Same Myth Different Story

           On page 21 of Sacred Matters, Gary Laderman points to the cultural production of mythology, asserting that the devotional investment and interpretation of stories are a representation of the sacred power some stories have. In Disney movies, the centrality of family, gender roles and vulnerability of the protagonist come to the foreground of many stories. However, these themes are common outside the realm of Disney films by simply appealing to the interests and sentiments of the viewers.

In the Spike Lee film He Got Game, Jake Shuttlesworth (played by Denzel Washington) is a prison inmate convicted for killing his wife. Jake is also the father of most sought-after basketball prospect in the country, Jesus, played by NBA star Ray Allen. Jakes is released from prison for a week by the state governor in order to persuade his son to play for the governor’s alma mater in exchange for a reduce prison sentence. Upon Jake’s return home, Jesus’ vulnerability is immediately revealed in light of Jake’s attempt to reconnect with his son, leading Jesus to grieve for his mother all over again. An added dimension to the story is Jesus’ responsibility of taking care of his younger sister Mary. Jesus is tempted with offers of cash and women on recruiting visits to national universities while heavily weighing the option of declaring for the NBA as a means to lift himself and his sister out of poverty.

Throughout the film Jesus’ encounters force him to blur the lines between right and wrong, a common thread within myths. Basketball is the reason his father accidentally killed his mother, but it is also Jesus’ means to a better life. Laderman calls this “mythically familiar territory” where good battles evil, revealed mysteries about the true order of the cosmos, innocence lost, self-discovery and transcendence of death and ultimate reconciliation occur. This story particularly appeals to my personal values and rituals, but does so by using recycled mythical themes that can be found in a multitude of stories, just they reshaped and repacked.

Myths in Movies

Myths are, among other things, stories based on real life events that are extended, enlarged, engorged, and riffed on as they are retold…” (Plate, 4). Myths don’t become myths for no reason. These stories have meanings and lessons that were relevant thousands of years ago when they were told, and will be relevant even today and in the future. For this reason, they will be told in many different forms – as oral stories, movies, television shows, and even in books. However, through all of this retelling, stories can be lost in translation. The main events of the story can be changed while the meaning and moral will remain the same. If a story is retold so many times by so many different people and in all these different ways, then change will occur. Also, the film industry has used mythologies in order to create some of the most popular films in history, including Star Wars, The Matrix, and many others. These films stand out because of the “ambiguity provided in its setting” (Plate, 9). In many films, the introduction will start in the sky, and it will lead to a more realistic and relatable setting. This can be considered a cosmogony because it deals with the chaos of outer space and the cosmos of the real world. Films like Star Wars use mythologies to create an entire following, and even though myths change during their retelling, it is for the better because it makes them more relatable to society today. 

The Visualization of Myth

How are myths visual? Originally, myths existed only as verbal stories as they were passed down from the older generations to the new ones. With myths arrived the art of storytelling, since the myths were often stretched and enlarged according to the person that was telling them. The history of myth is thus intrinsically related to the history of human creativity and imagination. As soon as the first paintings appeared, myths started operating not just as verbal, but also as visual mediums. In today’s world, film acts as the perfect medium for the visualization of myths. It offers the perfect environment for creativity, mashup and preservation of myths. Film is also an extension of storytelling, it has the power to create identities and portray myths that construct sacred worlds. 

As Laderman writes, “films provide myths that frame and make sense of basic, universal dilemmas faced by finite, mortal humans and serve as touchstones for making sense in a cruel, painful world full of suffering, injustice and chaos” (p.9). Films, just like myths, tell us where we come from and how should we act. Their messages can be thought of as religious since they teach about order, meaning, purpose, and identity. For instance, E.T: the Extraterrestrial (1982) teaches us about the value of friendship, Into the Wild (2007) about finding happiness etc. Nonetheless, films borrow directly from existing hero, creation, journey and other myths and present them from a different perspective, in instances like The Godfather (1972)- the succession myth, Forrest Gump (1994)- journey myth and The Matrix (1999)-hero myth. Unlike a verbal story, the visual representation of a particular myth through a film cannot be changed as it stays consistent every time it gets “retold” (re-screened). At the same time, different films may portray the same myth in a different way. Film is thus a visual representation of space and time that helps preserve the sacred worlds created by myths.

Film and its religious-like following

As was discussed in this week's readings, audio-visual forms of media constantly tell and retell myths, much like religion. Some myths are overtly religious such as the 2014 film, Noah, and others are religiously suggestive, but not as blatant, such as Charlotte’s Web. There have been a wide ranger of biblical retellings in film, take Noah and Evan Almighty. The stories in films draw on characteristics of stories from religion. The dichotomy between good and evil, right and wrong, is a religious characteristic that films often include.

