Episode 80: Emergency Olympics Episode

Ask a Medievalist

Synopsis

Last week, the 2024 Summer Olympics started in Paris with an opening ceremony that featured nods to several musicals, a heavy metal band named after Godzilla, a bit of an aria from Carmen, and of course, a tableau of drag queens and gender bent fashionistas referencing Leonardo da Vinci’s 1498 painting The Last Supper. Or perhaps they were referencing Jan van Bijlert’s 1640 work Le Festin des Dieux (The Feast of the Gods). Join Em and Dr. Jesse for a wide-ranging conversation about the history of the games, the video game Assassin’s Creed, camp, kitsch, and Susan Sontag. Oh, no, sorry. That tableau. Spoiler: Jesse had thoughts.

No notes today. Also, Em’s mic sounds bad because like a noob she didn’t check what Audacity was recording with. Sorry for the slightly less than pristine sound quality.