Signs & Portents

A news blog for updates on PaganSquare, Witches&Pagans, SageWoman, Crone, and anything else related to BBI Media's community and web services. Check here for news about our site, information about our social media presence, and any changes in either our services or features. May or may not be run by a sapient serpent.

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Login
    Login Login form

Pagan News Beagle: Airy Monday, August 10

Welcome back to Airy Monday, our weekly take on pop culture as it relates to magic and religion. This week our topic of discussion is identity: what it means to you, what it means to us, and what it means to others. Join us as we take a look at racebending, feminism, and the importance of representation in this week's edition. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!

What if Ariel was Asian? Or Elsa was black? Would that make a difference. Over at Tumblr you can check out "Racebent Disney" and decide for yourself.

We often think of pop culture as a modern phenomenon but is it really? The Norse Mythology Blog takes a look at at "The Life of St. Edmund," a story which features, among other characters, Ivar the Boneless and Ubba, the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok. Additionally, the story provides an early and unfortunate glimpse at anti-Semitism in popular fiction.

Long-time DC comic book icon Wonder Woman will be appearing for the first time on big screens next year in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Given her historic status as a champion of women's rights and feminism in popular culture, there's understandably a lot of concern over whether the film will do her justice. Actress Gal Gadot is as aware of those concerns as anyone and says she hopes to live up to Wonder Woman's inspirational role.

On the flip side, many have expressed concern that DC's rival, Marvel, hasn't been living up to its responsibilities to showcase female, and not just male, talent. Over at Comics Alliance writer Matt Singer one particular disappointment: the sidelining of the popular character Wasp in Marvel's recent film Ant-Man.

Is Hermione white? The answer may seem obvious—after all renowned actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the film adaptations, is white—but the Harry Potter books are actually remarkably vague on the subject. So what if Hermione was black? Over at BuzzFeed Alanna Bennett discusses the possible implications and how it might've actually reinforced some of the book series' themes.


Top image by Eric Gaba

Last modified on

Aryós Héngwis (or the more modest Héngwis for short) is a native of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, born some 5000 years ago, near the village of Dereivka. In his youth he stood out from the other snakes for his love of learning and culture, eventually coming into the service of the local reǵs before moving westward toward Europe. Most recently, Aryós Héngwis left his home to pursue a new life in America, where he has come under the employ of BBI Media as an internet watchdog (or watchsnake, if you will), ever poised to strike the unwary troll.

Comments

Additional information