Anachronisms

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Anachronisms

• By Mrs. Rafalski

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What is an anachronism?

• Ana against
• Chronos time
• A chronologically displaced event, detail, word,
  or phrase in a literary work

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Examples

• A car in a story about the Civil War
• Why? Cars hadnt been invented yet.

• Using the word nerd in a story set in the 1920s
• Why? Nerd wasnt used as a slang term until
  later in the 1900s.

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Hollywoods Flubs

• Forrest Gump (1994) In a sequence set around
  1970, someone is reading USA Today.
• Anachronism The newspaper wasnt created until
  1982.
• Camelot (1967) King Arthur speaks.
• Anachronism The 6th-century king has a
  20th-century Band-Aid on the back of his neck.

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More Hollywood Flubs

• The Story of Robin Hood (1952) In one scene,
  Maid Marian wears a dress with a zipper in the
  back.
• Anachronism There were no zippers in the
  12-century when the story is set.

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Even the Most Successful Movie of All Time

• Titanic (1997) In one scene, Jack tells Rose
  about ice fishing as a kid.
• Anachronism The lake he mentions is man-made
  and wasnt created until five years after the
  Titanic sank.

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Gladiator rules Anachronism Land!

• Gladiator (2000) contains tons of anachronisms.
• When Maximus returns home to his fields, tractor
  tracks are visible in a field of wheat by the
  road.
• Some of the saddles have stirrups, which werent
  used by the Romans.
• Many of the gladiators' helmets were introduced
  up to 700 years later.
• Lucilla's contact lenses are visible in a
  close-up.
• Door locks as portrayed in the movie were not yet
  invented.
• During the fight with the tigers, Maximus falls
  and rolls over, revealing Lycra shorts.
• During the chariot battle, a woman in the crowd
  standing and clapping is wearing a pair of modern
  sunglasses.

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Even Julius Caesar has anachronisms.

• . . . He plucked me open his doublet and
  offered them his throat to cut. Act I, Scene ii,
  Lines 264-266
• Peace! Count the clock. The clock hath
  stricken three. Act II, Scene i, Line 192
• Look, Lucius, heres the book I sought for so
  I put it in the pocket of my gown. Act IV, Scene
  iii, Lines 250-251

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More Anachronisms

• Now make up your own anachronisms for the play!

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Works Cited

• The Bathroom Readers Institute. Uncle Johns
  Supremely Satisfying Bathroom Reader. Ashland,
  Oregon Bathroom Readers Press, 2001.
• Cook-Johnson, Daniel. Ten Annoying Anachronisms
  in Modern Movies. Film Babble Blog. 28 Nov.
  2007. Web. 13 Mar. 2009.
• Doublet. 13 Mar. 2009 lthttp//www.moonstruckorigi
  nals.com/doublet2.JPGgt.
• Forrest Gump. 13 Mar. 2009 ltjacobswellchurch.org/
  .../Forrest_Gump_001.jpg gt.
• Gladiator Picture. 13 Mar. 2009
  lthttp//img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/071211/
  gladiator_l.jpggt.
• Goofs for Gladiator. The Internet Movie
  Database. N.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2007.
• Lucilla Picture. 13 Mar. 2009 ltwww.movieprop.com/
  tvandmovie/reviews/glgirl2a.jpggt.
• Probst, Robert et. al. Elements of Literature
  Fourth Course. Austin Holt, Rinehart and
  Winston, 2000.
• Titanic Picture. 28 Nov. 2007. 13 Mar. 2009
  lthttp//3.bp.blogspot.com/ __mokxbTmuJM/R1Dw8gaa97
  I/AAAAAAAAA_8/eBWMWrB1Vdk/s1600-R/ titanic2.jpggt.