Hi all! Last night, I had an informal gig at a bar called Siberia in the Hell's Kitchen area of NYC and it was a blast! I saw some old friends, met some new ones, and had a great prelude to the work I plan to do next month including work on my thesis novel. I will be playing and singing as always so I'll keep you up to date!:) BKT
Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I have written an essay in my website, so I thought I would includethe last one I wrote about one of my all-time favorite movie series, Star Wars. I hope you like it. I'll have more music updates in the next installment.
The Star Wars prequel trilogy is underrated because it actually compliments the original trilogy as a modern myth that incorporates the same elements as ancient myth: love, compassion, hate, friendship,and family.George Lucas' epic Star Wars saga has now been around for almost thirty-five years and it does notseem to slow down. The offshoot computer-animated TV series, “Star Wars: Clone Wars” has brought the mythos of Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker's quest for peace and stability in “a galaxy far, far way to a whole new generation of post-baby boomers and Information Age afficionados. There has been much speculation as to why the classic Sci-Fi Fantasy series has endured for so long, but most cultural scholars agree that it is because of its classification as modern myth. This discussion willexplore the roots of Mr. Lucas' grand creation as well as a reflection of human interacting with each other from ancient times to now through the language of myth.
In order to do the saga any justice, the prequel trilogy will be briefly analyzed to show that they collectively give us archetypes through which we can see classic examples of myth. Mr. Lucas decided to continue his “Space Opera” with what is now known as “Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope,” but in true Wagnerian fashion, he chronologically went back to the origins of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker even though the story of his redemption through Luke Skywalker, his son, was already toldin the original trilogy. Therefore, “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace” will be looked at firstsince it sets the stage for the entire saga.
Mr. Lucas, a former anthropology student in college, was exposed to myths and the works of famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, whom he eventually met in later years. This must have had a profound influence on the film maker: “Yes, I consider him a mentor,” Lucas said at a recent New York press conference. “He was an amazing scholar and an amazing person. When I started doing Star Wars,I re-read Hero with a Thousand Faces. After Return of the Jedi, somebody gave me a tape of one of his lectures. I was just blown away by that. He was much more powerful as a speaker than he was as a writer.” (Persall, 1999.) However, the Hero's Journey concept that Mr. Campbell created in his book,“Hero with a Thousand Faces” was only faithfully followed as a blueprint in Lucas' “Episode IV,” the first Star Wars film that was released in 1977; since then, much has been written about Campbell's influence on Luke and company, but not the much-maligned prequel trilogy.
As aforementioned, “The Phantom Menace” is the first film to be examined not for Campbell's take on it (the scholar did not live to see it), but under the microscope of world mythology. There is quite a number of archetypes in the film. First, Anakin Skywalker is known as “The Chosen One” because ofhis miraculous Virgin Birth: SHMI: “There was no father, that I know of...I carried him, I gave birth...I can't explain what happened” (Lucas, 1999). The Christian symbol here is clear. If Anakin were to become a Christ-like figure of the Force, then he was expected to redeem both Sith and Jedi as well asrepair the rift that was caused over a thousand years ago when they warred against each other in the Old Republic.
The blood sample that Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn surreptitiously takes from Anakin's arm is symbolic of Christ's blood as a role in determining his divinity. Only Jesus' blood could wash away the sins of humanity, thereby establishing a New Covenant between humans and God; only Anakin's blood could prove that he could wash away the stench of sin that the Jedi-Sith wars left in the galaxy as a Savior who could “balance the Force” and save humanity from its own eventual self-destruction.
Anakin's precocious nature is also reminiscent of Christ who was able to debate with holy men at an early age. He is a slave like Moses once was, but is freed by the intervention of a mentor (Qui Gon, for the time being, is like God to him). Roger Ebert, famed film critic of the Chicago Sun Times wasobviously in on Mr. Lucas' insistence upon including Biblical archetypes in “Phantom Menace” whentalking about the Podrace (a Ben-Hur chariot race homage?): “Why is Qui Gon so confident that Anakin can win? Because he senses an unusual concentration of the Force---and perhaps, like John the Baptist, he instinctively recognizes the one whose way he is destined to prepare.” (Ebert, 1999.) And like John the Baptist, Qui Gon Jinn had to die for a greater cause: to help usher in a new Light into the world.
On the other hand, not only Biblical archetypes are present in the movie; the Jedi Council, headed by the Sage of the Star Wars universe, Yoda, is the galactic Knights of the Round Table who test poor young Anakin because he could be their Galahad. Their Grail, only through him, is a balanced Force and Obi- Wan Kenobi, the father figure of Anakin, is the Lancelot of Star Wars who fails to achieve the Grail of success with “the Chosen One” by the end of the prequel trilogy ( more on this later).
Queen Amidala, Anakin's eventual wife much later in the Star Wars cycle, is the young Kabuki queen who is at times impatient, yet sympathetic to the suffering of her subjects on the planet Naboo. It hasoften been said that Mr. Lucas is an admirer of Japanese films and culture (examples are especially noticeable in Episode IV), but the Kabuki makeup and robes of Queen Amidala are an obvious manifestation of it. Kabuki plays were done as far back as the early seventeenth century and were the entertainment of Japanese people in the same way that movies and plays are to us today; both serve apurpose: they not only entertain but carry the viewers on a ride fraught with myths and legends,modern and ancient. The emergence of superhero movies as today's blockbusters is a prime example.
Makeup plays a role in the movie also with its most alluring character, Darth Maul. He is not just a horned-headed Satan with a double-bladed lightsaber, but a spirited tribal warrior...and his tribe is the Sith. Now there are only two (a common number in Star Wars): the Sith are now Maul and his master, Darth Sidious who is actually the “good-natured” Senator Palpatine awarded the Supreme Chancellorship at the end. The Sith tribe is powerful and evil. Darth Maul's face tattoos hearken back to African tribes who paint themselves to strike terror in the hearts of their enemies. Palpatine is the two-faced Roman god Janus of beginnings and transitions. When the temple doors of Janus are swung open,it is time for war. He is, in fact, the perfect catalyst for the Clone Wars. A few Americans believe that former presidents have brought about negative changes like war in our government to mythic proportions.
And finally, what about Jar Jar Binks? This Gungan fool is essential because it is the trickster that brings about change in mythology. Loki, the Norse God of tricks, brought Ragnarok to Asgard because knowingly caused the death of Baldur. Jar Jar, in the next movie, “Attack of the Clones” plays a vitalrole in the change of government: he proposes the election of Senator Palpatine as the Supreme Chancellor with “emergency powers.” Yet, Jar Jar's role is still underrated in the series. Kids know best, though; according to many of them, he is one of the most beloved characters in the prequel trilogy which is why Mr. Lucas did not kill him off in "Revenge of the Sith."
Amidala is no longer Queen in “Attack of the Clones” but is now known simply as Padme or Senator Amidala; gone are the Kabuki makeup and Oriental robes. Here, she is accoutered in the guise of a simple, but powerful politician. And she falls in love with Anakin. The forbidden love myth is prominent in the Arthurian romances. Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, King Arthur's wife with disastrous results: she joins a convent and he goes mad; Tristan, nephew of King Mark, and Isolde, the monarch's wife, fall in love with disastrous results: Tristan is mortally wounded and Isolde dies with grief. Mr. Lucas must be well aware of these stories since he uses Padme to warn Anakin of what would happen if they fell in love: disastrous results. And as is shown in “Revenge of the Sith,” she wasright. Love affairs that are doomed from the start are certainly around today; just look at certain celebrityunions that have failed. Joseph Campbell had this to say about marriage: “I would say that if the marriage isn't a first priority in life, you're not married. The marriage means the two that are one, the two become one flesh.
If the marriage lasts long enough and you are aquiescing constantly to it instead of to individual personal whim, you come to realize that this is true---the two really are one.” (Campbell, 1988).When he marries Padme at the end of “Attack of the Clones,” he succumbs to love but his ambition to become “the most powerful Jedi ever” will ultimately destroy the marriage. The message here is that, as Mr. Campbell said, marriage in any planet is not strong enough to survive greed, selfishness, and ambition.
Anakin is now the Padawan learner to Master Obi-wan. Yoda warned Kenobi that training “The Chosen One” could be dangerous at the end of “Phantom Menace.” Their relationship is reminiscent ofGilgamesh and Enkidu who were best friends and had many adventures together. This friendship,however, ultimately brought each man to separate destinies. Another famous mythical friendship that parallels the depth of Anakin and Obi wan's is between the Greek warrior Achilles and his cousin,Patrocles which was sort of a master-apprentice one with an unhappy ending. Friendships today can be just as strained as these even in modern times. Of course, it would be remiss to leave out the anthropomorphic C3PO and feisty, little R2D2; they bickered throughout the entire series; regardless,their relationship gives the modern viewer a core message that the best of friends can still get alongdespite their differences. In fact, other than Yoda and Obi-wan, their relationship is the most permanent one in the Star Wars canon.
Another moment in “Attack of the Clones” that suggests the influence of myths is the shapeshifitng of Jango Fett's partner Bounty Hunter, Zam Wesell. A shape shifter is an excellent person to be inbounty hunting because it is easier for one to trick, trap and kill their prey if they are under another guise. Vampires, werewolves, and berserkers are all effective killers who happen to be shape shifters.
Of course, what would a myth be without fantastical, over-sized creatures like the ones in the arena thatwere ready to kill our heroes before the start of the first Clone War? Monsters like the crab-clawed“Acklay” can even have more human like forms such as the claw-fingered Dementors in the Harry Potter series. These fictional life forms are actual metaphors for the inner problems that we have yet to conquer. Padme, Obiwan, and Anakin each had a monster to fight.
When Obi wan fights Jango Fett on the water planet, Kamino, it is as if Odysseus himself were resisting Poseidon on the wine-dark seas. Water is a great symbol in myth. Sinbad had many exotic adventures on it (Obi wan was almost Sinbad-like when he sailed through Coruscant skies); Narcissus drowned in it looking at his own reflection; the Kraken lived in it. Water is another symbol of the unconscious emerging to take the human psyche down. For example, Clarence's dream sequence in Shakespeare's “Richard III” was all about the fear of being killed in the Tower according to the king'sgreed for power. Obi wan lives of course (as he did in Sith) to fight another day, but soon he has to battle his worst fear: that his own apprentice may not be “The Chosen One.” His trip through the planet core of Naboo in the first film with Qui Gon and Jar Jar in a “bunko” is the “Night-sea Journey”which is when the hero or in this case, heroes are “enclosed in a box or in the belly of a sea creature,”which “is a vital part of his adventure.” (Henderson, 1997). The Gungan-made bunko is quite fish-like in its construction if one looks closely. Perseus made such a journey as an infant in a box with his mother; Moses also made such a journey as an infant in an enclosed cradle.
