David Macasaet's Medieval Fair

Entry I: November 20, 2004

I've been working on the project with the working title "Medieval Fair" for about 12 weeks off and on. It all started out actually last spring as I was walking the main corridor of the University Center on the campus of the University of Montana. I saw a little flyer encased behind a glass display with a picutre of two people fighting with swords in armor. The simple and effective title: "Look like fun?" Join the Society for Creative Anacronism." No number, just an email. isabettabianci@yahoo.com.

To me it really didn't look like that much fun. I'm generally a non-agressive type guy. But there was something that stirred me to think about how you do see these dudes around and maybe that's an interesting subject for a short. At the time I'm trying to figure out my thesis year, so my juices are churning on things of that nature. Anyway, my initial ideas about the SCA came in the form of two works: geeky, yet hardcore. Afterall, the swordplay could lead to loosing an ear, yet could not be called "cool". No, that's not quite right. So how does one beging to understand?--What is the SCA?

Jumping ahead a bit, my first interview is with Dave Jones, one of the respected leaders of the Montana area. Dave appears at McGill Hall and I remember his kind goateed face with dark hair. He wears tan boots with a cuban heel. He has a cane, and while I'm not sure, I'd like at least to believe that the head of the cane has some kind of carving, a serpent perhaps?

The society is about living "the Dream". It starts in 1965 in California. The real world is called the Mundane World. Dave shares with me a bit about his life in Texas, and how he joined the SCA. The themes of myth and loss of myth come out of this first interview.

Entry II: November 21, 2004

Around the first part of the semester, I started sharing the idea of a SCA doc with my classmates, friends, associates. I noticed that the reactions I got promted a certain justification on my part about how I was not out to glorify or denigrate, but simply give a glimpse into a world we might not otherwise experience. This seemed to help somewhat, but there still is something specific and peculiar about the reaction people give. I'm not the most semantically gifted person, so my best word may still be off the mark, but after some reflection, the emotional reaction of many people to the SCA is to SCOFF.

scoff (skof), v.i. 1. to speak derisively; mock; jeer (often fol. by at); imply behaving with scornful disaproval toward someone or about something. To scoff is to express insolent doubt or derision, openly and emphatically, the opposite of praise.

Now most of the people I'm sharing this idea with are folks who march against aggression against the weak, oppose preemptive war against a sovereign nation, are artists: open to new ideas--but yet they scoff? Hmmmm.....

Now I had seen the fighters in the park and the flyer on the wall mentioned above. Had I missed something fundamental? Why the clear JUDGEMENT about a group people? Is it because we reject what we dislike most in ourselves?

Entry III: November 22, 2004

I'm thinking that I'll do a little searching for some historic photos of the SCA in the old days, hopefully images that give a hint of the decade and culture that they exist in. Home movie footage would be great too.