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Works of Legend- a new idea for a old proposal

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collex Since: Jan, 2010
#1: Mar 7th 2011 at 7:32:22 PM

Okay, so often in Image Picking, and renaming tropes we have discussion about the List - or Works of Legend. In other words, works or pieces of work we can assume everyone on this wiki knows.

Now, I know there is a lot of opposition to a actual The List page. I must say that myself I have problem with a page that says "Everyone knows Darth Vader"

However, I think there are Works of Legend - works or part of work (single scene) that are known to most of the world. Let's face it- they will always be people in some jungle that have never heard of something. But these people have probably never heard of the Internet either.

Here are some things that could be considered as being "Works of Legend"

- Jesus on the Cross. Yes, most of the world is not Christian. But Christianity has dominated many parts of world since two thousand years. Thus, it's safe to assume every person in the world have seen a crucifix at least once in their life. (And the Muslim religion - who compete with Christianity for biggest religion, know of and acknowledge the existence of Jesus, but only as a Prophet).

- Sherlock Holmes. His Other Wiki pages is translated in more than 60 pages, and he is instantly recognizable. Sherlock even means detective in English, French and probably a few other language too.

- Cinderella - oldest fairytale, stemming back to Ancient Egypt. Everyone knows it, at least the basics.

- Aladdin/ Genie in the lamp - not the specific, but the name and the fact that there is a genie in the lamp that grants 3 wishes. Pretty universal

- Red Riding Hood/Beauty and the Beast/Snow White - Old stories with version existing in Europe, Eurasia, Middle-east and Asia.

- Bhudda and the Laughing monk - the name and the visual picture.

Gandhi- As a symbol of peace, he is known around the world.

Adolf Hitler - As a symbol of evil, he is known around the world.

Attila the Hun/Alexander the Great/Gengis Kang - not their image maybe, but their name and reputation

Julius Ceasar - the image of him with the wreath and his name.

Dracula- not the details of the novel, but the name and general tropes.

Frankenstein Mosnter - Again, not the specific, just the visual cue of the monsters and its name.

There is probably a few others. The only rule is that they must be old, international and if you mention them to anybody, anywhere except the deepest jungle, you'll get a "Ah yes, I've heard of that" at the very least. Most thing invented in the last century don't count, except maybe the atom bomb cloud.

Again, such a page would come with a warning- it's not because a part of work is written here that everything from that work is on the list. Example - Jesus on the cross is there. Jesus turning water nto wine at the Canaan wedding is not.

So, does anyone think this idea, as I have put it, has potential, or we should just squash it?

edited 7th Mar '11 7:33:04 PM by collex

troacctid (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#2: Mar 7th 2011 at 7:38:07 PM

Most of the things you've described are actually tropes, not works. Sherlock Holmes is actually recognizable as the Great Detective archetype that he Codified, for example.

collex Since: Jan, 2010
#3: Mar 7th 2011 at 7:54:26 PM

Yeah, but Sherlock Holmes is more than that. Dungeons and Dragons and Lords of the Rings are stated as the Trope Codfier/Maker for the Medieval Fantasy genre, but I'm pretty sure both of them don't have the instant recognazibility that Sherlock Holmes or Jesus on a Cross or Alladin scrubbing a lamp has. Really, the main deciding point I asked myself was : If I were in the streets of Baghbad and showed a random passerby a picture a Sherlock Holmes, would he recognize it? Or if I asked a guy on a street in Vladivostok if he ever heard about Julius Ceasar, would I get a yes?

That's why I,m saying very few things from the 20th century qualify. The only ones I could think of would be James Bond and Darth Vader. That's it, and even then.

philipw Since: Sep, 2010
#4: Mar 8th 2011 at 8:55:10 AM

Less people have read Sherlock Holmes than Harry Potter. What they recognize is the trope, not the book. I'm quite sure less people know who Voldemort is than who Professor Moriarty is. Mickey Mouse and Mario certainly have an edge on the Budai ("laughing Buddha") and Cinderella. As you say yourself, most are known as symbols, as images and story patterns rather than by their actual history, mythology or book content. It's their tropes which are famous, and it just so happens that their tropes are associated mostly with their particular work. Medieval European Fantasy is "like Lord of the Rings". A crucifixion scene is "like the Bible". A Sherlock Scan capable detective is "like Sherlock Holmes", etc. They're nothing but well-known Trope Codifiers, and the well-known part is hardly objective.

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