At the end of Clones, the Wars have officially begun and Anakin, with an artificial arm courtesy of the Sith Lord, Count Dooku (poison in Japanese), holding Padme's hand in marriage. The chess piecesare set. Act Three, or rather, Episode Three culminates in an epic struggle for dominance. “Star Wars:Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” is the fall of the Hero and rise of the Antagonist. According to JosephCampbell, it was inevitable: “ A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Campbell, 1999). Anakin thought that he was doing that, but was instead, thinking only ofhimself. He could not bear to lose Padme as his dreams warned him. He lost his mother in Clones and he could not bear losing another woman he had loved; after all, his dreams warned him of Shmi Skywalker's death as well.
The loss of the mother in myth is a major theme. The most ubiquitous Grail Knight in literature,Perceval, lost his mother Herzeloyde while he was seeking adventure away from home, just like Anakin; Theseus and of course, Oedipus lost theirs as well. Once again, Mr. Campbell made a good point: “ The mother is really a more immediate parent than the father because one is born from themother, and the first experience of any infant is the mother.” (Campbell, 1999). Of course, the father myth is just as important in the Star Wars saga, with Luke's discovery that Darth Vader, his worst enemy, is his father.
However, it is the loss of his mother that propels Anakin to his journey towards the dark side of the Force. When he is confronted by the reality of his dreams which expose the future loss of his wife,Padme, he spirals down the path to the netherworld just as Orpheus did once he lost his belovedEurydice. He made a Faustian pact with the Mephistopheles of Star Wars, Chancellor Palpatine, the Sith Lord soon known as Darth Sidious. The Dark Lord tells Anakin in an Opera theater of all places (a haven of myth unto itself) that “cheating death” is possible by using a “parable” of the Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis, whose apprentice stole the secret and killed him in his sleep (naturally, Palpatine was the apprentice which is why he was an expert in telling the story). The temptation, like Jesus' in the desert, is too seductive for the hero and he succumbs to it eventually. By killing Count Dooku out of revenge early in the film, Anakin opened the doors of Janus, the two-faced god who is Palpatine. One war may have ended but another one begins: the Great Jedi Purge. He may have slain the Tusken Raiders who“walk like men but are monsters” as Shmi's husband said, but the hero become a monster himself.
Incidentally, the Tusken Raiders could be the equivalent of the anthropomorphic Minotaurs that heroes like Theseus killed; creatures that appear with human traits but actually are not.Anakin's betrayal of Jedi Master Mace Windu was his initiation into the Sith Order. His “mistreatment” at the hands of the Jedi Council turned him into a Mordred of sorts: a traitorous son of a father (Obi-Wan). As promised, the Grail motif turns up at this moment in the discussion. Obi-wan thought that the galaxy's problems would be all over once he defeated General Grievous; he thought that he achieved the Grail, but instead was dealt a blow with Anakin's spear of betrayal; he was givena Fisher King wound from which he would never heal, just like Lancelot in John Boorman's film,“Excalibur.” It is here where Obi-wan truly leaves behind his child-like optimism about Anakin's potential of being the “Chosen One. In the original story of the Grail, the Fisher King was wounded byburning his fingers on a salmon roasting on a spit and cooling them by putting them in his mouth; thus,he was was “wounded by a fish.” (Johnson, 1977.) The taste of the salmon changes him forever, but he is still wounded: “All men are Fisher kings.” (Johnson, 1977.) In other words, all men have come across an unbelievable situation that starts the path to what Jung called his “individuation” or spiritual enlightenment. The realization that Anakin has become the new apprentice to Darth Sidious wounds him and he bleeds all throughout the series from that moment on until his former friend'sredemption in “Return of the Jedi.”
Now Anakin was Klingsor, the ousted Knight from the order of Grail Knights in Wagner's last Opera, “Parsifal” who sought to destroy them and is now a very powerful sorcerer who has become a great threat ; yet he is also Kundry, a woman who is torn between serving the Grail Castle(the Jedi Council building in Coruscant) and Klingsor who is bent on destroying it and all it stands for.In other words, Anakin's personal struggle, like Obi-wan's Fisher King wound, is with his anima (his feminine side in Jungian terms represented by Kundry as Light fighting the Dark.) It is much easier to be Klingsor and accept the idea that his master holds the key to “cheating death,” thereby saving his wife, so he agrees to serve Mephistopheles at the cost of his own soul. Anakin's inner struggle with his anima makes “Revenge of the Sith” the most psychologically complex Star Wars film other than “TheEmpire Strikes Back.”
The Great Jedi Purge resembles the real-life purge of the Knights Templar by the Church on October 13, 1307 which, as the “Da Vinci Code” book stated, stigmatized the number 13 as unlucky. Yoda feels the death of each of his Jedi colleagues, including Mace Windu, and realized that he was in danger himself. After defending himself from two Clone Troopers, he jumps on a member of the original trilogy's shoulders: the lovable, 7'4 inch tall Chewbacca. This is significant because “Chewie” is one companions to Anakin's son and future hero of Star Wars, Luke Skywalker. Here, the friendship motif shows up again.
While Jedi Grand Master Yoda battles the newly crowned Emperor Palpatine, Obi-wan smuggles himself in Padme's ship and finds Anakin fully embracing the Dark Side on the volcanic planet,Mustafar. A very pregnant Padme is Force-choked into unconsciousness by her husband who clearly is drunk with jealousy and rage: two emotions that ironically were supposed to help save her since they comefrom the dark side. Yoda fails to kill Palpatine, but Obi-wan wins his duel by maiming Anakin in the bowels of a Dantean Hell. The fallen hero in myth is shown in examples like Hercules who was killed by a poison robe given to him by his jealous wife, Deianeira; it burned and maimed him. The legendary strong man was then reassembled as a God in the heavens. Anakin's rebirth as the Darth Vader we all recognize in the black helmet and suit occcurs simultaneously with Padme's death while delivering her twins, Luke and Leia.
Life juxtaposed with death was also seen in the film “Excalibur” where Uther and Igraine conceived the future King Arthur while the Duke of Cornwall died in the High King's camp. John Boorman, the film's director, likens his retelling of the King Arthur legend to myth as adolescent fantasy: “It's very basic to adolescent fantasy---look at Star Wars---to have the notion of a young boy who is suddenly chosen, picked out to be a leader or king. Almost all little children are drawn to the fantasy that they were foundlings and that their real parents come from some extraordinary background. Star Wars hit on these things and tapped into something perenially popular.” (Boorman, 1981.)
The Force, as the spiritual glue that holds together the struggle between the Jedi and the Sith, and tells his then-apprentice Obi-wan to “be mindful” of is living presence and the small lecture that he gives young Anakin makes mention of a symbiosis between the midi-chlorians, which are “microscopic life forms living together for a mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force.” (Lucas.) Christ once said “The kingdom of God is within you” and “May the Force be with you” is perhaps a reference to the Christian salutation, “May the Lord be with you.” All has a spiritual and religious purpose in the Star Wars universe, just like ancient myths do.
The lightsaber, like the katana sword of the samurai, is the soul of the Jedi. Obi -wan scolds Anakinfor almost losing his lightsaber while chasing Zam in “Attack of the Clones” because the sword is his life. He later tells his son , Luke, in Epsiode IV that it is a weapon of elegance. The colors of the bladesbear significance because they reveal the character of their users. Red is the Sith color while Blue and other hues are the Jedi colors. The role of tricksters in mythology was discussed earlier, but a story told by Joesph Campbell about the West African trickster god, Edshu clearly shows the role that colors can play regarding conflict: “One day, this odd god came walking along a path between two fields. He beheld in either field a farmer at work and proposed to play the two a turn. Her donned a hat that was on the one side red but on the other white, green before and black behind (these being the colors of the four World Directions: i.e. Edshu was a personification of the Center, the axis mundi, or the World Navel); so that when the two friendly farmers had gone home to their village and the one had said to the other, “did you see that old fellow go by today in the white hat?” the other replied “Why, the hat was red.” To which the first retorted, “It was not it was white.” “But it was red,” insisted the friend, “Isaw it with my two own eyes.” “Well, you must be blind,” declared the first. “You must be drunk,”rejoined the other. And so the argument developed and the two came to blows. When they began to knife each other, they were brought by neighbors before the headman for judgement. Edshu was among the crowd at the trial, and when the headman sat at a loss to know where justice lay, the old trickster reveled himself, made known the prank, and showed the hat. “the two could not help but quarrel,” he said. “I wanted it that way. Spreading strife is my greatest joy.” (Campbell, 1949.) It appears that the “Phantom Menace” itself is a myth archetype, played in this case by Darth Sidious.
As for the Jedi being the “guardians of peace and justice” in the galaxy, Anakin and friends resembled at times Jason (the motherless leader) and the Argonauts (comprised of famous warriors),especially in Episode II where they were airborn in their gunships fighting their Separatist enemies. It is the only film where we see the Jedi together for the first time together in battle. The Golden Fleece in Episode II is Count Dooku himself because his capture would stop the continuation of the CloneWars since he was the Separatist leader.
Overall, the Star Wars saga is a continuous tale of conflict replete with mythic archetypes which is what gives the cycle longevity because there are characters who are given a multi-dimensional framework in which to act. The prequel trilogy does not deserve the critical treatment it has received over the years simply because it gives another examination of myth beyond Joseph Campbell's concept of the Hero's “monomyth” or journey. Upon closer scrutiny, one would be able to see that George Lucas' world is much larger.
Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with A Thousand Faces. pp.44-'5. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1949.
Campbell, Joseph, The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers. pg. 6, 151, 207. New York,
NY: Doubleday, 1988.
Ebert, Roger. Rogerebert.com. Phantom Menace Review,1999.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article
AID=/19990517/REVIEWS/905170301/1023
Henderson, Mary. Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. pg.82. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1997.
Johnson, Robert A. He: Understanding Masculine Psychology. pg. 9. New York, NY:
Harper & Row, 1977.
Kennedy, Harlan. EXCALIBUR. JOHN BOORMAN---IN INTERVIEW.
www.americancinemapapers.com/files/EXCALIBUR.html
Lucas, George. Star Wars: Episode I: THE PHANTOM MENACE Illustrated Screenplay. pg. 61,108.
New York, NY: Del Rey, 1999.
Persall, Steve. Folkstory.com. http://www.folkstory.com/articles/petersburg.html. 1999.
