Anakin Skywalker and Jesus

        Films often rely on biblical stories to help tell their plot. Many times films adapt commonly known myths into their stories. A great example of this is with Star Wars and their use of the story of Jesus. In the prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker (future Darth Vader) has many similarities to Jesus. First off is their births, as both were born without a father and have a mother who is central to their development. Both have foreign men arrive and anoint them as special (three wise men and Qui-Gon Jinn). Anakin is also known as the “Chosen One” and he is supposed to bring “balance to the Force.” Of course, Anakin gets corrupted and falls to the Dark Side until the end of Episode 6 where he sacrifices himself to kill the Emperor and bring down evil (bringing peace to the cosmos/galaxy). Anakin is a major example of how movies adapt religious stories. He also is a good example of the continuous fight between the cosmos and chaos, and how myth must tread the line between good and evil. The analogy of Anakin to Jesus has helped Star Wars have such a religious following with Darth Vader being one of the most popular characters that fans dress up as. A major question for filmmakers is about how close can they make their stories resemble biblical stories, or do they always have to slightly change the story before they can put it into the film? Also, is it a necessity for filmmakers to have some type of religious connotations in their films?

Relationship between Film and Myth

        The affiliation of film company logos and mythical symbols establishes a precedent of transportation to another realm for the viewer. By prefacing the movie with symbols like Pegasus or the golden gates of heaven, the viewer unconsciously slips into a certain mindset. It is as if they are being prepped for transference into another world. Mary Douglas explains this phenomena with her quote regarding ritual – “a marked off time or place”. Film companies establish a particular framework in which the movie and the moviegoer will operate within. These realms, like myths, have clear delineations between good and evil. They are an ordered world in which life, which is so often chaotic, is sorted out for us. As such, making it far easier to understand the appeal of these worlds. Films, like myth and religion, can be used as a means of escape. Although the classic elements of mythology are reconfigured in films, the basic elements remain. This fundamental component being an ambiguous world wherein lines that are blurred in reality became clear. Why is escapism – in its many forms - so attractive to us? Is it because it gives us limits where we have none?  

Visual Representation of Myth in Film

ISacred Matters, Gary Laderman writes about the power of Disney movies as cultural myths. Disney films illustrate that good will defeat evil, happiness is possible, and that an individual can defeat the forces arrayed against him. Through visual symbols and plot events, these films illustrate basic cultural myths

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            In The Lord of the Rings series of films, visual elements are used to emphasize the mythic quality of the story. As an archetypical story of the battle of Good and Evil, a clear visual distinction between the two sides is necessary. Gandalf leads the forces of good, represented by the Fellowship of the Ring. When he is resurrected after sacrificing his life to save the other members of the Fellowship Gandalf wears white, a color that represents goodness and purity. The forces of evil are hideous. The clear differences between them emphasize the visual component of the myth.

            Films place a clear emphasis on sight, so they alter the way myths are perceived. For example, Genesis 1 places an emphasis on what happened. We are told what God did, but there is no indication of how he did it. This places an emphasis on the imagination. We are the ones who turn the words on the page into images through our imaginations. Films remove the need for that effort. If a film wanted to tell the story of creation, the director and cinematographer choose how to tell that story through images. By their very nature, films remove the imagination required to visualize myth.

The Life and Authenticity of Cinematic Myth

The Life and Authenticity of Cinematic Myth

     When a myth is portrayed in the audio-visual format in a cinematic setting, the story being told goes through a process unique to this medium of storytelling. The most distinct effect film has on myth-telling is the tangible life the stories are given; being able to engage our sight senses in a story allows the audience to absorb the tale to a new level unattainable by other forms of storytelling. For example, devout followers of the Star Wars film series are able to deeply connect to the mythology, and each other, because they are able to see uniform evidence of the scenery, individuals, and objects in the myth, rather than leaving those details up for their own imaginations. Without the visual aspect, audience members all interpret the story differently because of the diversity of their individual imaginations: visual imagery allows everyone to see and comprehend exactly the same thing.
     However, while cinematic story-telling gives myths more "tangible" life, it hinders their authenticity. Part of the beauty of reading, and verbally telling tales over generations is the act of wishful wonder they inspire. Stories that are told verbally, or read, follow an "innocent until proven guilty" principle. Because there is no physical evidence for why these stories couldn't have occurred, there is just as much evidence for why they may have actually occurred. Myths told in the audio-visual format lose that sense of wonder because the story unfolds right before the audience's eyes, exposing the story's fraudulence.

