oder auf populäre Gattungen wie Fantasy, Horror oder Science Fiction nach wie vor ausüben.

In the context of the Indo-European cultures, this book offers an overview of the hidden pathways of Germanic Mythology, focusing upon the Germanic Word View, the creation of the world, the Dawn of Gods and the psychological role of some of the most significant gods and goddesses. The center of gravity is given to the relationship between the Germanic mythology, Christianity and humanistic education. It is revealed that the Germanic universe had a balanced worldview between patriarchal and matricentric gods and that the Norse people developed and cultivated some of today’s most highly held values such as democracy and individual and female rights. The book points at the considerable consequences of neglecting, demonizing, repulsing and repressing archetypical representations of the original Germanic culture, which was and still is considered barbarous and primitive. This creates momentous daggers for the resilience, diversity and wellbeing of our societies. It is shown that Odin’s fundamental act of divination, his voluntary hanging on the Word Tree, provided humanity with access to the collective unconsciousness and ego autonomization. Odin is thus the archetype of the therapist of the psychodynamic tradition. The book ends with a plea that advocates for increased archetypal literacy, looked at as roadmap to peace.

For a long time now, women have struggled for the vindication of their rights and for their visibility. This struggle may seem a story of success, maybe not complete or equal for all women, but at least one which slowly but surely carries with it the promise of equality for all women. However, a closer look reveals that in various fields of culture the representation of women frequently undergoes a manipulation which makes the image of women lose the intention initially attempted. This is often the case with adaptations of literary texts to the screen, when the initial literary message is changed because of, for example, marketing demands or some ideological stance. Rarely do we find the opposite case where the indifferent or emasculated original female characters are turned into guardians and/or apologists of feminine power. The present volume focuses precisely on the way in which the image of women is modified in films and TV series, when compared with the original literary texts.

"Myths of the Rhine" by M. Xavier (translated by M. Schele de Vere). Published by DigiCat. DigiCat publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each DigiCat edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.