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ELA 12: I Need a Hero 61 Views
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Description:
In this video we'll teach you all about Beowulf. It sounds kind of like he was a vigilante...but that was a lot more accepted back then. Plus, we're pretty sure Grendel ate all of the police officers anyway.
Transcript
- 00:04
Since Beowulf is called "Beowulf," it shouldn't be too surprising that it's about someone
- 00:09
or something called "Beowulf." [Beowulf appears from below]
- 00:13
But who – or what – is Beowulf? A warrior? A monster? A pet rock with a little smiley
- 00:18
face drawn on it? [Pictures of the Cookie Monster and a rock appear]
- 00:19
Haha. That'd be kind of cute.
Full Transcript
- 00:20
Well, unfortunately, Beowulf isn't a cute little rock. He's a heroic warrior. [Cross appears over the rock and a green circle appears over Beowulf]
- 00:24
Before he even does anything in the story, we're told that, "of heroes then living, he was stoutest
- 00:30
and strongest, sturdy and noble." [The quote is underlined in the book]
- 00:33
In other words, he's pretty great, and could probably go toe-to-toe with The Rock. [Beowulf and a rock in a wrestling ring]
- 00:37
Not that cute little rock. The Rock. [The Rock appears]
- 00:40
Anyway, back to Beowulf. So something's up at Heorot Hall, the mead hall
- 00:44
of King Hrothgar.
- 00:46
And when we say "something's up," we don't mean the typical party fouls. Heorot Hall
- 00:50
has bigger problems than glasses being used without coasters, or an over-abundance of [Balloons fill the hall]
- 00:55
party balloons.
- 00:57
We mean that the current party disturbed the local demon monster, Grendel. [Grendel complaining about the noise]
- 01:02
However, rather than call the cops to make a noise complaint,
- 01:05
Grendel takes matters into his own hands.
- 01:07
One night, when all the warriors are in a sleepy, alcohol-induced stupor, Grendel attacks
- 01:13
Heorot Hall. He kills thirty guys and takes their corpses back to his lair. [People screaming from inside the hall]
- 01:17
Not exactly everyone's idea of a party, but hey, Grendel marches to the beat of his own drummer. [Grendel dragging a corpse away]
- 01:22
In fact, Grendel had such a great time that first night, he attacks Heorot Hall again
- 01:27
and again, until eventually Heorot Hall is abandoned. [Heorot Hall with the sign crossed out]
- 01:31
And as any real estate agent will tell you, it's tough to move property when you've got
- 01:34
monster problems.
- 01:36
We're guessing King Hrothgar would have been ecstatic over just a rat infestation.
- 01:40
News of Hrtothgar's Grendel troubles spread all over the world, all the way to Geatland ['The Geatland Times' with a story about Grendel]
- 01:46
, home of the mighty Beowulf.
- 01:48
Even though no one seems to be able to kill Grendel, Beowulf is like, "Pft, I could take
- 01:53
on The Rock. Let's do this thing." So with fourteen trusty warriors, he sets out by boat for Denmark, [Beowulf and his warriors at sea]
- 02:00
home of Hrothgar.
- 02:01
Good thing he took a boat…imagine trying to get all those swords through airport security. [Beowulf being pinned down by security]
- 02:06
Yeah not good.
- 02:07
When he arrives in Denmark, Beowulf meets with Hrothgar, boasting about his awesome
- 02:12
strength, and formally declares that he'll fight and kill Grendel.
- 02:16
And, within the Germanic warrior culture of Beowulf and Hrothgar, that's a big deal. [Beowulf and Grendel in the wrestling ring]
- 02:21
If Beowulf can make good on his boasts, and kill Grendel, he'll have proven himself a real hero. [Beowulf jumps on Grendel]
- 02:27
If he doesn't make good on those boasts, well, he might prove himself a decent lunch. [Beowulf being cooked by Grendel]
- 02:32
No matter what happens, one thing's for sure: this little rock needs his own story. [A pair a scissors vs a rock in the wrestling ring]
- 02:36
Someone get a publisher on the phone.
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