{"id":12867,"date":"2022-04-19T12:18:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T18:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=12867"},"modified":"2022-04-19T13:13:18","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T19:13:18","slug":"cracow-monsters-is-just-weak-horror-says-polish-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=12867","title":{"rendered":"“Cracow Monsters” Is Just “Weak Horror,” Says Polish Professor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Cracow Monsters<\/em><\/a> is a Netflix series about “a young woman haunted by her past [who] joins a mysterious professor and his group of gifted students who investigate paranormal activity \u2014 and fight demons.”<\/p>\n

Can you say “TV trope<\/a>“?\u00a0 I knew you could. Maybe “Cool teacher<\/a>” or possibly “More than just a teacher<\/a>,” which may in fact include demon-slaying.<\/p>\n

Comes now((https:\/\/grammar-ttlms.blogspot.com\/2007\/07\/comes-now.html)) Andrzej Szyjewski,<\/a> professor of religious studies at Jagiellonian University,<\/a> which has been doing business in Cracow\/Krak\u00f3w<\/a> since 1364, as they calculate it, back when demonology was an academic discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n

He does not approve of the way that the series treats Slavic supernaturals or<\/em> his university and city.<\/a><\/p>\n

The viewers are subjected to a whole series of disgusting and terrifying characters of various origins. It quickly becomes obvious that even Trentowski<\/span>\u2019s inventive vocabulary and imagination is not sufficient enough to describe the mix of entities gathered under the banner of supposedly Slavic mythology. The screenplay incorporates ideas from other, more contemporary Native Slavic faith believers (Rodnovery) and New Age workshops. For instance, in episode four, Chworz<\/span> summons a creature called Spas<\/span>. He is , in essence, a personification of certain holidays, described by Ukrainian Rodnovery volkhv<\/em> (wisewoman) Halina Lozko<\/span>, which the series depicts as something similar to Ded Moroz, who in turn can be likened to Santa Claus. Over the course of the series, Spas<\/span>, carrying a staff decorated with hanging dolls, busies himself with freezing and then hanging people who failed to give him a present. The \u2018Slavic Grinch\u2019 meets his end when Alex electrocutes him with a high voltage wire. It therefore seems that the screenwriter didn\u2019t bother to carry out at least a minimum amount of research when it came to the most key aspect of the show. She didn\u2019t know that the name \u2018Spas\u2019<\/span>, coming from the word spasitel<\/em>, which means \u2018saviour\u2019 and denotes Christ, is unsuitable for a pre-Christian demon. . . .<\/p>\n

Even when the screenwriter bases the story around concepts introduced by [19th-century writer Bronislaw] Trentowski<\/a><\/span>, she seems not to understand them and misrepresent them, either knowingly or unknowingly. The best example of this is using the neologism bo?yca<\/span><\/em>, which Trentowski<\/span> means as \u2018knowledge of gods and religion\u2019, to signify a kind of protective spirit, a radiant entity guarding the main protagonist. She also calls it an Aitvara, which indeed denoted a guardian spirit, but one that watched over homesteads, not individuals. Aitvaras were reptilian in shape, brought wealth and prosperity, and were absolutely not exclusive to high priests and priestesses.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And futhermore:<\/p>\n

One of the series\u2019 strongest points could be its setting: Krak\u00f3w<\/span>, a city famous for its rich legendary and historical symbolism. Unfortunately, Krak\u00f3w<\/span> also becomes a fantastical amalgamation of real and fictitious places (such as Wanda<\/span> Mound). Judging from the places visited by the protagonists during their chase after the zapadliska<\/span><\/em>, they can magically jump from one side of the Vistula to the other every few seconds. The viewers will also get the impression that all classes at the Jagiellonian University are conducted solely in Collegium Novum<\/span>, the administrative centre of the University. Because of this, the eponymous Krak\u00f3w<\/span> becomes a simulacrum just as much as the \u2018Slavic beliefs\u2019. The most convincing idea related to Krak\u00f3w<\/span> in the series is the issue of the curse: the city is unable to develop properly, trapped in a hollow, drowned in smog and ravaged by extreme weather. In the series, Krak\u00f3w<\/span> becomes something akin to London, either shrouded in fog or beaten by rain. In this regard, the screenplay rises to the challenge.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

