Snow White

        After reading the different variations of the tale of Snow White and watching the movie Blancanieves, I realized that all of the stories are still pretty similar in a sense.  However, I found the Brothers Grimm version to be the most similar to the silent film.  Although Blancanieves incorporates a different theme with the bullfighting aspect, one can still understand where the tale of Snow White comes into play.  The Brothers Grimm tale is different in the sense that a king and queen are involved instead of a bullfighting champion and his wife; however, both of the men's roles indicate that they are men of power and wealth.  Both stories include the first wife dying during childbirth, and the husband remarrying a woman who becomes the "evil stepmother."  A main difference between both stories is that in the Brothers Grimm tale, Snow White's father does not play a big role at all, unlike in the movie.  In the movie, we see a real connection form between the young girl and her now paralyzed father.  Also, in the Brothers Grimm story, the mirror on the wall is a huge part in the tale and why the evil stepmother wants to kill Snow White, very similar to the Disney movie.  In the movie Blancanieves, Encarna's chauffeur is sent out to kill Carmen and actually believes he does kill her; however, in the Brothers Grimm tale, the huntsman pities her and spares her life.  One major similarity between the movie and the Grimm tale is that the seven dwarfs play a huge role in protecting Snow White and saving her life.  Something we did not see in Blancanieves is the evil stepmother repeatedly trying to kill the young lady until she tries to poison her with the apple at the end, (because for all this time she thinks she is dead, until she sees her as a matador in a magazine).  The poisonous apple is a huge symbol in both stories; however, the stories' endings go down two separate paths, one being a happy ending with prince charming saving Snow White, the other ending in her death.  Although both stories are both very different, the overall premise of the tales is very similar, and anyone could recognize that Blancanieves has many references from the classic tale of Snow White.  I think that both tales were very fascinating, and I especially loved how the film totally depicted the tale in a different way.

Current Cultural Product-- Heroes

        I believe that the show "Heroes" is a current cultural product that could become a myth in due time.  We have already covered reading about heroes and heroines which is a huge part of mythology, so I think that this television show is a great example of what may later become a myth.  This TV series basically just tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the characters' lives.  Some of the characters' powers include the ability to fly, super strength, the ability to read minds, the ability to paint the future, space-time manipulation (which allows one to teleport, stop time, or travel through time), the power to walk through solid objects, the power of rapid cellular regeneration, and more.  From the first lecture of this class I learned that "mythic narratives often involve heroic characters (possibly proto-humans, super humans, or gods) who mediate inherent, troubling dualities, reconcile us to our realities, or establish the patterns for life as we know it."  Most of the characters in the series use their abilities to bring about positive change.  Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world which is pretty heroic in itself.  Although when I normally think of mythological heroes, I think of Hercules or Samson, the heroes in this show remind me of someone like Prometheus; I personally find him to be heroic for giving back to mankind.  The heroes on the TV show do the same thing.  I definitely think that this show resembles something that could become a myth because of the supernatural forces that cause certain events to occur.

O Brother Where Art Thou?

        The movie O Brother Where Art Thou tells the story of three men; Ulysses (Everett), Pete, and Delmar, convicts who escape prison to go look for what they think is a hidden treasure.  We later find out that Everett was lying about there being any treasure and admits to wanting to escape only to get back together with his wife.  At one point in the film, they come across a radio station run by a blind man and record the song "Man of Constant Sorrow," calling themselves the Soggy Bottom Boys. During their quest the men run into several obstacles, mostly being characters that we meet throughout the film, who hold them back from their ultimate goal.  Many of the characters we meet resemble mythological entities:

- The blind prophet in the beginning-- a mysterious railroad man who accurately predicts the outcome of the trio's adventure
- Tommy Johnson-- the accompanying guitarist in the Soggy Bottom Boys-- the man who claims to have sold his soul to the devil
- Sheriff Cooley-- the rural sheriff who pursues the trio for the duration of the film
- Dan Teague-- the one-eyed Bible salesman
- Root-- the blind man who works at the radio station
- The three singing women who lure the men to come to them

        The blind prophet that we meet in the beginning of the film reminded me of Teiresias, the blind prophet of Thebes.  Teiresias foresees Creon's future.  He tells the king that his refusal to bury Polyneices and his punishing of Antigone for the burial will bring the curse of the gods down on Thebes.  The blind prophet plays a similar role in determining the trio's future.

        Although in this class we did not read the Odyssey, I do remember reading it in high school.  The three women who are singing near the creek remind me of the Sirens in the Odyssey.  The Sirens, like these three women, were beautiful creatures who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting voices until they were shipwrecked on their island.  These women did the same type of thing; these men were immediately drawn to the ladies as they seduced them.

Antigone

        Although Antigone can be considered to be a tragic hero, I think that Creon was the real tragic hero of this story.  Creon is a king, a very wealthy and powerful person, but he still is a human with flaws nonetheless.  His people follow him loyally; this loyalty is shown when they follow his order about Polyneices' burial.  When Creon states this command he is in turn defying the ancient law of the Gods, which states that upon death, a proper burial is necessary.  This action throws him into his fate of suffering.  To me, Creon is a rather weak man who has been thrust into a position of authority and is afraid he won't be able to handle it.  As a result, he doesn't dare reconsider any of his decisions--doing so, he thinks, might make him appear weak and cause his subjects to lose respect for him.  So when he orders that Polyneices be left unburied and then orders Antigone to be entombed alive when she's caught violating the order, he can't let himself listen to her, Ismene, or Haemon. He even refuses to listen to Teiresias, conveying the displeasure of the gods.  Antigone ends up hanging herself after being walled up, and Creon's son Haemon, who loved and was engaged to Antigone, kills himself after finding her body.  Queen Eurydice, wife of King Creon, also kills herself at the end of the story due to seeing such actions allowed by her husband.  Creon's human flaws and emotions such as pride and arrogance lead to his ultimate downfall, which ties into him being the tragic hero.   Creon's ego prevents him from listening to any advice given to him.  Creon is not willing to listen to anybody, because he believes that going back on a decision will somehow destroy his pride. 

