by Patrice Downing, Contributing Writer
Have you ever listened to the 1992 Canadian rap album Huh!? Stiffenin Against the Wall by Organized Rhyme? No? Well I bet you’re at least familiar with one of the members of the Ottawa trio, MC Bones? Still nothing? MC Bones went on to have his solo single “Lonely Swedish” shoot to number one on Total Request Live in 1999. Really? Okay, I guess he is better known by his given name, Tom Green, and “Lonely Swedish” is more commonly referred to as “The Bum Bum Song.” It’s pretty crazy to think that a performer better known for his man-on-the-street comedy, pranking his parents, wearing meat, and of course that time he humped a dead moose, started out his entertainment career as a teenage rapper in Canada.
Now what exactly does any of this have to do with the new live action remake of How To Train Your Dragon? Did Tom Green voice a character? Nope. Mr. Green has absolutely no connection to the film. Then why am I telling you about his musical roots as an MC in the early ‘90s? Easy, I’m the knowledge thirsty kinda nerd that rarely watches a film, show, or short, and that’s the end of it. I’m almost always sucked into the why behind the story, the journey that led to the tale, or the creative process that resulted in what I just watched. In the case of Tom Green, I was surfing Amazon Prime for some background viewing while prepping for dinner, and came across the new series Tom Green County. I was instantly intrigued by the premise that after 20 years in California, Green bought a farm on 100 acres of Ottawa wilderness in search of a simpler lifestyle. After finishing the last episode a few days later, I saw his new standup special Tom Green: I Got a Mule! was also available to stream, and started watching. Green mentions pretty early on in the special that he filmed a biographical documentary leading up to the special This is the Tom Green Documentary. That, dear reader, is where I found out about his aforementioned time as a Canadian youth rapper, along with a plethora of other insightful details covering what can conservatively be labeled as an eclectic career in entertainment. Of course, I also found out that I watched all three in the absolutely reverse order — they were meant to be viewed in as each transitions into the next, but I did find the complete trio compelling as a set.
And that’s why we’re here: to peel back the pretense, strip away the veneer, and backtrack to the basis behind newly released content in search of the Fact on Fiction. Buried beneath the mire of the made-up is where fascinating nuggets of truth can be found, and that is where most stories truly begin. This trip down the rabbit hole is taking us on a dynamic dive into the dark, often dank, and sometimes dangerous world of dragons. To be clear, I’m not here to tell you that my dreams have come true, and cryptozoologists have confirmed the existence of one of the most popular and culturally similar beings to ever grace humankind’s art, books, and oral traditions of storytelling. But oh, how I wish I was! In fact, dragons appearing across centuries, continents, cultures, canvases, and churches have long been a curiosity to historians and scientists alike. There are quite a few documentaries out there covering the depictions of dragons throughout history, but I was looking for something with a little more meat on the bones, as it were. Something with a blend of the science behind why people have latched on to the idea that great flying beasts that breathe fire are indeed such a plausible concept. Along the way, I found a treasure trove of content available of the scaly beasts, including a fictional fantasy documentary, called Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real, which I remembered watching 20 years ago when it first aired on Animal Planet. Narrated by the spectacular Sir Patrick Stewart, this mock doc includes a ton of methodical scientific and empirical data discussing why it’s understandable that dragons appear in historical documentation to the degree they do. Unfortunately, its inclusion and focus on the fictitious discovery of preserved dragon remains removes it from the list of contenders for this month’s factual find, though the production value still holds up well, so I do still encourage anyone interested in a little fluff with their facts to check it out.
It was becoming surprisingly difficult to find content that was strictly fact-based, because unlike any topic I’ve delved into previously, there is a tremendous amount of mockumentary style content available on the winged lizards’ existence. This just goes to show how engaging the concept of the fiery beasts being real has become, ingraining it firmly into the human experience. I did eventually find two options that dove strictly into the plausible scientific and historical evidence that has led people to believe in the existence of dragons. The first, 2023’s Dragons – The Science of Dragons, is filled to the brim with information on details like scientific requirements to make a dragon’s body capable of flight, their appearances in everything from the Bible and stone carvings to city crests and iconography, and the social dynamic of such animals living in groups. The downside is the entire production is narrated in what sounds similar to a character you’d find in the original HTTYD movies, making it hard to take anything too seriously. I totally watched the entire film anyway, but it became a bit grating by the end. Ultimately that left me with this month’s recommendation from the “hazards & catastrophes” channel on YouTube, Why Dragons Appear in Every Culture – From Asia to Europe. I first stumbled across this channel about a year ago when I went on an investigative journey to find some fresh content on Michelangelo’s David (I’m going to spare myself the embarrassment and leave out the title of the barely three-star comedy that led me to go down that road). Currently, the channel boasts over 200 full-length documentaries on everything from spy tech and submarines to Aztecs and Alexander the Great, and while some are geared a bit toward the origins of conspiracy theory type topics, I’ve found their art and civilization-centric offerings engrossing.
Which leads us to today’s theme of why dragons seem so plausible across cultures, given the lack of physical evidence of their existence. During the 53 compact minutes of interviews, anecdotal retellings, art, and even a trip to a museum of oddities run by monks (yes, you read that last one correctly) a melange of experts, spanning a dozen disciples, dive into the historical records that likely led to the inclusion of dragons in human history worldwide. Interviews with linguists discussing how unlikely the possibility of every culture developing a word for the same object without a source would be, a reptile expert explains his theory behind the unusually high number of “sightings” in the Alps, and an anthropologist exams how fear of snakes could have shaped and exaggerated those encounters making the jump to “Dragons Exist!” Geologists, coupled with scientists discussing the known thermal conductivity found in certain animals, examine how the idea of a beast breathing fire led to ancient communities blaming dragons for the natural erosion of topographical changes to the local vistas. A lot of ground is covered (literally the entire globe) throughout this excavation into the evocative origins of the monstrous mythic creatures, making for an interesting watch. This doc doesn’t really have a chance to lull and holds interest tight, right up to the end making it the perfect little primer to pair with any HTTYD movie, series, or short.
And with that, we’ve reached the end of another fact-finding journey through the wilds of the documentary landscape. Join me again next time to uncover the unimaginable, dig up the details, and rifle through the real world on a quest to find the Fact on Fiction.
You can read more from Patrice Downing, and follow her on Serializd and Letterboxd