Hey everyone! I want to wish you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year! There are a lot of things I am planning for the upcoming year and I will keep you posted on them! Sorry it took so long to qwrite a new blog but I have been very busy! Take care! BKT
Hi! Just came back from Germany two weeks ago. It seems I have been doing some traveling this year! It is going to be busy. I am still working on the new Cd project , doing my Graduate studies, and getting a head start on the novel that I will complete for next year once I am done recording:). Take care and I will write another blog pretty soon!:)BKT
Hello everyone! sorry for disappearing for a while, but I had to take care of a few things in my life. I am currently in Germany and having a ball! Also, I am continuing work on my CD as well as playing around in Karlsruhe. I am also hoping to get some TV exposure here, so wish me luck!BKT
Hey gang! The "Raven Trail" recording sessions are going very smoothly and as I said, it will be just an EP this time. It should be about six songs and I must say that I think that this is some of my very best work. I have put so much heart into this project. I hope that you will all like the results once I am done. I can only do a little at a time because of my limited budget, but this is a mixed blessing because I am really taking the time to get the music right in every aspect. Ok, that is all I have right now; take care and I will write again soon!:) BKT
Hey folks! My work on "The Raven trail" CD will resume starting tomorrow and I am excited! I will keep you updated on its progress and I promise more essays and literature is on the way! Happy New Year!BKT
I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season! The new project is WELL underway and I will give you updates and more blogs as always!:) BKT
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a serious Beatle fan and I recently read about a rather unique session after the breakup. Paul and Linda McCartney visited John Lennon at a session in 1974 where the bespectacled one was producing an album for Harry Nilsson and it turned out to be a jam session! Look at the lineup:
Guitar, vocals: John Lennon, Drums, background vocals: Paul McCartney, Keyboards: Stevie Wonder, for starters. It turned into a bootleg album notoriously called "A Toot and a Snore in '74"( I guess that you could probably figure out why it was called that:)). Now I don't normally like bootleg albums because they do not benefit the artists financially and the public usually gets a pretty bad recording in the process, but it was fascinating to me to listen to these music legends jamming with each other. Now don't expect a high quality recording or great production, and there were other factors that led to the overall outcome of the session but who cares? This is a unique way to see that John and Paul DID get along after the breakup of the Beatles. Check it out. Just click on the link below.
Hello! It's been pretty busy for me lately with getting the CD together as well as pursuing my Master's. I promise to have more stories, happenings and blogs coming up really soon most likely before Thanksgiving. Keep coming back because I plan to make it fun!:BKT:)
Hello everyone! I just finished writing some more music for the upcoming EP which is already turning into a full album's worth of material! More ideas are coming my way and I am certainly not complaining! I just finished writing a little fiction based upon my song "The Raven Trail" that I hope to one day publish in a novel of my own. I thought that I would share it with you; it serves as a narrative companion piece to the song, I think. The names are of real Cherokee origin and I use them to pay homage to the spirit and courage of these courageous people. African-Americans and Native Americans have many parallels in history and culture; wouldn't it be nice if it were talked about more and fully appreciated?:) BKT.
Her name was Adahy, which translated into the Cherokee language as “living in the woods”. She was the widow of one of the last great war chiefs before we lost our lands. He was known as the Kaw la new, or the Raven. Adahy and their son, Ashwin, lived in Big Stone Lake, South Dakota where the legend of the Raven Trail is still preserved. They will never forget the Trail that leads to the famed “City of Gold” which is actually a small mountain cave where the secrets and treasures of the Raven's Cherokee tribe are safely hidden. Who in their position could ever trust a bank? The Raven Trail was defended by the pride and blood of the Kaw la new and his tribe. Our tribe, Adahy thought. Even the Great Father and his United States army gained interest in us. Adahy now rests a rose bouquet on her husband's grave, bending uncomfortably from her arthritic pains. The Kaw la new loved roses. She swiped a lock of her gray hair back in place, remembered how her husband's biological family were slaughtered by former taskmasters while they rode a wagon to a new life in the Reconstruction period...and how her own father, Chief Chinmay ( meaning full of knowledge) and his tribesmen, killed them and became his foster father. Adahy also remembered how she and her Kaw la new walked primrose paths, talked about their future, ran through elm thickets, and made love near clear, sunny streams. “Mother, do you think that my father would've been proud of me?” Ashwin asked. Adahy squeezed his right hand, replied : “Your name in Cherokee means strong horse. He would have agreed that it fits you". Ashwin grinned. After passing a few more monuments carved with strange Sioux names, they walked slowly through the cemetery archway towards a young, docile reporter from the local newspaper. Adahy smiled.
Copyright (c) 2010
Hello all! Here is another entry that I will include in my website. I t was in Ireland where I truly got to discover and research the complex world of European Cinema. Unfortunately, this essay does not contain one of my favorite directors, Jean Cocteau, but I will leave him for a future one.
Italian Neorealism and its Children
: How “Fear Eats the Soul” of Tragic Women in
European Cinema
Fear is occasionally an emotion that is carefully explored in the annals of great cinema; however, there are specific examples of how it is manifested through the main female characters of European film and its effects upon them as well as the world around them. Through the works of Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, one can observe how fear is the ultimate catalyst of destruction for female characters. Federico Fellini, the famed Italian director, explored this idea in one of his the most successful movies, “La Strada. Gelsomina, the lead character, is the epitome of a woman who was drowning in the cesspool of what was expected of her and it will be shown here how trepidation kept her there to a tragic end.
Another Italian film released in 1962, “Mamma Roma”, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, offers a fascinating glimpse of a middle-aged prostitute who is fearful of having her son not only find out what she really is but what he may become. Jean-Luc Godard has his own version of human disquietude with his film “Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux”(1962) which literally means “My Life to Live: A Film in Twelve Scenes”. As a major exponent of French New Wave Cinema, a movement of the late 1950’s and 60’s that dealt with the evils of social inadequacy and class struggle influenced by Italian NeoRealism , Godard believed that “there is no real distinction between criticism and directing---both are ways of making movies” (MacCabe, p.42).
Fassbinder’s BRD (Bundesrepublic Deutschland) trilogy consists of “The Marriage of Maria Braun”, “Veronika Voss” and “Lola”: three films that constitute the director’s love of expressing female suppression; however, one of them will be explored here as well as “Ali: Fear Eats up Soul” which will show the fear motif in a different light than the other films. Rainer Werner Fassbinder was one of Germany’s most notable directors and completed 44 films in his brief, but illustrious life; he was also known for approaching controversial subjects in his works like racism, sexism, and corrupt bourgeois values. First, “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul” will be discussed in relation to Fassbinder’s idea that women are the best representations of how the Bundesrepublic Deutschland, or Federal Republic of Germany, had turned into a malignant, repulsive country that fed upon the fears of the oppressed.
Emmi, the film’s lead character, is awoman who is a passive onlooker of the life that is passing her by; she is not necessarily tragic, but she eventually does think and ends tragically. Also, Fassbinder’s film “Veronika Voss” will be explored later as a work of considerable depth when it comes to understanding how manipulation and fear are close relatives of the human condition. It appears that these filmmakers’ method of making movies is using the camera as a visual expose of human consciousness when it is overwhelmed with adversity. There are no predictable happy endings, no soliloquies on the aesthetic nature of life according to the visceral feelings of the characters. Fassbinder may have admired Douglas Sirk’s films, but they were far from resembling Hollywood melodrama because in the world of European cinema, at least as far as from the late 1950’s to early 1980’s, stark realism prevailed.
Fellini’s “La Strada” broke new ground when it premiered in 1954; the story of a strongman who trains a naïve girl in the ways of show business may seem simplistic on the surface, but in reality there are many layers. “Writing La Strada took more of Fellini’s time and effort than any film until then; more, in fact, than he would spend on almost any film until then; in fact, than he would spend on almost any film of his career” (Baxter, 1993). Gelsomina, the film’s tragic heroine, played by Fellini’s real-life wife, Giuletta Masini, had little dialogue, which was unusual for those times; women in lead roles normally had more than just a few things to say. Perhaps this was Fellini’s metaphor of the female’s limited role in society because Gelsomina communicated mainly through movement: “She has a very unusual walk. All the agility is in the feet. On the other hand, an enormous weight presses on the shoulders, which gives the impression that she drags her life behind her” (Baxter, 1993).
At the beginning of the film, Gelsomina carried a pile of firewood on her shoulders which indicates that her life is already burdened by the weight of a hard life. Zampano, Gelsomina’s “husband”, treated her like property which he could discard at a whim and had done so on occasion. It did not occur to him until the end of the film that she was actually a human being with feelings and had a mind of her own. Zampano preyed upon her fear of the unknown: “he gives her a broken-backed hat (she’s delighted) and teaches her a comic act in which, for the first time, she understands the pleasure of performing.
She remains, however, no more than a slave” (Baxter, 1993). Zampano also treated Gelsomina as a child that needed to be punished after her wrongdoing which, in essence,heightened her terror of this new disciplinarian in her life; he beat her with a self-made whip from a branch when she failed to play a drum the correct way according to his crude teaching methods. She cowered in his shadow whenever he was near. Yet, somehow, that fear turned into an undeniable sense of loyalty to her master: Gelsomina could have left with the circus, with the Fool whom she met later in the film, and even could have stayed with the nunnery but instead she remained with the cruel Zampano. This laid the groundwork for her destruction: “emerging from Zampano’s shadow, she evolved into the film’s tragic heroine, an emblem of man’s inhumanity to women” (Baxter, 1993).
Gelsomina was indeed, starting to see a world outside of Zampano when she saw the Fool for the first time on the high wire, balancing himself above the square in angel’s wings like a worthy member of the seraphim. It is this same character, Il Matteo or The Fool, who observed Gelsomina’s fear of progressing in life and mentioned that everything in existence has value, even a pebble; yet she failed to understand what he was saying because she did not want to understand that even she had a purpose; her fear of continuing to experience the unknown world, despite brief, past experiences with it, kept her in line with Zampano.
Fellini chose to clothe his characters in the costumes of classic carnival garb almost like the commedia dell’arte performers of 16th century Italy but the only difference is that the Fool, the strongman, and the actress/musician were actually clothed in their own shortcomings: Zampano wore almost no clothing when he broke the rusted chain of social conformity and marital fidelity; the Fool wore wings but could never fly past levity which led to his accidental death, and Gelsomina with her quasi- Pagliacci face never smiled openly because of her fear to leave the dominant Zampano who eventually left her to eventually die years later. It was the smile that showed everything: “Fellini told her to smile with her mouth closed…” (Baxter, 1993).
Another Italian tragic heroine appeared in Pasolini’s “Mamma Roma” (1962) tells the tale of a former prostitute, played by the ever-popular Anna Magnani, whose love for her son, Ettore, was the true source of joy in life despite her infectious laughter throughout the film: “Magnani plays the sort of character called “indomitable”; she is absolutely self-sacrificing and obsessed.”(Schwartz,1992).
Yet, there is one driving fear that tortured her soul: her son’s discovery of her secret that she was a prostitute and his father was her pimp. “Mamma Roma" is actually a sort of Passion play where the female lead is tormented at every turn by her past despite weddings, church visits, a new apartment, and a new job at a fruit and vegetable stand, so she tries to forget by concentrating on her son’s happiness. Mamma Roma rebukes his interest in a local girl as a way of rebuking herself for her past penchant for commonality.
