“Legends speak of a hero…” “They say the village is haunted…” “Gather ‘round and hear the tale…” Many forms of contemporary popular media—anime and manga, video games, Hollywood films—present material that can be understood as folklore. They may adapt elements of traditional cultures from the real world, or invent fictional folklore of their own, or both. Jeffrey Tolbert will consider some popular cultural uses of what has come to be called the folkloresque with an eye to illustrating the importance of tradition in these media, while also pointing out some of the problems with these kinds of adaptations.
...