Nostradamus in Popular Culture
Over time, Nostradamus’ works have been revisited by many. Particularly, in modern times, Nostradamus has become a key figure in popular culture for explaining various phenomena such as important events and significant people. From his prophecies having been acclaimed to be evidence for occurrences such as 9/11 and the death of Princess Diana, they had rapidly gained attention globally. However, with his works written in French, some translations may have been varied, with some people purposely translating his works alternately so that it could appear more relevant to a particular occurrence. For example, Nostradamus’ supposed “work” had been manipulated to explain the “end of the world” as well as the massive success of South Korean singer Psy. With these false translations many were proved to be invalid as they were not written in the correct time period or did not use the correct structure of Nostradamus’ works, quatrains.
Nostradamus’ influence on modern society has had the ability to be ubiquitous in mediums such as television, music, film and even comic books; allowing him to become more well-known within society.
Nostradamus’ influence on modern society has had the ability to be ubiquitous in mediums such as television, music, film and even comic books; allowing him to become more well-known within society.
Television:Within television series’ such as Alias and First Wave, Nostradamus’ characteristics and works were respectively involved in shaping particular characters and dialogue.
Within the science fiction television show Alias, the character of Milo Rambaldi, a significant historical figure, was shaped to be in Nostradamus' image due to him having created works that were strongly related to being prophecies. |
Music:In modern music, Nostradamus’ prophecies have been able to inspire various artists and composers. Some examples include Robert Steadman who used Nostradamus’ supposed prediction of the end of the world for a soprano and chamber ensemble while Al Stewart, an English singer, wrote a song directly titled Nostradamus; making numerous references to his prophecies.
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Film:Nostradamus has been incorporated into numerous films and documentaries. Particularly notable films include “Nostradamus: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow” created in 1981 and “Nostradamus” made in 1994 that revisits Nostradamus’ life, particularly focusing on his work curing the plague and his predictions. The History Channel has also created a documentary that includes Nostradamus titled “Seeing the Future: Nostradamus to Edgar Cayce”, exploring significant figures of the past who have made various speculations on the future.
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Comics:Nostradamus’ influence has also even been able to reach various comics as he has been used as a character within widely popular franchises such as the DC Comics, being an ancestor of characters Zatara and Zatanna, in Marvel Comics within the S.H.I.E.L.D. series as himself and in an Italian Mickey Mouse comic where Nostradamus was explained to have travelled to the future and brought back evidence to the past.
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