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- ISSN: 0165-8204
- E-ISSN: 2667-1573
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‘Why don’t you take your library card and f*ck off’
Het spel van klassieke verwijzingen in HBO’s Succession1
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Lampas, Volume 57, Issue 2, jun. 2024, p. 176 - 196
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- 01 jun. 2024
Samenvatting
Abstract
This article examines the role that references to classical literature play in the HBO-series Succession (2018-2023). Over the course of four seasons, the characters of the series refer to various figures and works from Greek and Latin literature, such as Oedipus, Coriolanus, Nero and Sporus, Plato’s Republic, Pharaoh Rameses II, and Cicero. While aiming to provide a fairly complete overview of these references, I show how these references often foreshadow the plot of the series. Then, I show that many of these references, although often presented as ‘original’, are often derived from, and refer to, later works in the chain of reception. Finally, I demonstrate how these references are often employed by (seemingly) erudite characters who want to stress differences in class and intelligence and emphasize moral superiority. After having shown how other characters respond to this literary game, I conclude that since the references are derivative and characters do not always seem to have read the Classics themselves, this practice of referencing should be considered grotesque and clownish, and thus contributes to the satirical character of the show.
© Bob van Velthoven