Regardless, Ettore goes so far as to sell her tango records to buy his girlfriend a medallion. Unlike Gelsomina, Mamma Roma uses fear as a catalyst, not as an excuse for passivity. She chooses to act instead of cowering in the shadow of her tormentor, Carmine, her former pimp and lover who wants to use the secret of Ettore’s parentage to his advantage. Unfortunately, this was a dark road indeed because her fear of telling her son the truth was counterproductive. Ettore’s fate was sealed: “When Ettore learns the truth about his mother, he throws himself into crime. Traumatized by the confrontation with what he sees as hypocrisy, Ettore destroys what his mother has built: himself” (Baxter, 1993).
Mamma Roma even went back into prostitution to give her son the material things he needed but despite the counsel of the local priest, she could not be the perfect mother for him; her concern of herself and her son staying losers in society doomed them both: “Despite her efforts, both mother and son are dragged down by forces they cannot control” (Baxter, 1993). Pasolini upheld the tradition of Italian NeoRealism with this film since it seemed to suggest that the marginalized faction of society are prone to drowning in their own fears and as in later examples that will be given here, women are the preferred symbols: “Any of the subproletarian people who try to struggle up and out will be pulled, or pushed, back and under” (Baxter, 1993).
Convicted of a petty crime, Ettore dies on a hospital table stretched out in crucified fashion while his mother’s worst fear is not only fully realized, but amplified by the guilt that she could have prevented it if she were a better mother: “She tears open the cupboards, grabbing the clothes she had bought him, symbols of her hope for his social integration and rise.” (Schwartz,1993). Pasolini might have thought of Mamma Roma as an amalgam of the two Marys in the Bible: one the mother of God, the other a former prostitute because both had feared for Jesus’ life and had still lost Him; after all, the image of Ettore on the table does resemble Mantegna’s painting, “The Dead Christ”.
During the same year that “Mamma Rosa” came out, another film giant released his “Vivre sa vie” (1962). Jean-Luc Godard had his own prostitute lead character, Nana, played by his wife,Anna Karina, who feared the possibility of not becoming a successful actress after a failed marriage. Unlike Gelsomina, Nana finally found the courage to leave prostitution in the midst of finally finding love, but it came too late and she was eventually killed. In true French New Wave style, the director does not sugarcoat anything: “Godard preferred the straight French approach to the American double game.
He is not discreet; he paints his characters’ psychological quirks in black and white” (Moullet, 1960). There are twelve tableaux in the film, each depicting the lead character’s descent into Tartarus like a blind female Orpheus ready to return to the land of the living with an Academy award waiting not far behind. Nana’s world is situated in a Godardian Paris where pop culture is prevalent with posters everywhere and an underworld where gangsters and prostitutes live comfortably as a sub-culture. This is where dreams are born and where they can easily die; Christian ethics are in rapid decay: “the erosion of Christianity since the end of the last century---which Godard being of protestant origin, is very conscious of---has left people to choose between the Christian concept of a shared human existence and the modern deification of the individual” (Moullet, 1960).
By watching Dreyer’s classic film, “The Passion of Joan of Arc”, Nana is enraptured by the idea that a woman can stand by her principles even to the point of impending death; she vacillates between the sacred thought of dreaming to be an important member of society to the profanity of selling her body, but not her soul. Her fear of being trapped in the underbelly of Parisian society leads her to fall in the trap of Pandora’s Box: “Although she was forbidden to open the box and warned of the danger it contained, she gave way to her curiosity and released all the evils into the world” (Mulvey, 1992, cited in Pietropaolo & Testaferri, 1995).
Nana’s curiosity of profiting financially from the underworld was fuelled by her anxiety for success. Her pimp, customers, and colleagues all vindicated her profession in her eyes; one day, an acting job may come but at least she will have the money to survive in the meantime. As in the E.A. Poe story, “The Oval Portrait” read by her lover in the film, Godard paints a camera portrait of Nana frame by frame like the painter in the tale, until the subject of the artwork lays prone in a gutter, robbed of her life because she was too afraid to fully pursue her dreams.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder tackled the notion of a heroine’s paralyzing fear in the racially-charged “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul”; he was a true product of the Oberhausen Manifesto, which ironically started in 1962 when the aforementioned films, save “La Strada”, premiered: “Political concerns and the desire to present a critical picture of Germany, features that had been missing from German cinema up to that time, now became articles of faith for the directors who had demanded and promised the renewal of the national cinema in their Oberhausen Manifesto” (Pflaum, 1990).
This paved the way for Fassbinder’s legendary use of emotion as a driving force behind his filmmaking; the director was eager to share his views: “The American method of making [films] left the audience with emotions and nothing else. I want to give the spectator the emotions along with the possibility of reflecting on and analyzing what he is feeling” (Fassbinder, 1976, cited by Kardish & Lorenz, 1997). In Ali: Fear Eats the Soul”, Emmi, played by the award-winning Brigitte Mira, is the only heroine that does not deal with death in this discussion, at least not a physical one. Her apprehension starts once she invited Ali to her apartment and they slept together; after all, Emmi and her late father were members of the Nazi party. She confesses happiness with trepidation, but Ali, in his broken German, states: “Fear eat Soul".
Emmi and Ali are met with disgust and prejudice throughout most of the film, but the heroine’s fear reaches its apex when they cannot have a simple meal together without prying, Teutonic eyes; yet, once they come back from holiday, German society seems to finally accept their marriage. At this point, Fassbinder decides to unravel their relationship because it appears that her despair of never being accepted went beyond social issues; it inhabited their life together as well. Racism was a problem because he is Black in Postwar Germany, but her age brought down the Furies for getting a man twenty years her junior.
They wanted to tear her apart just as the original Furies did to Orpheus. The tragedy is that Ali decided to go outside his marriage for comfort, leaving Emmi to suffer under the vices of her own childhood trauma that must have accompanied her by being raised by Nazis. This is the different kind of fear that was hinted about earlier: the kind that virtually suffocated the relationship near the end of the movie; however, this, once again, fits in with the genre of the new German school of filmmaking: “ But the New German Cinema ought not to be confused with the avant-garde: it was for the most part an attempt to create something that would not fit at either pole of the rigid dichotomy between the avant-garde and the commercial, something that would, in Fassbinder’s words, let the audience “feel and think” (McCormick, 1991, cited by Frieden, McCormick, Petersen, & Vogelsang, 1993). Emmi’s fears nibbled on her soul but did not consume it; she was at Ali’s bedside at the movie’s end when he became quite ill; his doctor condemned him to a perpetual ulcer but Emmi is the only heroine here that did not die a spiritual or physical death from utter torment. Now a new fear of ultimately losing Ali forever replaces her old insecurities about their relationship.
“Veronika Voss” (1982), the last film of Fassbinder’s BRD trilogy, tells the story of a morphine-addicted singer who is afraid of letting go of her past. “UFA and Treblinka are key concepts in understanding the film” (Pflaum, 1990). UFA (Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft), was the film studio that produced German cinema until 1945, and Treblinka, of course, was the Nazi concentration camp from which two Holocaust survivors came in the film. Veronika Voss, played by Rosel Zech, was a former UFA film star who reportedly had an affair with Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of Propaganda. Her background provided the mental landscape for her fear that she would never be the same kind of celebrity she was during the war years after being lauded by the Nazi government; thus, she decided to live in a haze of opiates provided by her corrupt neurologist, Dr. Marianne Katz who, in a very calculated way, set up her own kind of concentration camp in her private practice by providing patients with a slow death from which she would profit.
It is pure irony that the film starts in the exact same way that Godard’s “Vivre sa vie” starts: the tragic heroine cathartically watching a film in a theater which mirrors her real-life situation. At times, she fearfully closes her eyes unable to bear seeing her true self on screen. Nana, from Godard’s film, and Veronika are total opposites but are going in the same direction: one aspires to be a successful actress and is spiraling down to the depths of obscurity, the other is a successful actress spiraling down to the depths of obscurity.
Both deal with their own soul-eating fears in their own way: Nana tries to placate her fear by suggesting that love can help conquer it, but Veronika allows her fear to be submerged in drugs and alcohol so that it can re-emerge. Yet, Robert Kuhn, Veronika’s lover, represents love in the same way that Nana’s boyfriend does as a possible savior from the torments of her fears of not being a happy and satisfied human being; this is why he posed a threat to Dr. Katz’s rule over the aging actress: one cannot give an inmate in her medical concentration camp any hope of being released. Fassbinder was very careful to give the doctor’s hospital a look of deadly confinement with its bar-like windows, secret rooms, and somber surroundings (It is no mistake that the film was shot in black and white): “Fassbinder erects a monument to those favored by the former system, who cannot adapt to the present---which actually speaks in their (Veronika’s) favor---as well as victims of the system, who are so damaged they are unable to go on with life” (Pflaum, 1990).
Thus, Veronika’s apprehension of being a loser was created by a former Germany society’s opium-like addictive qualities when it related to celebrities. Now that the old Nazi regime has been replaced, the addiction has not abated; Fassbinder clearly made his opinions known: “His hatred toward the new power brokers, who supply society with the drugs that it (whether actually or presumably) needs; the journalist (the detective figure in the film), who represents the principle of democracy, doesn’t stand a chance against the conspiracy” (Pfaum, 1990). Veronika Voss died from not only her own self-degradation born out of fear, not only from an overdose of drugs, but from Dr. Katz’s selfish manipulations which run rampant throughout the film (e.g. her concentration camp-like coldness towards treating the elderly couple who were both Holocaust survivors, thereby condemning them to death, the blatant murder of Kuhn’s girlfriend due to the neurologist’s own fears, the ostracization of Kuhn, etc.); in other words, Dr. Katz was able to secure Veronica’s wealth when she died because her drug pusher mentality capitalized on her fear of making a decision without the doctor’s “advice.
Italian Neorealism and its far-reaching influence on women in European cinema has many more examples such as in another Fassbinder film “Angst vor der Angst” (1975) translated as “Fear of Fear” which included another drug-addicted woman, Margot, who was too fearful to cope with life; although it was a TV production, the film retained all of Fassbinder’s trademark realism from the tragic heroine motif to the complicated family life as was depicted in “Fear: Ali Eats the Soul”. Like Veronika, Margot assumed that she was losing her mind and turned to drugs out of angst that she could not solve her problems without them. Fassbinder had never been afraid to address death and depression in the same breath just like his colleagues, Fellini, Godard, and Pasolini.
