Pink Leader's Pontifications - what is a kilter anyway?

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11 March 2008 @ 10:45 am

what is a kilter anyway?

Warning to the world: Pink is off-kilter today. I couldn't get out of bed, couldn't dress myself today, and could barely drive to work. I was also the sux at the parking, which is honestly kinda rare. I feel like my brain, and coordination, are back at home watching daytime television or something else numbing, because they certainly aren't here. Oh, but a headache is, which is always comforting, or not.

Saturday I had a completely irrational reaction to the stupid cow-horns on "Viking" helmets in a horrible movie on the SciFi channel. Standards are not high for movies on the SciFi channel, but still, it irked me too much.
So, now I'm wondering, what little things set you off from "period-esque" movies? The hats? The armour? The language? What little detail almost or totally ruins a movie for you when it is done wrong? Or are you the rare creature that nothing bothers?

Tags: tv, whining

Mood:

aggravated

22 comments | Comment

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sskipstress on March 11th, 2008 02:56 pm (UTC)

The visible zippers. For all periods before 1920 :)

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isenglass on March 11th, 2008 03:07 pm (UTC)

I always find it jarring when the extras have really passable clothing for the supposed time period and the main characters have some Hollywood fantasy getup. Bleh!

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gianetta on March 11th, 2008 03:19 pm (UTC)
hollywood

Yes! Elizabeth Taylor's Victorian get-up in Taming of the Shrew, while cute, looked a bit silly given that the other women's clothing had the right shape for the period.

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pinkleader on March 11th, 2008 03:35 pm (UTC)

On the flip side, I loved the background scenes in Shakespeare in Love due to the cool set-decoration and everyday activities going on around the main characters.

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laruse on March 11th, 2008 03:10 pm (UTC)

Pretty much any mention of the Templars because I dont think I have seen a movie get their history right, and if I have to hear one more time about the Holy Grail and the treasure of the Templars, I will puke.

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gianetta on March 11th, 2008 03:20 pm (UTC)
grail

So what's the real story (or lack of real story) behind the Grail and the Templars?

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laruse on March 11th, 2008 03:26 pm (UTC)
Re: grail

There is no story. I am not sure exactly what the genesis of that legend is, but I bet it is from the Victorian era. Byram would be better able to explain. My specialty is the Hospitallers, but I have done a lot of research on the Military Orders in general.

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gianetta on March 11th, 2008 03:57 pm (UTC)
Re: grail

So the Templars have nothing to do with anything ever called the grail (regardless of what it really was)? Interesting - I know worse than nothing about that era (after reading the DiVinci Code and other such fiction) - I'd assumed that they got it wrong, but not that there was no basis in truth *at all* for it.

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gianetta on March 11th, 2008 03:25 pm (UTC)
perioid

I hope you're feeling better soon. Go home and rest as soon as is practical.

The combination of eras in the LoTR movies was always a bit weird to me, even though I liked the costumes in general. Some of it is clearly med-evil, but some of the main characters wore vests and coats that were from a couple hundred years later. It's clearly fantasy not set in any one real life time period, but it still looks odd to see the early dresses next to the later era clothes. That said, I adore the movies and can't wait for Jackson to do the Hobbit.

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pinkleader on March 11th, 2008 03:34 pm (UTC)
Re: perioid

Interesting. I found it a cool way to distinguish the different cultures. Rohan was Viking-esque, Gondor was 14th Cent-esque, Hobbits were early 20th cent-esque, etc. And yes it was lovely. Perhaps it was the high production value and the consistency that made it work for me.

And yeah, I may just have to give up and go home...

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gianetta on March 11th, 2008 03:54 pm (UTC)
Re: perioid

You're right, and I'm sure that it worked great for most people, but it still seemed weird to me. I think it was the hobbits' attire - I'm used to seeing Vikings and Elizabethans in the same room, but what's this 20th century nonsense? *grin*

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attack_laurel on March 11th, 2008 04:27 pm (UTC)

I find it weirdly comforting to mercilessly mock all that is wrong before me. :)

(Did I mention I watched "The Golden Age" Saturday? I did. It was feather-tastic.)

Hope you feel better soon! Tell Alan I have a book for him, and he needs to come to practice!

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dreadbaron on March 11th, 2008 04:43 pm (UTC)

Knitted mail. Oh, how I hate thee.

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melaniesuzanne on March 11th, 2008 04:55 pm (UTC)

Hair and headgear. That's almost never correct and it drives me up. the. freaking. wall.

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pinkleader on March 11th, 2008 05:11 pm (UTC)

Heh. When watching a Knight's Tale, Alan once turned to me at Lady Jocelyn's black hat with the translucent mesh brim and asked me what that was supposed to be. I replied that it was a nod to the short hennins with veils of the Northern Renaissance. Since everything was off and rockstary, it was easier to appreciate.

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isenglass on March 11th, 2008 05:02 pm (UTC)

Is it ironic that we're complaining about them mixing stuff up in movies, but we're not that bothered by Tudors and Vikings getting together to play middle ages/rennaisance?

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pinkleader on March 11th, 2008 05:07 pm (UTC)

To be fair, it is part of our rules that the Viking will be on the field fighting a Japanese persona, and the Elizabethan will be chatting up the Persian lady. It's all about managing expectations.

And I twitch at seeing horned helmets in our game too. :)

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terrshee on March 11th, 2008 05:25 pm (UTC)

Pierced ears without earrings and smallpox vaccination scars, wrong hairstyles and obvious PCifying of characters (i.e. overly independent females defying convention, noble savages, etc.). I can put up with good teeth.

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pinkleader on March 11th, 2008 07:23 pm (UTC)

Oddly enough, I never think to even look at ears... But I haven't worn earrings since 7th grade, and my holes are still evident.

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allegranza on March 11th, 2008 08:42 pm (UTC)

I don't care. I know that they are never completely correct and that they are movies. I enjoy the stories for what they are and go, what a pretty dress, doesn't match, but still a pretty dress. I might wear that to Halloween party.

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alchemist_9327 on March 11th, 2008 08:59 pm (UTC)

Blatantly bad costuming,applying modern sensibilities or behavior to characters, and off period music. You can write a modern song if it sounds medieval, but playing Mozart's Requiem at the end of Elizabeth was extremely irritating and jarring. Elizabeth died I believe in 1603, and Mozart's Requiem was written in 1790/91..I want to strangle whoever chose the music for the movie.

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blondemuse on March 12th, 2008 12:41 pm (UTC)

Dumbledore not wearing glasses in the Order of the Phoenix movie. Did he sit on them? Couldn't they afford new ones? Did he get Lasic surgery? Totally pisses me off every time I see it. That's not a period answer, but it irks me anyways.
Sorry you're feeling wonky. Go home and read if you can.

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