Films themselves can take on a religious quality in the way people so faithfully watch and anticipate them. For instance, viewers of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and many more classic film series faithfully watch these movies. Much like characters in religious myths, people adore on-screen characters as well. Activities surrounding films such as these mimic activities around religion. When a new movie in a series opens, fans flock to theaters much like a Christian goes to church on Easter, or a Jew to synagogue on the High Holidays. Additionally, consider tattoos. Perhaps some of the most commonly seen tattoos are religious symbols such as crosses. People also get tattoos related to their favorite characters or moments from films. In most cases, when someone gets a tattoo, there is a deeply rooted significance as to why that person wanted that on their body. The fact that cinematic elements make the cut for many people demonstrates the religious-like following they often have.

Film: Where Light Pierces Darkness

"And so they are linked, cinema and religion, two grand designs conjuring light out of darkness"

- John Updike

Gandalf fights Balrog

Religions are meant to give people out of body experiences that connect with the soul and give new light and life to every day experiences. In a similar way, films take people from their daily schedules and transform the world around them into a fantasy of color, sounds, and movements. Many films even take the next step and find ways to subtly, or blatantly, alter myths that people know to fit their own purposes.

Whether it be the slow downwards pan from the cosmos to the real in Star Wars, echoing the beginning of the world according to Genesis, or the death of Gandalf after fighting the Balrog, quite literally a demon of fire, and his resurrection shortly after, mirroring Jesus' death and resurrection, films find ways to give moviegoers a new take on religion. Like religions, they take people out of the physical realm and put them into the metaphysical, where light conquers darkness and the most unlikely of characters save the day.

Once Upon a Dream

Once upon a dream, Aurora sings in the woodland that she will find her prince in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty. And out of this romantic, idealized fantasy, a gorgeous prince appears and begins singing back to her: hooray, true love! As the story goes, Aurora was cursed by the evil Maleficent, and on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls into a death-like, enchanted sleep. Yet the prince defeats the evil witch-gone-dragon and with true love’s kiss, the spell is broken. “True,” heterosexual love is what saves Aurora; her father’s or fairies’ love doesn’t quite cut it. Like so many of these 1950s Disney stories, the male protagonist saves the day. Second only to Dumbo, Aurora has the second-to-least amount of speaking lines for a Disney character.¹ So she’s sweet, beautiful, and needs saving. These “family values” don’t look great in today’s society, but back in the 1950s, they reinforced the political and social structure of the day.

Today, Disney is going through what some may say as a slight identity crisis. How do you uphold Disney’s traditional values while still remaining current? This is an issue myths undergo (think of Adam and Eve modern adaptations) and film, like any myth, needs to be retold, reshaped. So Disney released Maleficent this year. Here Disney features strong female characters, including Maleficent. She is multi-faceted: neither purely good or evil. She was terribly wronged by romantic, “true love” and seeks revenge on her perpetrator. So Aurora’s father also has a character make-over, and becomes more evil as the movie goes on. Like the original, Aurora is cursed and lives in a wooden cottage, but she’s visited in dream-like adventures by Maleficent, who has watched her cursed victim grow up with somewhat loving eyes. In the end, is it the boy prince, who Aurora barely knows, who saves the day? The strong Maleficent shows a maternal, unwavering, and true love who’s power can break any curse.

As the family structure in America changes, Disney needs to spin new adaptations of family movies to remain relevant. Maleficent shows that Disney is trying to reclaim its somewhat sexist past and create more female-centered stories.      

             

       1.  http://news.moviefone.com/2014/01/27/sleeping-beauty-facts/

Film and Religion

Myths are continuously told to keep the lessons and values they teach alive. Throughout generations, myths have changed, but the overall moral of these stories remains the same. As society has progressed, so have our story-telling abilities. Today, myths are re-told verbally, but also through books and film. Film and religion are much more connected than many people realize. Religion is a huge influence on the film industry. Even in seemingly secular films, like Charlotte’s Web, there are religious undertones. Some of the prominent themes present in both religion and film include the battle between good vs. evil and light vs. dark.

Growing up, films gave me faith that good would always triumph over evil; that somehow the hero would always defeat the villain. Similarly, religion tries to give people faith. Religion teaches individuals that with faith in God, they will be protected and saved. Although these themes have been around for centuries, films give people the ability to visually see the contrasts between light and dark, or good and evil. Film is modern tool used to enhance the themes of a story.