Fear is a major emotion which drove the engine to a great deal of European films from Neorealism to the New German Cinema because it was prevalent during the times in which each film was made: “La Strada” was filmed during the post-Mussolini years when Italy was still suffering from the after effects of World War II (thus, the nationwide consternation of rising above adversity symbolized by Gelsomina); “Mamma Rosa” was created as a result of a Cahiers du Cinema- awakened Italy that had an agenda to express realistic elements despite fear of opposition; “Vivre sa vie” was a response to the opposition of reform in cinema :“The New Wave was born in 1959, and by the end of 1960, it was already an object of contempt” (Truffaut, 1960, cited by Hillier, 1986); Fassbinder’s works “Fear: Ali Eats the Soul” and “Veronika Voss” were further extensions of both French and Italian schools of filmmaking regardless of state funding that was steeped in the expectation of traditional German cinema.
The words of Fassbinder himself can explain why fear is such a powerful subject in the films that were discussed: “Every decent director has only one subject, and finally only makes the same film over and over again. My subject is the exploitability of feelings, whoever might be exploiting them. It never ends. It’s a permanent theme. Whether the state exploits patriotism, or whether in a couple relationship, one partner destroys the other” (Fassbinder, 1976, cited by Kardish & Lorenz, 1997). Each director, whether from Italy, France, or Germany, was not immune to using emotions like fear as a device for storytelling.
Bibliography
Baxter, John, Fellini, pp.105-‘7, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993
Elsaesser, T., Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In Kardish, Laurence & Lorenz, Juliane, eds. Rainer Werner Fassbinder. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art, 1997, pp.15-19.
Moullet, L., 1960. Jean-Luc Godard. In Hillier, Jim, ed. Cahiers du Cinema 1960-1968: New Wave, New Cinema, Re-evaluation of Hollywood Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1986, pp.41, 108-‘9.
Mulvey, Laura, 1992. The Myth of Pandora. In Pietropaolo, Laura & Testaferri, eds. Feminisms in the Cinema, USA: Indiana University Press, 1995, p.8.
Pflaum, Hans Gunther, Germany on Film: Theme and Content in the Cinema of the Federal Republic of Germany, Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University, pp.62-‘3.
Schwartz, Barth David, Pasolini, New York: Pantheon Books, 1992, pp. 395-‘99.
Film Bibliography
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, 1974.[DVD] Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Germany: Criterion Collection.
Mamma Roma,1962. [DVD] Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Italy: Criterion Collection.
La Strada, 1954. [DVD] Directed by Federico Fellini. Italy: Criterion Collection.
Veronika Voss, 1982. [DVD] Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Germany: Criterion Collection.
Vivre sa vie, 1962. [DVD] Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. France: Criterion Collection.
Angst vor der Angst, 1975 [DVD] Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Germany: Criterion Collection.
I know that I am a little late in saying this but I am so glad that people all over the world are celebrating the great John Lennon's birthday. Being a Beatles fan, I credit my exposure to their music to be a primary influence over my decision to be a musician. Who am I kidding? It wasn't a decision. I have always maintained that one does not choose music, music chooses one. I can safely say, however, that John's influence has been prevalent all my life. When I was in junior high school, my brother bought me a copy of his greatest hits in the post-Beatle period, known as "Shaved Fish". I love intriguing titles and this collection certainly caught my attention. Even at this time, my desire to perform was irrepressible. Can you imagine (no pun intended) how the school officials felt when I played my version of "Cold Turkey" unashamedly?:) Then I started singing "Imagine". We never fully rehearsed as we should have in those days but we were just kids. we didn't even have access to a full drum kit; my drummer played his sticks on a makeshift ensemble of chairs and coverings; we were too poor to be ble to afford anything else. needless to say, this is one of my fondest memories of my early musicianship. To say that Mr. Lennon is one of the greatest 20th century artists is an understatement; he, along with three other geniuses, helped to define the 20th century as well as popular music in general. Happy Birthday Mr. Lennon:). BKT
Hello everyone! I hope you have enjoyed my essay series so far; I know that they are rather lenghty, but the topics require and deserve serious discussion and exploration. My apologies to those who have tried to order a copy of my CD, Dreamwalk; I just ran out but I will have replenished the supply before the end of the month. I will keep you posted when they are back in stock. For those who have bought a copy, thank you; for those who have not yet, once I get new copies, please do no hesitate, regardless that there is a new project underway:). See you soon!BKT
Hello! Here is another essay I wrote in Ireland that focused upon the influence of one of my favorite composers, Richard Wagner.
The thirteenth-century epic poem, “The Nibelungenlied” or “Song of the Nibelungs”, based upon early Icelandic sagas about the life, death, and redemption of Siegfried the dragon-slayer has been an object of speculation for centuries. Richard Wagner, the famed nineteenth century century composer, took material from the poem, expanded it, changed a few details, and added new elements to the story, thereby giving it a new life through his opera tetralogy, “Der Ring des Nibelungen” or “The Ring of the Nibelungs”. The comparisons and contrasts between music drama and text will be explored as well as why both works have endured for many generations.
There are strong motifs that are present in both versions such as revenge, murder, jealousy, and retribution but the most powerful one that is present in both accounts is greed: it is, by far, the most underlying emotion in the story with the exception of love.
Siegfried is actually a pawn in a deadly game of wills in the original poem and a manufactured, God-like mortal meant to restore order to dysfunctional worlds of chaos in Wagner’s epic music drama.
In fact, the 1976 Bayreuth Centennial production, Patrice Chereau’s famous Ring Cycle, owes much to George Bernard Shaw’s treatise “The Perfect Wagnerite”: an interpretation of the Wagnerian mythos which claimed that the tetralogy is a metaphor for corporate greed and lust at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century; the singers were not in traditional warrior-like garb, but instead, were clothed in the business suits and formal dresses of the period.
Shaw’s take on the myth will be a subject for discussion as well because it plays a significant part in allowing it to blossom in the post-Wagnerian twentieth century; his words echo in the relevance of today: “First, The Ring, with all its gods and giants and dwarfs, its water-maidens and Valkyries, its wishing-cap, magic ring, enchanted sword, and miraculous treasure, is a drama of today, and not of remote and fabulous antiquity” (Shaw, 1898); however, the story of Siegfried seems to resemble the story of Achilles: “Both were young and courageous, both were invulnerable except in one spot, both fought a warrior maiden, and both were murdered” ( Lorre Goodrich, 1961).
Regardless, the tale escapes Homeric duplication and has made a mark on comparative literature in its own spectacular way. Kriemhild, Siegfried’s wife in “The Nibelungenlied” avenges her husband’s murder in the poem after years of plotting and manipulating her new husband, Attila the Hun. One can see why her name requires further study (Chriem=grim-grief; hilde= bearing).
The poem speaks of how greed and the lust for revenge can destroy not only one but two societies which belong to the Burgundians and the Huns; in Wagner’s Ring, they belong to the Gods and mortals. Although there are four operas that tell the tale, only the last two in the cycle, Siegfried and Gottedammerung, contain the main details of the basic story from the poem; in fact, Wagner wrote the libretti of each in reverse starting with “Siegfrieds Tod” or “Siegfried’s Death” which was originally a poem he wrote in 1848.
Andrew Porter’s celebrated English translation of Wagner’s texts alone has allowed the ‘Nibelengenlied” characters to transcend the original poem from which Wagner drew his inspiration and highlighted the composer’s Gesamtkunstwerk (“Total Artwork”) theory that Music drama should be an amalgam of music, theatre, and dance: “This translation of The Ring was made for singing, acting, and hearing, not for reading”. This is definitely an example of how “The Nibelunglied”, albeit drastically changed, has evolved into a new art form via Wagnerian Opera. Mr. Porter’s understanding of the composer’s German text merits discussion.
Under the auspices of cinema, particularly European, the Nibelung legend climbed to a new apex. Fritz Lang, the famous German director, made a two-part movie based upon the epic poem and entitled it “Die Nibelungen”; the first half was called, in pure Wagnerian fashion, “Siegfried” while the second half was called “Kriemhild’s Revenge”. How Mr. Lang’s reverence for the poem was apparently influenced by the Ring cycle, as well as its role in complimenting the Wagnerian ideal, will be also examined.
“The Nibelungenlied” is an anonymously Austrian written poem (although widely thought of as German) written around 1200 A.D. and is an important document with three direct sources: “actual history of the invasions of the fifth century, Scandinavian mythology---which in turn comes largely from Icelandic myths---and Oriental legends partially remembered from Asia, the original home of the Indo-Europeans” ( Goodrich, 1977).
Wagner decided to discard the Oriental elements of the poem (e. g. Kriemhild’s marriage to Attila, the clash between her kinsmen and the Huns) as well as its historical aspects (King Attila actually defeated a Burgundian king named Gundicarius in 430 A.D.); he wanted to show that the myth alone was enough to explain how greed can lead to anyone’s climactic downfall. Siegfried’s successful conquest over the dragon and its hoard, the Nibelung treasure, fed his bravado in the “Nibelungenlied”, but in Wagner’s “Gottedammerung”, he is warned by the Rhinemaidens of the doom that awaits him should he not relinquish the Ring cursed by the dwarf Alberich; the stubborn hero adamantly refuses: “The world’s wealth I could win me by this ring” (Wagner, 1848); spoken like a true capitalist, Wagner’s lead character knows no fear especially since Fafnir the dragon failed to teach it to him.
Arrogance is a road that certainly leads to greed. King Midas proved this to be true in the classic Greek story of a ruler who was so proud of his wealth that he acquired from Dionysus a magic touch of gold, much to his later dismay. After slaying the dragon, Siegfried bathes in its blood which makes him invulnerable save for a spot in his back that was covered by a linden leaf; the anonymous poet must have been well aware that linden leaves are normally heart-shaped which must be a subtle hint that the object of the hero’s heart will eventually be responsible for his death.
Hagen is one protagonist in the “Nibelungenlied” who easily represents the power of greed; he is quite the villain. He uses Kriemhild’s naively-offered information on how to exploit Siegfried’s “Achilles heel” to his advantage; once he kills the hero, the Nibelung treasure can be claimed for his own. Wagner wisely used Hagen again in “Gottedammerung” to show his understanding of this character’s importance in the saga and remembered that he is the son of Alberich, the original Nibelung treasure owner.
Hagen clearly has an agenda early on as he tells King Gunther how they would both benefit from Siegfried’s murder: “I’ll kill him---you shall gain! All the world is yours to command when you set hands on the ring that in death alone he will yield” (Wagner, 1848). Now here is the Nibelungenlied version based upon another manuscript: “Just think, King, how many lands you would encompass, however, if he were dead” (Goodrich, 1977). Wagner expanded the idea of Hagen’s lust for Siegfried’s death from mere kingly annexation to world domination.
There were other important characters that the composer borrowed from the poem like Brunhild, the Icelandic queen that Siegfried had fooled with his magic cloak which allows its user to shift into any other person or become invisible. Wagner used the invisibility cloak or magic Tarnhelm once with Alberich in the first opera, “Das Rheingold” as well as in “Gottedammerung” with Siegfried.