Unlike Ukrainian soldiers, I had to pay retail and wait a few months for delivery, but this looks like my temporary Starlink set-up, right down to the bricks.<\/p><\/div>\n

I probably could not last through all two seasons, but now that I have Starlink and can stream easily to my isolated forest hideout, I am tempted to give it a look all the same, bearing Prof. Szyjewski’s cautions in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

(Thanks for the link to my co-editor in Equinox Publishing’s Pagan book series<\/a>, Scott Simpson, who also teaches at Jagiellonian University and is the reason why I know anything at all about it. Trust me, he is “more than just a teacher.”)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cracow Monsters is a Netflix series about “a young woman haunted by her past [who] joins a mysterious professor and his group of gifted students who investigate paranormal activity \u2014 and fight demons.” Can you say “TV trope“?\u00a0 I knew you could. Maybe “Cool teacher” or possibly “More than just a teacher,” which may in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[137,39,410,296,218,40,153],"class_list":["post-12867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-academia","tag-occultism","tag-occulture","tag-pagan-ish","tag-poland","tag-polytheism","tag-television"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-3lx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5921,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=5921","url_meta":{"origin":12867,"position":0},"title":"A Medical Origin for Norse Monsters?","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"August 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is what happens when a parasitologist\/archaeologist muses on the origin of mythology. It gets interesting at about the 6:30-minute point. And this is a very famous turd in English archaeology.","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":972,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=972","url_meta":{"origin":12867,"position":1},"title":""Sheer Terror"","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"January 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Retired University of Colorado professor John Carnes (Philosophy) tells all in an interview:1. Being a teacher is like being a farmer; your life follows certain cycles. How did you feel whenever a new semester came around?Sheer terror! Every class constitutes a performance -- a 16-week performance -- and you have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"scholarship\"","block_context":{"text":"scholarship","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=scholarship"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5147,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=5147","url_meta":{"origin":12867,"position":2},"title":"On Bringing back the Olympian Gods","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"January 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This went around a couple of weeks ago, but\u00a0 I never blogged it. Now I have. Here's a short list of things we could do if we brought back the Greek gods: \u2022 Go to oracles. \u2022 Go on quests. \u2022 Fight monsters. \u2022 Challenge gods to contests. \u2022 Go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"humor\"","block_context":{"text":"humor","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=humor"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5249,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=5249","url_meta":{"origin":12867,"position":3},"title":"Popularity Contests and Declining Universities","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Janice Fiamengo takes on Rate My Professors as a sign of what is wrong with American universities. Such accusations reveal little about the professor in question; no one ever satisfactorily distinguishes a boring professor from a boredom-inclined student \u2014 which is not to suggest that boring professors do not exist,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"academia\"","block_context":{"text":"academia","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=academia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7513,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=7513","url_meta":{"origin":12867,"position":4},"title":"Pagan Superheroes Cut Down Forest, Regret It Later","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"October 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A newly discovered piece of the epic of Gilgamesh includes a sort of ecological theme. It's in a museum in Kurdish territory\u2014another reason why they need their own country. The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest narratives in the world, got a surprise update last month when the Sulaymaniyah\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"archaeology\"","block_context":{"text":"archaeology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=archaeology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4628,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4628","url_meta":{"origin":12867,"position":5},"title":"The Multivalent Mothman","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"September 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month I wandered off into Mothman territory, but here is more, from the editorial blog of the Bulletin for the Study of Religion. There is an annual Mothman festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and two entries deal with it: \u201cWest Virginia is one big portal!\u201d Reflections on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"American religion\"","block_context":{"text":"American religion","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=american-religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12867"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12877,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12867\/revisions\/12877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}