JAKARIS!

Game of Thrones fans will understand this title.

Dragons have always been huge in the mythology/folklore realm.
Beowolf, The Brothers Grimm tales, Earthsea, The Neverending Story, Harry Potter, Shrek and Game of Thrones.

Usually dragons are used and depicted as being violent creatures used for mostly war and as killing machines but there have been instances where they were placed as kind, and comedic creatures. Like Shrek for example;

[ photo cred ]

There is also the dragon in How To Train Your Dragon

[ photo cred ]

One of the most known shows to have Dragons in their storyline is Game of Thrones. Daenerys Targaryen, also called Khaleesi, but to most of the realm in the show she is known as the 'Mother of Dragons.' As far as the world is aware of, all the dragons died off years ago but at her wedding she was gifted with 3 dragon eggs and eventually hatched them.

[ photo cred ]

They grow from these little babies to;

[ photo cred ]

Since they've hatched, Khaleesi has been training them. She's mastered them breathing fire and the magic word for that is 'jakaris.'

I think the moral of this post is that the end game for dragons is they're awesome.

Read More

ride or....die?

THE FOUR HORSEMEN

[ photo credit ]

The Four Horsemen are showing up in a love of TV and Movies lately. Now You See Me, The Messengers, Terminator 2, Sleepy Hallow, Supernatural and X-Men: Apocalypse. Most people know who the Four Horsemen are but if you do not, let me inform you.


The White Horsemen is referred as Pestilence.
The Red Horsemen represents War.
The Black Horsemen represents Famine.
The Pale Horsemen represents Death.

This magazine article explains a lot more in depth about the Four.

There are multiple versions of who these Horsemen are on a scale of good to evil. I believe that is why it's so easy for people to take the idea of them and shape them into whatever they want.

One of my favorite examples is from the 2016 film, X-Men: Apocalypse.
The film doesn't specify which mutant resembles which Horsemen but instead the leader of them, Apocalypse, uses them for their power as a representation. Magneto can control metal, Storm can control the weather, Angel can fly, and Psylocke can control people with her mind and uses telekinetic energy. Each power represents something from the original spot of the original Horsemen.

Below is a visual look at each of them in action.

Read More

I'm sure you're all wondering why never to trust a fox.

THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM MTV'S 'TEEN WOLF'

In the Japanese culture foxes are often referred to as kitsune's. Japanese folklore says that kitsune's have up to 9 tails which are all depending on their age, wisdom and power. The only way to kill one is to cut off its tails. It can also shape-shift into a human but it has to be a fox for 100 years to gain the ability to shape-shift.

They are often refereed to as trickster spirits as well. They usually trick overly proud samurai's, greedy merchants, and boastful commoners, while the crueler ones abuse poor tradesmen and farmers or devout Buddhist monks. [ credit ]

If that all isn't enough there are also 13 types of kitsune in the lore.

• Wind
• Earth
• Fire
• River
• Heaven
• Thunder
• Mountain
• Void
• Spirit
• Time
• Forest
• Ocean
• Music

[ photo creds ]

Teen Wolf used this lore for their TV show during season 3B. There was a Void Trickster spirit among the characters and trying to find out who it was, was part of the twist. They mainly used two of the kitsune's in the show but all of them were mentioned. They based an entire season off of this lore adding their own things in and exploring the original Japanese lore of it all.

The way they killed this kitsune trickster was by stabbing it through the chest with a sacred sword that had put it down years prior. Since it had taken human form there was no way to chop off its tails.

Another twist the writers threw in was instead of actually shape-shifting from a fox into a doppelganger of another person, it sort of 'possessed' it by entering its body through the mouth.

The Void spirit, specifically, strive off chaos and pain so throughout the season, the spirit would turn people against one another to stir up chaos in the town and would purposely hurt or kill people to take their pain. Every time it did, it got stronger.

 

Read More

What exactly is folklore, you ask?

photo source

By definition according to dictionary.com, Folklore is the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc of a people, lore of people.

Another quick definition is from afsnet.org saying that folklore is the traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practice that is disseminated largely through oral communication and behavioral example.

Some examples of American Folklore are the stories of Bloody Mary, Bigfoot, and Santa Clause. For Japanese examples there are Kitsune's, which are foxes, The Ghost of Oyuki, and many more.

The television show Supernatural has a lot of great folklore within its shows. From more common known stories like Bloody Mary and Sirens. One of my favorite episodes though is when they explore the Leprechaun folklore. Typically when you think of a Leprechaun you think of a tiny man with red hair all dressed up in a green suite looking for his pot of gold.

Supernatural's version morphs the typical idea and turns them into something more dark and sinister.

"A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. They are solitary creatures who spend their time making and mending shoes and have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If captured by a human, they often grant three wishes in exchange for their freedom.

The leprechaun originally had a different appearance depending on where in Ireland he was found. Prior to the 20th century, it was generally held that the leprechaun wore red, not green. Modern depictions of leprechauns are largely based on derogatory 19th-century caricatures and stereotypes of the Irish."

( SOURCE )

Read More

Welcome to my weird world ~

My name is Alexis, or Lexi, and this blog is suppose to be for a class, but I honestly want to express my nerd side throughout this with curious minds or others who love the same thing I do.

This blog will be about folklore in Television shows and Movies. The whole idea originated from my favorite TV show, Teen Wolf. In the show, they use a wide variety of folklore from Kitsune's to Banshee's. Some of the content I will talk about will probably be unfamiliar which is a good thing for you, because you will learn something new!

I chose this topic for many reasons mainly because I love watching films of any sort as well as TV shows. A lot of things are predictable now so when I find a new show or film that has created their own folklore or twisted an old Lore into their own, I get insanely excited.

Don't be shy to ask questions, and don't be afraid to be curious!

Read More