It is very clear to see how myths continually have an influence in our popular
culture today. While it is not as common to retell myths to young children as
it has been in the past, these myths are referenced consistently in our popular
culture. As discussed in class, the genre of dragon slayers is an example of
old mythology that continues to grow and develop through generations. In lecture, it was
described as "a meme: viral in behaviour".
It is easy to point out the multiple popular culture references to old myths in
all narrative platforms. In text, The Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings (Tolkien, 1954) are obvious examples. Both fantasy novels were based
on Old Norse tales. In The Hobbit, Tolkien references Beowulf (Heaney, 1999) when Bilbo Baggins goes into the dragon's layer to steal the treasure (Tolkien,
1937). It is also clear that the common theme of the 'dragon-slayer' is common
among Norse mythology.
There
are also references in pop culture to Norse Mythology that are not as subtle.
For instance in the late 90’s there was a popular show called Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and
within that show there was an episode called “Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Bridge”. In that episode, the characters are Odin, Balder, Thor and Loki. This
being a major reference to the Old Norse myths. As well as the original Marvel
Comic Thor, being created about Thor,
the Norse God associated with thunder, lighting, storms and strength (Lee,
1966). Examples like these often educate the audience of the tales of the myth
as well as entertain.
An
example of pop culture reference to the Old Norse myths that is often
overlooked is in the movie The Mask (Russell,
1994). The premise of the story is Jim Carrey’s character finds the mask of
Loki and absorbs Loki’s traits of darkness and mischievousness (Russell, 1994).
With mention of Loki in The Mask (Russell, 1994) being as subtle it shows that even though Norse myths are not the center of
entertainment like they used to be, they still play a role in our entertainment
today.
It is
clear that mythology continually has a strong hold and continually impact our
entertainment. We are consistently reverting back to themes and characters of
the past to develop new entertainment platforms. This being said, myths will
repeatedly be apart of modern society within popular culture.
References:
Heaney, S. (1999). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin.
Heaney, S. (1999). Beowulf: a new translation. London: Penguin.
Hurst, M. (Director) (1998). Somewhere over the
rainbow bridge [Television series episode]. In Raimi, S. (Executive Producer), Hercules:
The Legendary Journeys. Chicago: WGN.
Lee, S. (1966). Thor.
Russell,
C. (Director). (1994). The Mask [Motion picture]. USA: Turner Home
Entertainment.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1937). The Hobbit. New
York: Ballantine Books.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954). The lord of the rings.
London, England: George Allen & Unwin.
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ReplyDeleteHihi
ReplyDeleteI agree on how largely old myths have influenced modern narrative forms such as LOTR. Old myths have played a large part in influencing the fantasy genre not just in novels and films, but in video games too.
World of Warcraft for example, has Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Fire Elementals etc, all as a apart of their game, and all of which are a part of Old Norse Mythology.
Another way I think that old myths have influenced the modern world, is that it's enabled us to have a good look into the human pysche. Joseph Campbell (1949) in his book, A Hero with a Thousand Faces, as well as various other scholars have looked into the idea that we have ingrained in us character archetypes that we identify with, no matter what culture we're from. Such as the wise mentor character, found in myths and modern stories all over the world.
Campbell's theory is that all those myths share the same fundamental structure. By studying these archetypes, and the journey a hero often travels in these stories, it allows new authors to follow a pattern that is likely to identify with a large audience of readers, as well as allows people in general to have a better understanding of how our minds work and what we relate to.
Reference:
Campbell, J. (1949). A hero with a thousand faces. Princeton University Press.
Reference:
ReplyDeleteSquare Enix, (n.d), Retrieved on 28th March 2013. http://na.square-enix.com/valkyrieprofile/index2.html
Capcom, Breath of fire 3 (n.d), Retrieved on 28th March 2013. http://www.capcom.co.jp/newproducts/consumer/breath3/
Ragnarok Online (N.d) (Korean), Retrieved on 28th March 2013. http://www.ragnarokonline.com/
Square Enix, Final Fantasy (N.d)(Japanese), Retrieved on 28th March 2013. http://www.finalfantasy.jp/
Exactly, so many movies and literature have their roots in old myths!
ReplyDeleteAs an avid gamer, I wanted to add that old myth has huge impact on the modern 'gaming' world as well. So many RPGS (Role Playing Games) as well as MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Onine Role Playing Games) have their story lines from old myths. Dragons and Dragon slayers are a common theme, Gods and heroes make their appearances and sometimes you even play as one.
For example: Valkyrie Profile, a widely known Japanese RPG is based on norse mythology, namely on Voluspa. You are a Valkyrie under Odin and Freya's command who is tasked to bring heroes from Middle Earth to Valhalla. Loki, Fenris, Hel make their appearances and the Ragnarok happens during the game.
Odin, makes his appearance in the widely known RPG Final Fantasy as one of the creatures/gods you summon to aid you.
A popular Korean MMORPG called "Ragnarok Online" has roots in the Norse mythology where Valhalla and Niflheim are used as settings.
Even if the game has nothing to do with mythology, items such as "Mjolnir" (Thor's Hammer) Or Odin's Horse, or names of Gods are used through out a wide range of games. The list is endless.
And games sometimes take the theme of the old myths into their theme. For example, Breath of Fire III takes the theme from Norse Myth that nature is precious, that nature is our world.
Yggdrasil is a reoccurring God in a game called "Breath of Fire" a Japanese RPG. It is interesting to note that this game not only just uses the Yggdrasil as a motif in the game, but they use Yggdrasil as symbolizing nature, the world. As Norse Mythology describes Yggdrasil as a giant tree where we all live in, the game took the theme that nature is very important to us and that to destroy nature would mean destroying our world. In Breath of Fire III, technology slowly starts to destroy the nature and killing the Yggdrasil, killing the world. It is then up to the heroes to protect Yggdrasil - and protecting the world.
It isn't literature and movies we see myths in our modern world, games are a treasure cove filled with myths. I wouldn't be surprised if people come to know myths through games.
I believe the reason why myths are used in games is to create a sort of allegory and comparison between the characters or items. If you obtain an item called "Mjolnir" and the description says "Thor's mighty hammer used to slay the world ender" you would feel that the weapon has a deeper meaning and history behind it. They are also a short cut to creating an amazing, expansive world, and if people know a bit about the myth, they would feel connected and even educated while playing the game.
It is not just online or console games that use myths, boardgames use myths to create a solid background. Using myths as a background creates a base to mold and allows the designer to focus more on the game play.
Not only it creates a base for game designers to produce their games, it serves to entertain gamers and add depth. Myths also is used to emphasize themes and goals.