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Scadia: A Nostalgic Medieval Carnival of the Known World
[Thesis]. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester; 2016.
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Abstract
This feature-length ethnographic documentary completed in 2015 in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Ethnographic Documentary at the University of Manchester explores The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a historical recreation group that relies on popular films, books and magazines to create a romantic version of the Middle Ages. The estimated 60,000 participants create fictitious personas that could have existed prior to 1600AD. Members dress and enact these personas at various weekend-long events around the world. The film focuses on how participants use ideals created by pop cultural representations of the Middle Ages to bridge the gap between the mundane world and their persona. Specifically, it explores the SCA as a type of carnival that uses notions of chivalry, valor, and honor to challenge the progressive social, political, and technological landscape in American society.
Layman's Abstract
This paper establishes the theoretical framework to locate Scadia: The Known World, a feature-length ethnographic documentary completed in 2015 in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Ethnographic Documentary at the University of Manchester within an anthropological discussion about re-creation and social identities. It examines the Society for Creative Anachronism as a leisure group that employs nostalgic enactments to create a carnival that challenges the changing social, political, and technological landscape in the American society.
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A 54 minute ethnographic documentary