Analysing the cultural osmosis in English film appreciation class—Troy

金文青

【Abstract】‘Love is human eternal topic. What is the cultural osmosis fuction with ‘love in the English film appreciation class. To analyse the conflicts appeared in the film is necessary. In this thesis， we focus on the hero and heroins characters， behaviors and conflicts. To make a disscussion and analyzation according to the history records and documents. We try to find out a new spot in this article.

【Key words】cultural osmosis； love； conflict

‘Love is human eternal topic. The English film appreciation class in this semester we have appreciated all the films involved in this topic. Some love for the country， some love for the family， some love for friends， and some love for lovers. We try to find out is there some culture inflence the deep affection. We focused on the hero and heroins emotion analyzation in this thesis.

The film—Troy appeared in front of us. The story comes from the history of poetry—Iliad. It seems to be one of the classical works in western literature. After the Troy city ruined， the poetry was written from 300 to 400 years 8 BC. However， it is still a mystery for whether Troy is a real event in history or it just a work from the author Homer. In any case， Homers works suffered times test and still preserved. It also became one of the influencial works in the world.

Troy city located between Aegean sea and Dadanier. When the time back to 3000 years ago， slaughter and yelling is everywhere.The famous battle— “Anger for the beauty” in Iliad was just happened at this place and lasted for 10 years.

Love is full of the film. Older prince Hectors unshakeable will for his country make everyone moved. Theres only one rule in his life. “Honor the god， Love your family， and fight for your country.” Hector believed this rule ， kept it and achieved it. In the film he put his life into the battle without hesitation. Hector is both the Troys spirit leader and the best warrior. Trojans united by him. Enemies have been attacked Troy for centuries， but Troys walls still standed there. Ancient Greek culture influence Trojans deeply. They honored the god， and believed that The Sun God Apollo will protact them. So they will fight for their country and faith. There is no doubt that every victory belong to the humans love—For their mother country.

Another figure bump into our eyes is Achilles. In Greek mythology， Achilles was a Greek hero ， and he is also the greatest warrior in Homer's Iliad. His mother was the Thetis， and his father， Peleus， was the king of the Myrmidons. Achilles most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad， other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris， who shot him in the heel with an arrow. When Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal， by dipping him in the river Styx. However， he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him， his heel （see Achilles heel， Achilles' tendon）. In the end of the film， Achilles heel be hit by an arrow. This is the fatal wound of Achilles. Todays English slang we always use ‘Achilles heel to describe person's point of weakness. We cant overlook Greek Mythologys cultural osmosis fuction in the English language development.

Everyone can understand mothers love. This love is priceless and endless. In the film of Troy， Achilles mother Thetis foretold that her son's fate was either to gain glory and die young， or to live a long but uneventful life in obscurity. Achilles chose the former， and he decided to take part in the Trojan war. Thetis choice is different from ordinary mothers. Her love is meaningful and profound significance. Thetis knew his son would die， but she still encouraged him to go to the battlefield. （Achilles in the Trojan War ） Thetis is one of Nereids， who always believed that God has his own will. Everyones fate in the hands of God. We focus on this abnormal decision from a mother. We can not ignore the culture difference from oriental on childrens parenting.

In breif， the conflicts surrounded ‘love all over the film. Some clips is very touching， and some fragments with deep depression. To direct the essence， we need to interpret history and appreciate cultural infiltration.

References：

[1]Ileana Chirassi Colombo，“Heroes Achilleus—Theos Apollon.” In Il Mito Greco，ed.Bruno Gentili & Giuseppe Paione，Rome，1977.

[2]“Achilles in the Underworld：Iliad，Odyssey，and ?thiopis”，Greek，Roman，and Byzantine Studies，26 （1985）：215–227.

[3]“Achilles in the Odyssey：Ideologies of Heroism in the Homeric Epic”，Beitr?ge zur klassischen Philologie，171， Meisenheim，1985.

[4]Jonathan S.Burgess，The Death and Afterlife of Achilles （Baltimore：Johns Hopkins University Press，2009）.