Revisionist Mythology

Dev Patel isn’t the only thing South Asian about the new King Arthur movie.

King Arthur is a central character in British folklore, and the first recorded version of his story dates back 900 years ago. Since then, many writers have retold and reinterpreted his story. For example, both Lancelot and the Holy Grail were elements added in by a French writer years later.

In that sense, King Arthur’s tale has transformed like South Asian epics, including the Ramayana.

The first recorded version of the Ramayana originated about 3000 years ago. But the OG story by Valmiki didn’t actually include elements we think of as integral today:

Hanuman wasn’t a monkey, but a human from the jungle.

Sita was not meek and submissive, but outspoken, even aggressive.

And that whole plot point about Laxman, Sita, and the protective circle didn’t even happen!

These pieces were all added in later. As the Ramayana traveled through the subcontinent and across Asia, storytellers adapted it to fit the time and place. Plus, each writer had his* own motivations for (re)writing the story, which influenced his interpretation.

History is kind of similar.**

History is often portrayed as a set of facts “written in stone” but it is in fact constantly changing. Each historian adds something new to our understanding of what happened in the past. Their new interpretation is informed by their own present reality. And, whether we realize it or not, these historical accounts inform our collective future...

In conclusion, someone needs to write a version of King Arthur’s story that includes Ram, Laxman, and Sita. And then the movie adaptation of THAT story will include an all South Asian cast. #browntown

*yeah, it was almost all men, but that’s a whole separate convo.

**why yes we did use Dev Patel to trick you into thinking about historiography