The Brunhild of both tales wanted Siegfried dead because she felt dishonored by his treachery. The Tarnhelm is a part of the treasure that the hero had won from slaying the dragon; it can also represent the interchangeability of avarice in the world; in other words, there are many forms of greed that exist as is shown in the story. King Gunther, a minor, but pivotal character, not only wanted Queen Brunhild because of her beauty and battle prowess, but she would also be a welcomed addition to his wealth and prestige as a powerful sovereign.
By adopting the semblance of this Burgundian king, Siegfried is an example of the dangerous brevity of lust when he is the only one who is able to go through flames on the mountain where Brunhild sleeps, and once again, arrogance started it all with Alberich proudly displaying the powers of the Tarnhelm to Wotan, King of the Gods. Siegfried used the magic device in the “Nibelungenlied” to help Gunther win the hand of Queen Brunhild but he was not totally selfless either when he first came on the scene in Burgundy: “Whether you like it or not, I have come to deprive you of your possessions and also to subdue your towns and villages” (Goodrich, 1977).
In this world of dragons and treasure, there is wealth to be had for anyone with proper ambition. Wagner must have discovered elements of what was happening during his time within this medieval story; as was aforementioned, he wrote the libretto for Gottedammerung in 1848 which is also the year of the Dresden revolution to unify Germany under a strong democracy in which he strongly supported; the uprising had failed and of course, the composer was thoroughly disappointed.
Fifty years later, George Bernard Shaw’s “The Perfect Wagnerite” was published. Friedrich Nietszche, the German philosopher and personal friend of Wagner’s, had long since critiqued the composer’s works, but Shaw’s account of the hidden meanings behind the Ring cycle appeared under greater scrutiny.
First, Shaw had no reservations whatsoever of his “superior” understanding of the Ring: “It is generally understood, however, that there is an inner ring of superior persons to whom the whole work has a most urgent and searching philosophic and social significance. I profess to be such a superior person…” (Shaw,1898).
The Irish poet and playwright may have perhaps believed in his own greatness to a level of pomposity, but he also did understand the political underpinnings of what inspired Wagner to write the Ring in the first place; the Nibelung myth provided the instruments through which his ideas were voiced.
The Dresden uprising of 1848 had failed because of the human capacity for greed which suppressed the progress of civilization, according to what Shaw believed to be the real story of the Ring: Wotan, the Father of the Norse Gods, is the true villain of the entire tetralogy, even more so than Hagen, because his initial greed is to own the Nibelung treasure transformed into an all-powerful Ring, and is the head of the ruling class that resists change in Valhalla as well as Earth which leads to both of their ultimate destruction: “And he owns and controls a new god, called the Press, which manufactures public opinion on his side, and organizes the persecution and suppression of Siegfried” (Shaw, 1898).
According to Shaw, Siegfried is “a totally unmoral person, a born anarchist...” (1898). Wagner’s version of the hero does not have to answer to the cosmic laws that were created by Wotan and his wife Fricka; he is a free spirit and the perfect embodiment of the noble savage. Wotan did not appear in “The Nibelungenlied” but Hagen instead presided over a good deal of the events in both the poem and “Gottedammerung”. Greed has to linger and be personified, after all.
The opera, “Siegfried, displayed the anarchistic nature of the title character as the man without fear or morals: no one else could have subdued a bear, re-forged a sword, slain a dragon, and got the girl in the end. Unlike the Austrian poem, Siegfried actually met Wotan, disguised as a Wanderer, and challenged his authority: “Stretch out your spear and see it break on my sword!” (Wagner, 1848).
The composer chose to make this a crucial scene in “Siegfried” because the hero defies the order of things; it would not have made a difference if he knew that he stood in front of Wotan himself or that he is actually his grandfather; Siegfried’s arrogance drove him on to break the Spear of the Gods, the instrument and symbol of order and conformity in the universe, and climbed the mountain of fire where Brunhild was asleep, waiting for him.
Ironically, Siegfried’s life ended at the tip of Hagen’s spear; therefore, one cannot shatter the spear of the law establishment (Wotan) without facing dire circumstances. Another dwarf character, Mime, is another example of how greed plays into the drama; he raised the young, orphaned Siegfried not out of love, but for eventually taking whatever future possessions he might acquire.
Wagner transported him to “Siegfried” as comic relief as well as to convince an audience that unlawful commercial gain will be costly: Mime planned to kill Siegfried, but of course, the young hero killed his foster father instead after discovering his treachery.
In “The Nibelungenlied”, Brunhild, the proud Icelandic queen, was defeated by Siegfried who was hidden under the Tarnhelm and working alongside King Gunther in many displays of athletic greatness. Here, Siegfried earlier in the poem defied authority by tricking it: “You must not fear the Queen. Give me your shield and let me bear it, and take careful note of what I say to you. Now you go through the motions, and I shall do the deeds” (Anonymous, 1200).
Now here is Wagner’s carefully written scene of Brunhild’s deception in “Gottedammerung”: “An eagle has flown here to tear me to pieces!” (Wagner, 1848). This alludes to the very first scene in the poem where Kriemhild had dreamt of a bird being torn asunder; this cannot be an accident. As one goes through the libretti of the Ring cycle, one may be able to detect other references to the original poetry that inspired it (e.g. Siegmund and Sieglinde as Siegfried’s real parents, the murder in the forest, etc.).
Wagner must have been always conscious of taking what he had read and transforming the material into the story he concocted to fit his ideas on the misuse of government while using archetypal imagery borrowed from mythology. The epic prose went so far as to show the grandeur and almost ridiculous manifestations of wealth in many stanzas; our hero, Siegfried and his retinue of knights must have been well off indeed: “…their gem-studded saddles and narrow poitrels were hung with bells were hung with bells of lustrous red gold; thus magnificently did they come riding up to Brunhild’s hall (Anonymous, 1200).
Wagner’s Ring had ostentatious displays in many productions as well but Chereau’s 1976 version clearly followed Shaw’s interpretation of the music dramas, carrying the Nibelung story well into the twentieth century even without the strong medieval pageantry of the poem; other productions “followed suit”.
No longer are there choruses of armored knights, but instead, modern weapons and clothes: “I have seen, at Covent Garden, Chicago gangsters with tommy guns running about during the overture to Act I of Die Walkure …” (Donington, 1990). This is the true meaning of myth, whether the interpretation is successful or not: the transcendence of the original material where the outward appearance may differ, but the hidden meanings remain consistent throughout the ages: “Myth is true for all time. Symbols explain themselves…in a symbol, there is concealment and yet revelation” (Donington, 1990).
Alberich’s taskmaster mentality towards the Nibelungs in “Das Rheingold” reportedly enhanced Hitler’s warped ideologies about race relations between the Germans and Jews during his rise to power which is of course, an extremely unfortunate legacy of myth gone awry.
Fritz Lang in his film “Die Nibelungen” (1924) was a favorite of the Nazi leader and wanted the director to create Third Reich movies. Hitler’s love of Wagnerian opera ignited his imagination to celebrate the Aryan supermyth by furthering it into cinema; if he had lived, there could have been a Parsifal or even Lohengrin on the silver screen. Mr. Lang brought “The Nibelungenlied” back to its original story but with Wagnerian subtleties.
Understanding that Hagen and Wotan share an equal greed for the ring of power, he chose to have a composite character in his film: Hagen looked very much like a Burgundian Wotan with an eye carefully obscured as if the Ravens of memory and knowledge took it.
Mr. Lang released “Metropolis” three years later, which is a film noted for its statement about the ills of corporate and societal greed. “Die Nibelungen” bore the weight of more Wagnerian symbolism with its ethereal landscapes, dream-like imagery, and ornate costumes.
Through film, the two different art forms of literature and music came together in a way that complimented both genres; sadly, however, it did not translate well to all audiences: “I remember when Die Nibelungen was shown here, in Pasadena. The audience didn’t understand it.
They had no fun with it because they had no relationship to the legend. The only legend which, in my opinion, the American knows are the westerns” (Lang, 1972). Nowadays, new mythologies like Star Wars have emerged into American consciousness and reliably steadfast ones like Star Trek and “Lord of the Rings” have re-emerged; however, the Nibelung legend does take root in the same source as Professor Tolkien’s epic fantasy literature which could be regarded as the “other great Ring story”.
Mr. Lang’s re-telling of “the Nibelungenlied” goes with his tradition of showing action instead of violence; the poem had quite a few scenes of abhorrent activities; for example, after Kriemhild killed Hagen, along with several other Burgundians, out of revenge for Siegfried’s murder, she became a casualty herself: “He leapt at Kriemhild in fury and struck the Queen with a heavy swing of his sword.
She winced in dread of Hildebrand----but what could her loud shrieks avail her? There lay the bodies of all that were doomed to die. The noble lady was hewn to pieces” (Anonymous, 1200). Even Wagner was not so graphic. Mr. Lang simply allowed her to die suddenly after killing the villain and later explained his aversion to violence in his films by giving an example of another of his classic films, M: “Immediately we know that the girl is dead and then we see the balloon flying away. This is action in a certain way” (Lang, 1972).
Mr. Lang could have used the excuse that medieval battles were quite violent and graphic, but instead, he chose to deviate away from the graphic nature of the poem because he felt that Kriemhild’s actions would kill her spirit as well as her corporeal self anyway. This is not to say that there were no scenes of a horrifying nature in “Die Nibelungen” because there were a few (e.g. the burning of the Burgundians in King Attila’s great hall); however, they were not gratuitous but faithful to the pre-Wagnerian story. Greed still gave birth to carnage in the film version as well.
Mr. Lang made sure to have all of the key characters in place for the calamities to come. Hagen was just as evil and corrupt as before, Gunther is still a sniveling coward who cannot do his own dirty work, Siegfried is the same arrogant whelp who has the classic symptoms of a megalomaniacal fool, Kriemhild is vengeful, and Brunhild is an icy-cold warrior queen. Wagner, on the other hand, took the story to a level where there is more expostulation of the characters which could easily fit into a sixteen-hour musical epic that would span four evenings.
George Bernard Shaw looked at Wagner’s re-invention of “The Nibelungenlied” under the microscopic precision of a Socialist: “the danger is that you will jump to the conclusion that the gods, at least, are a higher order than the human order. On the contrary, the world is waiting for Man to redeem it from the lame and cramped government of the gods” (Shaw, 1898).
Thus, from a medieval poem fraught with revenge and murder, had arisen a new story written by a composer turned dramatist that dealt with how the greedy need to contain and control the order of Man can be a counterproductive force that will eventually destroy a society if it stays unchecked. Fritz Lang was obviously familiar with the legend and decided not to industrialize it like Shaw did, but instead, return to the original story outlined in the poem, tone down the violence, and kept in mind the overall influence of greed without sacrificing it. The legend has lived on.
