Trojan Women Protest War on CTCWeb

Dedham, MA- December 13, 2006 – Ancient voices of Trojan women call out from the war torn past channeled through sirens of the silver screen in Michael Cacoyannis’ 1971 film The Trojan Women, according to Robert McParland. McParland, an English professor at Felician College, is this week’s AbleMedia Bronze Chalice winner for his The Modern Voice of The Trojan Women published on the Classics Technology Center on the Web (CTCWeb, www.ablemedia.com/ctcweb). “McParland illustrates how the past is prologue to the present as an ancient playwright and modern movie maker use entertainment as a means of public discourse,” said Wendy E. Owens, CTCWeb Editor-in-Chief. “We are pleased to add this timely and edifying submission to CTCWeb’s collection of award-winning submissions on modern movies on Classical subjects.”

“I am a professor of Core Humanities and was drawn to Michael Cacoyannis’ fine film as a vibrant way to make the ancient concept of arete come alive for my students,” says Dr. McParland. “Arete is a term suggesting personal character, community concern, virtue and heroism. I believe that this film underscores the qualities of endurance, nobility, and character and that the efforts of CTCWeb, likewise, serve to remind us of our connection with the classics and the continuing relevance of how these texts speak to us.”

In TThe Modern Voice of The Trojan Women, McParland describes how Michael Cacoyannis’ 1971 film version of Euripides’ The Trojan Women sheds new light on the popular topic of women in the ancient world and their plight in wartime. Analyzing the film’s cinematography and the performances of legendary actresses Katherine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Irene Papas, McParland considers how Cacoyannis’ film highlights the lost honor and humiliation of Euripides’ war-weary women. Students, educators, and film buffs interested in how movies address war and its aftermath, the status of women in the ancient world, and Euripidean drama will find something novel and stimulating in McParland’s work.

“CTCWeb provides us all with an opportunity to recall how classical values are an ongoing part of our lives and are intrinsic to our civilization. Such attention to ancient texts and modern media encourages new possibilities for our connecting ‘techne’ - in its original sense of human art and ‘making’- with modern technology,” says Dr. McParland.

Each week AbleOne’s sponsor, AbleMedia, salutes contributors for outstanding submissions to the AbleOne Consortium (http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/), the CTCWeb Showcase (http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/), and CTCWeb Netshots™ (http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/netshots.html). Each receives the Bronze Chalice award. AbleMedia awards Silver Chalices for the outstanding submissions of the month. At the end of each year, AbleMedia awards Gold Chalices for the outstanding submissions of the year.

AbleOne serves millions of educators, students, and other users in over 100 countries and the number of users is tripling annually. AbleOne’s CTCWeb is a repository of practical tools, for classicists and other educators, to enhance the use of computer technology in Classics education. At CTCWeb, students, educators and others find the free dissemination and open exchange of practical educational materials, systems, and applications by individuals and organizations involved in the Classics community. AbleMedia sponsors CTCWeb as part its AbleOne Education Network.

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