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When reinventing history within the medium of film or television, these re-tellings of the past are always strongly influenced by our contemporary way of living, our contemporary society, our contemporary understanding of morals. Thus, the historical television series "The Tudors" employs a rather modern way of reimagining Henry VIII´s (Jonathan Ryhs Meyers) reign and life. It is particularly Henry Tudor´s second wife Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) who is represented in extremely contemporary terms. The means of recreating the historical figure of Anne Boleyn in "The Tudors" in a context of contemporariness are manifold: her physical appearance in the sense of casting Anne Boleyn, her representation of female behaviour and the mediality of her varoius costumes. In all that Dormer´s portrayal of Henry VIII´s legendary wife seeks a rather modern approach, which has the effect that she seems to have a great appeal to modern-day audiences, which is certainly always one of the main objectives of historical fiction.

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Helenie Mende was born in 1984. She studied English, American and French Studies at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany, where she received her M.A. degree (Master of the Arts) in 2010. She is currently working as a freelance translator in Dresden, also taking a second degree in teaching. She is an active member of Eclectic Theatre.

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