Myths as Interpreted by the Coen Brothers

           As Laderman notes, film was originally invented to make the bible accessible and it continues to be one of the most influential mediums in “generating religious values, images, and sensibilities.” Beginning with the title, the Coen Brothers’ movie “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” is rife with these religious and mythological references. The plot directly parallels Homer’s The Odyssey, and is a clear re-telling of this heroic journey myth. From the opening scene the audience is exposed to numerous controversial religious themes. The main characters, having escaped from a chain gang attempt to convince Everett Ulysses (George Clooney) that their sin can be absolved and their slate wiped clean through baptism. They encounter a blind prophet who predicts their future (noting that they will see a cow.) The men then pick up a hitchhiker who has just waited at the crossroads to sell his soul to the devil. Throughout the movie the characters continue to follow the railroad, representing the river on which Ulysses traveled. Similar paths appear in other religiously inspired movies from our readings such as Dorothy’s yellow brick road on her quest to Oz. In "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou", the characters are distracted by three naked women bathing in a lake. These women represent the sirens from The Odyssey, but also the general concept of temptation and sin presented in Genesis. The final scene is clearly religious. The three men pray as they await their execution, all set to the background tune of Amazing Grace. In response to their prayer, the land suddenly floods and the camera brings the viewer underwater with the men as they are saved. Just as in Big fish, and Charlottes' Web, we enter a scene filled with water.

             In combining various myths and spiritual references with typical Coen Brother’s humor, the movie highlights sincere religious controversies and the overall question of faith, but leaves these themes open to interpretation. At the end of the film Everett’s followers are convinced that they were saved by a miracle, while he refuses to believe, arguing that there is always a scientific explanation. He declares, “Out with the old spiritual mumbo jumbo, the superstition, and the backward ways”. Yet, to offer a counterargument, Everett’s anti-religious rant is interrupted when a barn floats by with a cow on the roof, confirming the blind man’s prophecy. In retelling this myth, the Coen brothers leave the audience to form their own opinions regarding faith and miracles.

The Impact of Film on Myths

In class we discussed how myths are constantly retold in a variety of mediums, also known as transmedia storytelling. Film is one of the most influential mediums through which myths are told because it has been able to successfully portray the sacred messages and values contained within myths. For instance, since the Great Depression Walt Disney productions have left a major impact on many individuals across the globe. By disguising myths as modernized fairy tales, Walt Disney films give audiences an “escape from reality and effective interpretative tools to make sense of reality” (Ladermen, 10). Thus, by placing the audience in a state of mind that is more receptive to different messages and values Walt Disney succeeds in spreading the messages and values embedded within the fairy tales. For instance, Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella implies that anyone with a good heart will end up with a happy ending and vice versa.

It was not until reading the Brothers Grimm’s version of Cinderella that I realized the stepsisters got their eyes pecked out when they tried to play up to Cinderella after she became Queen. Even though the stepsisters in Disney’s version were punished for their greed, they also did not get a morbid ending like in the Brothers Grimm’s version. So this shows that even though myths become better known after being retold in a different medium, many aspects of the myth can be changed to fit the audience’s cultural expectations. For instance, the Brothers Grimm’s version might socially conform with the time period of the late 1800s, a time when people viewed these tales as gruesome entertainment, as opposed to a 21st century mainstream audience that may not consider such violence as entertaining. Despite this, the embedded message remained fairly the same in that good people will have a better ending than those with evil intentions.

Nevertheless, myths retold through film subconsciously instill different messages and values into us. For instance, when I went to a movie theater to see the film Frozen, I was consciously viewing and taking in different aspects of the film while subconsciously processing the mythical values conveyed by the film, such as the prominence of familial love over romantic love. After watching Frozen, my friends and I had a chat as to why Disney made one of the protagonists into an antagonist. Disney could have been promoting the idea that familial love is more important than romantic love; however, Disney could have also been promoting the idea that no matter how handsome a person is, even if he is a prince, there is a chance that he might turn out evil. In other words, social status, or looks do not equate with morality.

This conversation demonstrates the power of myths in that “sacred stories…are open to multiple interpretations by the audience” (Ladermen, 13). These interpretations are framed by different life experiences, religious affiliations, etc…” Myths cannot be proved or disproved because “myth does not truck in scientific verifiable proofs” (Plate, 4). Instead, individuals like my friends and I, believe that Frozen is a good family film because it reflects virtuous values and since they are told via a powerful medium, film, we expect them to be true. Thus, film creates several layers of mythical messages that can be quickly absorbed by the audience since images speak to us faster than words.

Brothers Grimm's version of Cinderella

Disney's version of Cinderella