(5 minute read)
The Future of Mythology
The old myths seem to be relegated to merely being quaint. They no longer serve a purpose. Yet, there still is a need that must be met at the human level.
The need for stories to define our values. We do not think in bulleted PowerPoint slides. We need stories that reinforce our values.
Two forces are at work. They will decide the future of myth in American culture. This influence extends elsewhere.
First is our propensity to look outside of ourselves for providing context and meaning to the world we live in. The need to fill in the gaps is still in our DNA. Evolution hasn’t removed that need.
Second is the way in which our current and future cultures will use myths to define themselves. The need to be a part of something bigger than ourselves can be powerful. It helps us give context by defining the world that surrounds us. However, this need has the potential of being exploited by very bad actors.
We are seeing this play out in political systems all over the world. This is not new. Propaganda and persuasion (there is a difference between the two) have been used since the dawn of time.
Political realm aside, the use of myth in the entertainment business is probably stronger than ever. To date, the top three superhero movies grossed over $7.5 billion. That is more than the U.S. state annual budgets of Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Vermont.
The top three science fiction movies rival superhero movies with $7.4 billion.
And of course many of the source material used for these movies?
Comic books …with sales of nearly $2.1 billion in 2021.
If the saying is true, your heart will be where your money is spent. Then myth is alive and well in the U.S.
Of course it is not all about entertainment.
What are the common elements found in superhero or sci-fi depictions?
The special effects are more spectacular with each movie release. The billions made do not fully reflect the number of things that “get blowed up real good.”
Rather, the very values that are reflective of those mentioned above create a deeper experience for the audience. These include a sense of identity, truthfulness, bravery, and egalitarianism.
I suggest that, without those intrinsic values embedded into the stories, the experience would ring hollow. Reinforcing these values for the audience adds meaning.
Christian Faith …Myth or Spirits in a Material World?
Buddy Christ from the movie, Dogma, Lionsgate Films, Miramax International, 1999
An academic study of mythology turned into a personal search for meaning nearly a quarter century ago.
In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorthy receives instructions to follow the yellow brick road. This marks the beginning of her journey to the Emerald City. Once there she was sure she would find her way back home.
As she begins her journey, the camera pans down. It captures her glimmering ruby slippered foot stepping on the very first yellow brick. It is an intentional first step indicative of someone wanting to make sure that first step is right. Another step to the right or left and the road isn’t followed and she will veer off course.
This scene would play out for me in a very personal way.
The search for a deeper meaning of my childhood faith coincided with my graduate studies. The faith that I had relied on for so long became anemic and no longer seemed to work. It was now toxic and the god I had fashioned was now a distant stranger.
To say that a crises of faith ensued would be an understatement.
In hindsight it was a fortunate and fruitful time. Like Dorthy taking that first step, one of my graduate study assignments put me on the right track. It was a thesis on the Christian tenets of the afterlife.
Specifically, a study on the Christian’s belief in heaven and hell.
Most students when writing on a topic like this would write an exegesis. It’s a chronological interpretation of scriptures from Genesis to Revelations. The output is more like the dictation of a court stenographer with very little outside sources and interpretation utilized.
“Just provide the scriptural information as fact,” is the attempt.
How boring. This was not the type of scholarship I was interested in and so I took another route. I wanted to dig deeper.
A lot deeper.
The First Testament never directly addressed these two realms of the afterlife. Yet, the Second Testament was rife with detailed examples. This is especially true for hell.
What happened in between the first generation of Christians who were Jewish? They didn’t necessarily have a framework for an afterlife. What occurred in the subsequent generations of Christians who suddenly did? What were the real origins of heaven and hell? Where did the ideas originate?
Why did the early Christian writers promise an afterlife filled with rewards? They were also determined to scare their congregants.
The myths of the Christian after life, or spirit world, are not easy to resolve. They are mysterious and complex with descents and ascensions, angels at the tomb, the exorcism of demons, etc.
The Christian scriptures are rich in myth. But is demythologizing the stories by forming literal interpretations the best way? Will it make them intelligible, acceptable, and logical for modern humanity?
What happens when we take the same standards used in the sciences and literature and apply them to Christian scriptures?
Or are we better off taking those writings at face value by accepting the events depicted there as literal and historical?
Discover more from It's Worth It!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