Bibliography
Anonymous, 1200. The Nibelungenlied. Translated from German by A.T. Hatto,1965. London, England: Penguin Classics.Chesley,L. & Gould, M., 1972. Fritz Lang: The Lost Interview. MovieMaker: The Art and Business of Making Movies [Online] (85) 21, May 2004, Available at http://www.moviemaker.com-drecting-article-fritz_lang_the_lost_interview_2953
[Accessed 21 May 2010]
Donington, R., 1990. Opera & Its Symbols. 1st ed. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.
Goodrich, Norma L., 1977. Medieval Myths. 2nd ed. USA: Mentor in assoc. with New American Library.
Porter, A., 1977. Richard Wagner: The Ring of the Nibelung, 1848-1853. 1st ed. Translated from German by Andrew Porter, 1977. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company.
Shaw, G. B., 1898, The Perfect Wagnerite, 4th ed., 1923. London: Constable & Co.
Film Bibliography
Die Nibelungen, 1924 [DVD] Directed by Fritz Lang. Germany: Criterion Collection
Often, people have asked me to show them my essays on various topics from music to film.Therefore, I decided to post some on my website. I loved the movie, 300, so I decided to do some research based on the Greek historian, Herodotus, and his account of what actually happened. Oh, and by the way, I am still writing for the upcoming CD including scores for the strings and woodwinds:). I hope you like what you read!
Zack Snyder’s 2007 film, “300”, has certainly brought back speculation as well as interest in the events that led to the last stand of 300 Spartans against the innumerable might of King Xerxes’ omnipotent Persian armies in the famous, narrow pass in Greece known as Thermopylae. The Greek historian, Herodotus, gives an historical account in his “Histories” about a three day battle in 480 B.C. that captured the spirit and imagination of a whole nation trodden under the heels of tyranny. Frank Miller, former writer for Marvel Comics (“Spiderman”, “Daredevil”, “The Hulk”, etc.) and director/screenwriter for such films as “Sin City”, was enraptured by the legend ever since he saw the film “300 Trojans” (1962), which is practically unobtainable these days, when he was a boy.
It lead to an eventual graphic novel that he made with Lynn Varley depicting the brief struggle at Thermopylae between two opposing cultures that is still talked about in modern times. Thankfully, both the film and graphic novel have led curious people who yearn for the true story back to Herodotus’ “Histories” in order to discover what actually happened in the battle; however, this does not detract from the contribution of Miller’s and Zacker’s visions in any way: due to their intervention, the legend has truly entered the realm of art; the “300” phenomena has proven, once again, that literature and film do not have to be mutually exclusive forms of human expression: “We are now standing, being should to shoulder, as sister art forms with film and literature” (Miller, 2009).
Of course, there are those who do not choose to explore the true meaning of the story and its historical significance to the advent of Western civilization, and read the graphic novel or watch the film as pure entertainment. Scholars have often derided the Miller-inspired “300” projects as as purveyors of gratuitous violence, but they do not see the overall importance of re-telling the story that may or may not be palatable to the general public; not everyone will automatically go to the public library and read Herodotus, much less be aware that he ever existed at all. This is one of the many purposes of art: to inspire education. Aside from Frank Miller, there have been other artistic tributes to the sacrifice of Leonidas and his troops: Napoleon’s court painter, Jean-Jacques David, painted his vision of the legendary Trojan king “Leonidas at Thermopylae, 480 BC” (1814); “Gates of Fire”, by Steven Pressfield, is a popular novel based upon the historical facts of the Spartan-Persian battle and is even on the recommended reading list for the Marine Corps; the noted science fiction author, Jerry Pournelle, wrote “Go Tell the Spartans” (1991) and “Prince of Sparta (1993) using the principals of the Greek legend as interplanetary names for his worlds. Therefore, it does not really matter that Thermopylae was fought over 2,500 years ago; each example shows war as the ultimate paradox: the process of trying to maintain peace through violence whether it is to fight the outlandish behavior of currentreligious extremists or the arrogance of Xerxes’ and his preoccupation to dominate Greece is the same. War will always transcend time.
Nonetheless, this discussion will focus upon Mr. Miller’s and Mr. Snyder’s contributions to the story and how he preserved more of Herodotus’ account than was given credit by the scholars who were quick to admonish their efforts: “Their greatest crime is that they reduced to a dehumanized video game one of the most moving events of Greek history” (Borza, 2007). Moreover, Mr. Snyder’s film continues dialogue and events from both Miller and Herodotus, giving the story added interest to a modern audience. This triumvirate of art has given rise to a whole new appreciation of early Spartan culture and the discernment of truth from falsehood will be emphasized here in this study of the Battle of Thermopylae. It is not the intention of this discussion to pass off both the film and graphic novel as totally sound representations of history, but as celebrations of it in different ways.
Not even Menelaus, the other famous Spartan king of the ancient world, famous for losing his wife, Helen, to Paris--- thereby starting the Trojan war--- has the same intrigue that follows Leonidas. Both had died in their prospective wars, but it was Leonidas who sacrificed himself for the good of his nation. However, Herodotus’ writing style and choice of subject were not immune to the influence of Homer: “…by choosing a war between east and west, Herodotus was consciously emulating the greatest of Greek poets, Homer, and his narrative of the Greek war against Troy” (Marincola, 2003). Even though the “Histories” are based upon irrefutable facts, its historian was inspired by the heroic deeds of Achilles and Odysseus: “…part of his work, like the Odyssey, is full of adventures and tales, and the historian himself, like Odysseus, is an experienced traveler” (Marincola, 2003). Greek mythological characters are prevalent in Herodotus’ text and the Spartans are said to be the descendants of Heracles (Hercules) himself in Snyder’s film.
Reverence for the old ways is not placated; the presence of Heracles is felt strongly throughout the books of the “Histories” and can be associated with the origin of the name Thermopylae which means “Hot springs”: “There are hot springs in the pass---known locally as the Basins---with an altar over them dedicated to Heracles” (Herodotus,440 BCE). Miller’s graphic novel calls them the “Hot Gates” as does the Snyder film. The reason is clear: they consist of sulphurous waters that give off a smell of burning even to this very day. So far, the accuracy of information is consistent all around in this part of the storytelling. Yet, there are inaccuracies abound which shall be told later.
At the beginning of Miller and Snyder’s storytelling which are almost synonymous with each other, a Spartan child is scrutinized at the top of a cliff: “If they judged the crying baby to be unworthy of carrying a Spartan shield it would be taken immediately to a nearby cliff off Mt. Taygetos and thrown over the edge” (Eger, 2007). This screening process led to the system known as agoge: an intensely rigorous military training regimen of Spartan youths from age seven: “They were fed, but it was a weak broth and in quantities only enough to exist. It was expected that the young, starving boys would steal or otherwise find enough food to keep them strong” (Eger, 2007); young Leonidas in the “300” projects must have been caught at one point which would explain why he was brutally punished during one scene; he must have been caught and if so, suffered from the usual punishment.
The agoge discipline instilled in Spartan youth the ultimate physical and mental conditioning of the human body in war, including stealth and cunning in the face of death. The famous scene where the young king slays a demonic wolf in a narrow rock opening indicates his skill acquired by his stoic mentors. “His form is perfect” (Miller, 2006) as he impales the wolf through the mouth. The wolf head is a motivic film device appearing on walls occasionally and the wolf tooth necklace is an expression of the connection between Leonidas and his wife. Ironically, what differs in reality is that the heir apparents to Spartan kingship were not allowed to undergo the agoge program normally; however, Leonidas was the exception; he was third son of his father, Anaxandridas; Cleomenes was the first-born child: “Thus while Cleomenes trained for kingship, Leonides learned to endure hardship and pain, and literally stole food side-by-side with all the other Spartan boys of his generation” (Schrader, 2010).
Therefore, Leonidas could identify with his Spartan troops much more than his other brothers (there were four boys in all). According to Herodotus, Cleomenes eventually went mad, “poking his staff in the face of every Spartiate he met” (Herodotus, 440 BCE) and paved the way for Leonidas’ eventual rule in a rather drastic fashion: “As the result of this lunatic behavior his relatives put him in the stocks. As he was lying there, fast bound, he asked his jailer, when no one else was there, to give him a knife.”(Herodotus, 440 BCE).
Herodotus then proceeds to give a graphic description of how Cleomenes, co-king of Sparta with another brother, Demaratus, mutilated himself to death. It is important to mention Cleomenes because Leonidas married his daughter, Gorgo, who was prominent in the film but had a very limited role in Miller’s original graphic novel (Demaratus, by the way, later defected to Xerxes’ side). Zack Snyder apparently decided to ignore the fact in his film that the king was the husband to his own niece. She is the one who says an important line that described the mentality of Spartan women sending their men off to war: “Come back with your shield or on it”. When the Persian messenger appeared at the steps of Leonidas’ court mentioning “Earth and water”, this statement is straight out of Herodotus as well. Here is one example of its use by the Scythian king Idanthyrsos in response to Xerxes’ father, King Darius: “…I acknowledge no masters but Zeus from whom I sprang, and Hestia the Scythian queen. I will send you no gifts of earth and water, but others more suitable; and your claim to be my master is easily answered---be damned to you!” (Herodotus, 440 BCE).
Perhaps it was through pure sardonic humor that Miller wrote in his narrative the messenger’s famous descent into the well with help from Leonidas’ foot while hearing the film’s most quoted line, “This is Sparta!” After all, one cannot blame the king’s response; he merely represented the Spartan ideal: “The citizens, or Spartiates, were a relatively small group, perhaps numbering some 9,000 men. They were forbidden to be traders or manual workers; instead they were full-time warriors” (Morkot, 1996). Yet, “tradition was something that even Leonidas could not defy”, according to Dilios, the film’s narrator. The “300” projects had to include the magistrates of the day known as ephors which had an agenda other than the acquisition of gold pieces: “The ephors formed a check on the power of the kings, swearing an oath to support them, but only if the kings kept the constitution” (Morkot, 1996).
They were portrayed in Miller’s work as lecherous old priests who succumbed to the ravages of leprosy, as well as in Snyder’s film, and their obstinate refusal to grant Leonidas to take the Spartan armies to war was based upon superstition: the festival of Carneia should not be interrupted because it would have been a serious offense to the Gods. It was celebrated for nine days in tribute of the god Apollo where sacrifices were made and males were only supposed to devote themselves to the idea of purity; this prevented any further Greek troops from participating in the Persian conflict before its end. The Oracle, a beautiful woman under the influence of a drugged trance, replaces Herodotus’ Delphian oracle who prophesied: “Pray to the winds…” (Herodotus, 440 BCE).
An ephor said those instead in the Miller/Snyder story, translating from the Oracle’s trance-subdued lip. Throughout the audio commentary of “300”, Snyder consistently mentioned that he wanted to pay homage to Miller’s graphic novel and used it as storyboards for many scenes in the movie. Among the criticisms that the Miller/Snyder re-telling had garnered were that the fantastic creatures and beasts of burden were unnecessary.