Breaking Bad

        Being a Breaking Bad fanatic, I have followed Walter White’s journey from start to finish.  Anyone can really see Walter’s transformation occur right before his or her eyes; he starts as just a desperate chemistry teacher who is trying to pay his bills for his cancer treatment, and gradually changes into Heisenberg, a darker and more villainous alter-ego.  I personally really sympathized for Walter in the beginning, and being the main character, thought of him as the protagonist, regardless of his illegal and immoral actions.  I really was able to empathize with him, trying to support his family.  However, one can see that Walter becomes greedier and more powerful, and has made more than enough money to support his family forever, and yet still continues to be in the meth-making business.  You can really just watch Walter’s life spiral out of control.  I consider Walter White to be an anti-hero.

         In the episode Ozymandias, Walter tries to be a “hero” by saving his brother-in-law, Hank, who is in the D.E.A. and is about to get shot by Uncle Jack.  However, I do not consider this to be heroic of Walter, rather, it is more that he is trying to fix the situation that he got himself into.  Hank and Walter would never have been in this situation if Walter’s meth making did not get out of control.  He is not being a true hero, because he probably would not have even felt bad about his illegal actions if his brother-in-law were not in this situation.  He tries to get Hank out of the situation by bribing the Neo-Nazis with money he has.  I really think Walter portrays an anti-hero more than anything, especially when you see how he has turned his back on his friend/business partner Jesse Pinkman.   You can actually see how dark of a character he has become when he tells Jesse that he watched Jane die and did not do anything about it.  It is hard to even call Walter a tragic hero when he loses all of his money in the end.  It is hard to feel sorry for him when it is more of an “I told you so” moment.    I really think Hank proved that he is the hero in this episode, because he at least dies with dignity.

         The poem Ozymandias tells the story of a traveler who has seen an ancient monument in the desert. The giant legs are all that remain standing of what was once a statue of a king, “Ozymandias, King of Kings," and there is no sign of the civilization he once ruled, although the inscription on the pedestal indicates that the stone king once surveyed great enough works to drive terror into the hearts of his enemies. The mighty one has literally fallen, and so has everything he accomplished.  One can make a clear connection between this poem and Walter's journey into becoming Heisenberg, the methamphetamine kingpin.  Walter accumulated millions and millions of dollars through his meth industry, just to lose most of his money, his family, and basically everything that was once important to him.  This episode is very impacting and shows the complete transformation Walt made into becoming an anti-hero.

Spirited Away

        After watching the film Spirited Away, I was able to make connections between most of the characters with mythological entities; however, I will mainly focus on No-Face and Chihiro's parents.  Although No-Face is a spirit of very few words, I immediately thought of Asterion (Minotaur) from Borges' story.  When we are first introduced to No-Face, I automatically get the impression that he is a lonely creature.  It seems as if when Chihiro is nice to him, he develops an obsession with her.  He reminds me of Asterion because in Borges' story, we learn that he overall just lacks companions.  It seems as if all he wants is acceptance, and I can see the same with No-Face.  On the other side of the spectrum, I can also see a resemblance of the Minotaur in No-Face when No-Face takes on a more monstrous form and eats some of the workers, being similar to the Minotaur's cannibalistic appetite. 

        Chihiro's parents resemble Indra in the myth of Indra and the Parade of Ants, in that, these characters all show that those who are greedy suffer consequences.  In the very beginning of the film, Chihiro's parents engorge themselves with food that is actually meant for the gods.  Chihiro tries to get her parents to stop and leave, but their indulgence gets the best of them.  In result of their poor actions they were turned into pigs.  Indra, like Chihiro's parents was also very greedy, and no matter how much he received, he was never satisfied.  Although Indra himself was not exactly punished for his greed, he learned of Indras before him who did suffer for their actions.  The ants represent the consequences of former Indras' actions, and the downfall of those Indras.  The two consequences are very similar, in that, one can start off as someone quite high in ranking, and then amount to nothing.  Being turned into a pig or an ant represent this.

House of Asterion

I believe that in the House of Asterion, Borges achieved the meaning of not "judging a book by its cover."  In this story we gain insight into the life of Asterion, who we later discover is actually the Minotaur.  Previous stories I have read and heard about this creature portray the Minotaur (Asterion) as a negative character; however, Borges accomplishes showing a different side of him.  The story is written as Asterion's monologue and one can recognize from his words that this creature is overall just lonely.  He lives in a labyrinth where he never leaves; the only time he did leave, he was faced with judgmental people who were fearful of the way he looked.  Asterion claims that he runs through the galleries until he falls dizzy to the floor.  He also pretends he is being followed, pretends to be sleeping, and pretends that the "other Asterion" comes to visit; all of these activities just to pass the time.  I can't help but feel sorry for Asterion, in that, his loneliness and lack of companionship is driving him mad.  Asterion speaks of his redeemer, the person who will eventually come and take him to a place with fewer galleries and fewer doors.  In the end the audience learns from the last quote of the story that Theseus kills the Minotaur.  From this it is assumed that in the end, Theseus is the person who redeemed Asterion from a world in which he did not belong.