Hollywood Simulacrum: The Knights of the Round Table (1953)

Abstract

The Knights of the Round Table takes as its subject the gap between the ideal and its imitation, both as Arthurian legend and as film. The focus is on the marketing of the film as well as the marketing in the film. It is precisely a reproducible and consumable authenticity that Knights is selling—from souvenir booklets, posters, and specially-packaged candy to history, legend, and American anti-communist ideology.

Keywords:

• ARTHUR
• ARTHURIAN FILM
• BENJAMIN
• COLD WAR
• GUINEVERE
• HAYES CODE
• LANCELOT
• THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
• SIMULACRUM