Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
“Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic is a 2010 adult animated dark fantasy film. Based on the Dante’s Inferno video game that is itself loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, Dante must travel through the circles of Hell and battle demons, creatures, monsters, and even Lucifer himself to save his beloved Beatrice. The film was released on February 9, 2010.” —Brandon Auman, “Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic,” Wikipedia, (retrieved January 24, 2024)
“It’s that time in everyone’s lives again. Where we all come together and return to the lives of Dante and Randal: our favorite Quick Stop employees. And when I say everyone’s, it’s more of an encompassing generalization than specific to every person. From the 1994 original, the animated series, The Flying Car, Clerks II, and through the newly-released trilogy-capper, Kevin Smith’s Clerks series has found a way to speak some honest truths.
“After Kevin Smith figuratively and literally closed the book on the View Askewniverse with 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Smith dipped back into the lives of Dante and Randal with a six-minute short film that debuted on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in early 2002. A handful of years before Dante and Randal took their particular set of skills to Mooby’s with Clerks II, Dante and Randal found themselves in a car ride for the ages.” — Robert Chipman, “Dante’s Inferno: What Would You Do for the Flying Car?”, FilmObsessive, 2023.
This feature of the SwissSwatch watch is from 1994, and it is called Le Poème. The Swatch features Gustave Dorés’s colorized illustrations of the Inferno and Paradiso on the band, along with a depiction of Dante’s profile on its crystal. Also, this portrait is surrounded by the words “Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita.” — Dante Swatch, SwissWatch, 1994.
See the watch on Swatch’s website here (retrieved on January 9, 2024).
Contributed by Martin Marafioti, Pace University
“‘Over time my father who was a physicist and an engineer, could no longer find his way home. Despite his forgetfulness (Alzheimer’s) he always delighted in the idea of sublimation. ‘Do you know what sublimation is?’ he would ask. ‘Tell me again,’ I would answer. ‘Sublimation is when ice is transformed directly into a gas without melting. It seems to skip this intermediate step and just disappears.’
“Sublimation combines two bodies of work. The first, Simple Gifts, is a woodcut installation that began as a response to migration crises and broadened into a story of people in desperate circumstances seeking a better life by helping each other and themselves. Its three sections are modeled on Dante’s Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, a descent into brutality, an escape story and a resting place. The resting place is also a vision of heaven, that is, the hope of reuniting with family and friends.” —Libby Hague, SNAP Gallery, “My Story of Sublimation”, akimbo, April 8, 2023
“The animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall was well-received by fans and critics because of its witty yet macabre stylings and position as an autumnal viewing staple. Created by Patrick McHale, the series chronicles Wirt and his younger half-brother Greg as they journey to find their way home through treacherous woods called the Unknown. Their goal to survive the forest has similarities to Dante’s Inferno, the first part of Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic poem The Divine Comedy, in which the author is guided by the poet Virgil through Hell.
“The characterization in Over the Garden Wall often offers key parallels to those featured in Inferno. Wirt’s appreciation for poetry and focus on his thoughts rather than action is nearly identical to Dante’s quirks, in addition to their shared fondness of a girl. Greg’s place as Virgil, a bard-like companion for his brother, is clear. Greg exhibits Virgil-esque bravery toward the Unknown, despite his unawareness of what lies ahead (as opposed to Virgil having a great deal of knowledge), leading his brother further into its depths, as Virgil did with Dante. Even Beatrice, the adorable but feisty avian companion, has numerous shared aspects with her literary counterpart. Beatrice’s origin is canonically inspired by the Inferno character, who originally is Dante’s lost lover and a guide through Paradisio (sic). While the show’s interpretation of Beatrice guides them through the Unknown, citing her purpose for being honor-bound to Greg for saving her, the winged chaperone’s intention is discreetly nefarious at first.” —Taryn Westphale, “Over the Garden Wall: All the Parallels to Dante’s Inferno,” CBR, February 22, 2023 (retrieved December 31, 2023)
Read more about each episode here.
All submissions will be considered for posting. Bibliographic references and scholarly essays are also welcome for consideration.
Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.
