“Attila’s images or how United States productions imagined the Hun”

Abstract

Abstract: In the context of contemporary society, audiences can encounter history in different spaces and places, such as museums or archives, or through different media, such as movies, novels, games, and TV series. Each media has a specific language and peculiar characteristics but all can contribute to the formation of a widespread imaginary of the past. This raises questions, for example: how is it possible to delineate such an imaginary and what methodology would allow it? The present research aims to reflect on these questions through the analysis of a case study: the representation of Attila and the Huns within three U.S. products. Specifically, a video game (Age of Empires II), a film (The Barbarian King) and a TV series (Attila the Hun) will be analyzed. The representations - studied through frameworks and languages specific to the media under consideration - will then be compared with the aim of understanding whether there are recurring elements that may have contributed to the formation of imagery.

Keywords: Atila the Hun,  United States Productions, Imaginary.