Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Reader from MN

What do you get when you cross William Wallace with Harry Potter? Braveheart and Broomsticks of course, this exciting collection of scholarly essays on movies, myths, and magic. It covers a wide variety of topics including: movie ad campaigns, the evolution of the Braveheart legend, Scottish poetry, Jim Hensons movie Labyrinth, internet fan sites, Wicca and the witchcraft movement, the great Harry Potter debate, fairy tales, and the novels of Willa Cather.


I thought the topics were fascinating. I've never read a book that had such an amazing variety of pop culture topics and still presented them in a interesting and educational way. I learned so much from this book. I never knew Braveheart was based on a poem and I was captivated by the description of all the different versions of the legend and epic poetry itself. I felt the piece on Labyrinth was particularly good and I really enjoyed the feminist perspective and analysis of internet fan fiction culture. The Harry Potter debate gave a really good overview of the controversy surrounding the books and I really liked the quotes from people around the world debating it. The chapter on Wicca was phenomenal and I have a whole new view of witches. Even the chapter on Willa Cather fit in really nicely. Never a big fan of Cather, but I think that the author's approach to the novels was really radical and I think English teachers around the world should take note.


It's a great book for a Communication Studies or an English major. I think it seems like something a professor might want for their class. Having taken many such courses myself, I am able to see what approach the author has taken with many of the essays. If I had examples like that when I was in college a few years ago, I think it would have been easier to understand how to write the papers, because much of the material I was given to read in many classes was extremely boring.


I also think it appeals to Middle School and High School classes looking for new ways to study traditional topics like poetry, media criticism, rhetoric, and so on. This could be a great teaching aide and a super resource for students writing their own papers.


While scholarly in nature, Braveheart and Broomsticks appeals to a wide variety of people. From students to teachers, librarians to critics, and even just the average reader, this book is definitely something people should take a look at.