Medievalism in Media: African Representation in Ancient Times - Essay Sample

Introduction

Medievalism, today, is measured to be the key to understanding different ancient cultures and their influence in today's contemporary societies. Today, medievalism is represented in different forms of arts like novels, movies, and television (TV) shows. Although such art forms provide rich information on ancient times, their plots are not precise in representing African demographics in the medieval times as compared to the White populations. Nevertheless, with respect to the media creations depicting medieval times in today's modern society, it is evident that there is a misrepresentation of the Black and White people in depicting the histories of the ancient societies.

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Historical, Archeological and Literary Evidence of Blacks in Medieval Roman and British Societies

There are numerous researches that have been published in the past confirming the presence of the Blacks or Africans in the medieval Roman or British societies. A good example is an article that was published in the History official website (2019). The article detailed the case of an archaeological finding in East Sussex that proved that there were Black people in Britain in ancient medieval times. According to the article, in 1953, an ancient skeleton of a young woman was discovered (History, 2019). The woman had a woman ancestry and he was from South-East of England and lived around 200-250 AD (History, 2019).

In a different article published in 2010, it was evidenced that there are archeological findings that suggest the presence of Black populations in ancient Roman society (Gregory, 2010). The publication also reported that archaeological findings indicating the presence of a Black Roman Emperor by the name Septimus Severus were also found. Moreover, the medieval emperor was ruled to have originated from Numidia a region in North Africa and that his reign was from 193-211 AD (Gregory, 2010). Collectively, such researches assert that Black demographics existed in ancient Britain and as such, their misrepresentation in today's medieval methods of representing history is a bias.

Portrayal of Black Nights in Medieval Arthurian Literature

Black nights in most Arthurian literature are portrayed inaccurately. That is because although they are nights, they appear marginalized compared to their White counterparts in reference to their recognition in the King's council. For instance, in some literature publications, the black nights are invited into the King's Round Table. However, they are always portrayed to leave the circle in search of new quests like the hunting of mysterious questing creatures. It is as such apparent that the black nights are marginalized in the Arthurian legends and as such, inaccurately portrayed in the medieval literature publications.

Impact of Diversity Misrepresentation in Understanding of the Past

All racial demographics irrespective of their cultural or racial backgrounds play a crucial role in providing essential information on the history of the past. As such, presenting imprecise information on the Black and White populations that existed in medieval British or Rome can impair the scholars' understanding of the past. However, irrespective of this knowledge, numerous contemporary films or TV shows, which exist today and detailing medieval histories of the British have continuously marginalized the presence of Blacks in the composition of their plots. Subsequently, this has continuously worsened the preservation of ancient history by influencing the people's understanding of racial distribution that occurred during the medieval past.

Other Historical/Fantasy Films and TV Shows Relevant to the Topic

The imbalance in the representation of the Blacks can also be seen in the composition of the current most popular TV show - Game of Thrones. A recent publication published on the Guardian and authored by the Jones in 2019 theorized that there no Blacks in the composition of the fantasy film (Jones, 2019). Instead, in almost all episodes of the TV shows, Whites are offered the main character roles. Furthermore, in the entire eight seasons of the show, only two black characters - Missandei and Grey Worm are showcased. Conclusively, this justifies the premise of this research that there is an inequitable representation of Black and Whites in Medieval arts today.

In a different TV show produced in 2008 - Merlin, the same misrepresentation of characters in the plot of its composition is replicated (Merlin Fandom, 2019). The British fantasy TV show only features two characters with Black descent in its entire five seasons (Merlin Fandom, 2019). Guinevere is the first Black character and she is offered the role of a maidservant in the King's castle (Merlin Fandom, 2019). Lancelot is the second non-White character in the plot of the TV show and she is a young man (a Chilean descent) with a desire to become a knight (BBC, 2019).

In light of the two TV shows - Merlin and Game of Thrones, it is evident that there are very few Black character positions in the media television programs. That is despite the past archival findings that confirm that there were Blacks in the ancient Briton population, particularly during the periods when medieval myths and legends on ancient Rome were created. Moreover, Blacks were not necessarily slaves or low ranking individuals in ancient Rome. As such, it is biased to depict very few Black people in today's medieval history props, films, and shows as it has been evidenced in past historical TV shows like Merlin and Game of Thrones.

Personal Position and Opinion of the Selected Authors

I agree with the authors of the mentioned publications that there is an unequal representation of the Black people in the fantasy literary works that have been developed today. Additionally, TV shows like the Game of Thrones and Merlin, which narrates the histories of the medieval past feature remarkably few Black characters in their composition. In most cases, only one or two black characters are incorporated in the TV shows' plots. As a result, the audiences of such media content are led to believe that in medieval English societies, Blacks or African descents did not exist, which is a premise that is fallacious.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in respect to the media creations depicting medieval times in today's modern society, it is evident that there is a misrepresentation of the Black and White people in depicting the histories of the ancient societies. A human skeleton that was found in East Sussex in 1953 confirmed that there were Blacks in the medieval British and Roman societies. Also, diversity misrepresentation has adversely affected the manner in which scholars comprehend the demographic distribution of the Blacks and Whites in the medieval Roman or British societies. Moreover, black nights are marginalized in the Arthurian legends and as such, inaccurately portrayed in the medieval literature publications. Ultimately, an example of TV shows where misrepresentation of the Blacks and Whites in the ancient archival British history is depicted is in Merlin and Game of Thrones shows.

References

BBC. (2019). Merlin - Sir Lancelot (Series 4). Retrieved from BBC One: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5XZVqll1s4vRN5fZ9W86llY/sir-lancelot-series-4

Gregory, P. (2010). The Black Presence in Britain. Retrieved from Black Presence: https://blackpresence.co.uk/black-romans/

History. (2019). The History of Black Britain: Roman Africans. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-history-of-black-britain-roman-africans

Jones, E. E. (2019). 'There are no black people on Game of Thrones': why is fantasy TV so white? Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/06/there-are-no-black-people-on-game-of-thrones-why-is-fantasy-tv-so-white

Merlin Fandom. (2019). Merlin (TV Series). Retrieved from Merlin Fandom: https://merlin.fandom.com/wiki/Merlin_(TV_Series)