Herodotus did mention that Xerxes’ army had more than just troops: “I am not surprised that with so many people and so many beasts the rivers sometimes failed to provide enough water…” (Herodotus, 440 BCE). This can certainly leave room for poetic license on Miller’s part and Snyder took the ball and ran with it. It would do the film a disservice to judge it on mere historical grounds because cinema has the ability to sensationalize actual events and can get away with it if taken in the proper context. Ephialtes, the traitor of the Spartans, could not have been more exaggerated with his massive hunchback and misshapen face. Herodotus only briefly mentioned him in Book seven of the “Histories” but that does not stop the speculation about this important character in the story. He came at the right time because Xerxes was clearly frustrated, according to the historian, since the battle at Thermopylae was not a decisive victory for him right way: “Xerxes was watching the battle from where he sat; and it is said that in the course of the attacks three times, in terror for his army, he leapt to his feet” (Herodotus,440 BCE).
Then the tide had turned in his favor: “…a man from Malis, Ephialtes, the son of Eurydemus, came, in hope of a rich reward, to tell the king about the track which led over the hills to Thermopylae---and thus he was to prove the death of the Greeks who held the pass” (Herodotus, 440 BCE). Miller had Ephialtes follow the Spartan army early in the story to give him more dimension in the story and to explain his betrayal. The malformed traitor is the antithesis of the perfect Spartan warrior; Snyder gave him enhanced deformities such as the inability to raise a spear by Leonidas’ standards to accent the point.
Nothing is mentioned by Herodotus of what “the rich reward” of Ephialtes’ treachery was, but Xerxes must have been very pleased to place an army under his command. The lure of sex and wealth is the promised reward of the Persian king in the Miller/Snyder world. King Leonidas explained to Ephialtes the importance of the Spartan phalanx formation with devastating effect: “We fight as a single, impenetrable unit. That’s the source of our strength” (Miller, 2006).Thus, the hunchback was used as an excuse to explain the Spartans' secret of defense. Actually, Herodotus tells us later on that Ephialtes was later murdered. Perhaps the most famous historical line lies in the words of Dieneces who was not present in either the film or the graphic novel, but in Herodotus’ story: “…if the Persians hide the sun, we shall have our battle in the shade” (Herodotus,440 BCE). Miller changed the origin of those words and had the Persian emissary boast that his army’s arrows would blot out the sun; the heroic Dieneces of the film, Stelios (a Miller character), replied with the latter half of that phrase. Miller’s reiteration of “We march”, in chapter one of the book entitled “Honor”, is matched in the film. The steadfastness of the Spartan army could not be better emphasized. Stelios stumbled from fatigue in the graphic novel and admits in Spartan fashion: “I’m ready for my punishment,sir” Miller, 2006).
Snyder took this out because the punishments suffered under the agoge were already established at the beginning of the film. During the march episodes of the book, Miller draws his characters with tall spears and mountains pointing high to the heavens in defiance of foreign tyranny but at the same time, keeping the overall army always grouped heavily in the horizon; the writer/ artist explained why in a youtube interview: “Mythological lands tend to be horizontal; that’s why when I did “300”, for example, I went for a horizontal format” (Miller, 2009). The major difference between Miller’s book and Snyder’s film is the participation ratio of the different Greek states; only the Arcadians joined the three hundred bodyguards of Leonidas in the film while the book had a more diversified gathering: “ From Tegea and Mantinea they come---from Thespiae and Thebes and Opus and Phocis and Malis. Some by the dozens. Some by the hundreds…” (Miller,2006). This is a more accurate portrayal of the battle than in the film; “The contingents of the various states were under their own officers, but the most respected was Leonidas the Spartan, who was in command of the whole army” (Herodotus, 440 BCE).
Historically, seven thousand men instead of the three hundred Spartans stood against the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae: Seven thousand strong…we march” (Miller, 2006). The Spartan king did not lack confidence because he “traced his descent directly back to Heracles” (Herodotus, 440 BCE) and the Miller/Snyder stories never failed to mention it. This may have given him the courage to confront the overwhelmingly large Persian army which numbered to approximately 1,700,000 according to the “Histories”. On the Persian side, the Immortals were an impressive fighting force that King Xerxes sent against the world’s greatest warriors. Miller chose to dress them in iron-like masks which hid monstrous features. This caused some controversy: “Tehran reacted furiously to the Hollywood epic, which depicts many of the Persians facing Leonidas at Thermopylae as grotesque monsters and Xerxes as an effete, heavily made-up pervert with numerous body piercings” (Marozzi, 2008).
Nevertheless, the Immortals “who advanced to the attack in full confidence” (Herodotus, 440 BCE) were no match with their wicker shields against the superior length of Spartan spears and forty-pound shields, much less the impenetrable phalanx; perhaps their inhuman faces symbolized for Miller the inhumanity of trying to subdue a free nation. As for Xerxes, his androgyny was the idea of Miller who inspired Snyder’s cinematic version. The book was careful also to document Leonidas keen military thinking: “Dispatch the Phocians to that goat path---and pray to the Gods that nobody tells the Persians about it” (Miller, 2006); unfortunately, Ephialtes did and the encounter between the Phocians and his contingent was mentioned: “Leaping to their feet, the Phocians were in the act of arming themselves when the enemy was upon them” (Herodotus, 440 BCE). Another historical saying preserved by Miller was “Come and get it”: this alludes to the famous “molon labe” retort to the Persian embassy that promised Leonidas kingship of all Greece if he submitted to Xerxes. Miller combined this Herodotean scene with his own in his book’s fourth chapter, “Combat”. Snyder kept the book’s version for his film which effectively shows Leonidas’ resolve never to accept, to borrow from another classic film, “an offer he can’t refuse”.
There are many other examples of how Miller’s graphic novel seems to best capture the spirit of Herodotus’ original text despite the success of Snyder’s oftentimes inaccurate, but still enjoyable film. The author/writer took the time to really know his subject: “I spent three weeks in the Aegean studying Greek terrain, old Greek battles. I went to the Hot Gates and absorbed it all. I learned that researching history starts out like a chore but quickly turns into a treasure trove” (Miller, 2006).
His personal experiences must have truly worked on his creatively active mind. The mighty power of the Spartan phalanx opens up the “Combat” chapter that expresses the perception of it as something akin to an atom bomb during its day; “we strike” replaces the “we march” announcements; “desert beasts” roam the battlefield; the pomposity of King Xerxes is only dwarfed by his bad temper; the defeat of Xerxes’ father, Darius, and his armies at the Battle of Marathon ten years earlier; Dilios, the film narrator, rallying the assembled troops of all the Greek nations on the plains of Plataea (a true battle that was heroically decisive after Leonidas’ tragic fall): many Herodotean descriptions are alive and well with Miller; however, Snyder’s almost ekphrastic approach to the graphic novel has merit as well.
The Phocian wall mortared with dead soldiers is a striking symbol of Spartan intolerance to Persian dominance; the careful dance between light and shadow, thereby imitating Miller; the inclusion of most of the dialogue captured in the book almost verbatim. In other words, the book and film are perfect compliments to each other as well as to Herodotus’ classic. They both display historical facts in their own way while making the material not necessarily plausible, but interesting enough for the modern audience. As was said before, not everyone has the inclination to discover Herodotus on one’s own; sometimes it takes a little nudge to go in the right direction. Some may disagree with the methods of recounting the events of history, but it is really irrelevant when it comes to honoring the memory of fallen soldiers. In this case, the Spartans’ story must be remembered as a never-ending one that is a testimony to humanity’s need to overcome the worst adverse situations for a better life. Frank Miller and Zack Snyder both read Herodotus and understand that neither of their works are meant to replace the legendary historian’s epic, but instead, to honor its importance forever. One can view the facts from all three works of art collectively.
Bibliography
Borza, Eugene N., 2007. Spartans Overwhelmed at Thermopylae, Again. Archeology.[Online] Available at: http//: www.archeology.org/online/reviews/300.html [Accessed May 25, 2010]
Epstein, Daniel R., 2006. Frank Miller, 300 Interview.UGO.com [Online] Available at: http//: www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=16424§ionId=106 [Accessed May 25, 2010]
Herodotus, 440 B.C.E. The Histories. Translated by Aubrey de Selincourt and John Marincola, 2003. London, England: Penguin Books
Marozzi, J.,2008. The Way of Herodotus.1st ed. USA: Da Capo Press
Miller, F. & Varney, Lynn, 2006. 300. 3rd ed. Milwaulkie, Oregon: Dark Horse Books
Morkot, R.,1996. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece. 1st ed. London, England: Penguin Books
Schrader, H.,2010. The Smile of Leonidas. EzineArticlescom.[Online] Available at http//: ezinearticles.com/?The-Smile-of-Leonidas&id=3983128 [Accessed May 25, 2010]
Hello! I am happy to report that things are going well for the new project and I have even unexpectedly written new material for it! That kind of thing ALWAYS thrills me. I have often said that quite a few of my songs come in dreams and already I have dreamt TWO songs that I will include in the new EP "The Raven Trail". During my Creative Writing studies for my Master's, I discovered that Fiction writing and songwriting are not distant cousins at all; there are MANY similarities. I would highly recommends writers everywhere to read Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft". Not only does he give a brief account of how he came up with some of his most celebrated works ("Carrie", "Misery", "The Shining", etc.) but he gives an honest account of his feelings about the wonderful craft of reading. He even goes so far to say that he was not interested in writing another book about writing just to make money(Like he needs it! lol).
He is my kind of writer! Anyway, I found myself reading not one but TWO Shakespearan plays today which are among my favorites: Richard III and of course, Hamlet. My brother and I discussed Shakespeare today at length and among the topics we touched upon was how much for granted the Immortal Bard is in our native tongue.
Did you know that Shakespeare is credited for introducing 3,000 words into the English language? It's true. His quotes and phrases are literally a celebration of English itself. I know, I know: but what about all those archaic Elizabethan words and phrases? Well, we still use them today now more than ever. I'll give you a few examples: the most famous one from Hamlet is of course, the "To be or not to be" soliloquy but there are so many others.
From the same play, Polonius, the father of Laertes and Hamlet's girlfriend, Ophelia, tells his son: "This above all:to thine own self be true (Act I, Sc. III). Sounds familiar? How about this one? same play: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (Act I, Sc. IV). I love that one! Or how about the variation of that quote? "O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven" (Act. III, Sc. III). Here, the murderer of Hamlet's father, Claudius, the new king, has a rare moment of regret for killing his brother, the king but it was too late by then; the seeds of revenge had already been planted and sprouted to dire consequences by the end of the play.
Shakespeare's influence upon English language idioms would be too great for me to express in this blog but I will certainly give you a few more examples:
"Now is the winter of our discontent" (Richard III, Act I, Sc. I)
"A horse! A horse! A kingdom for a horse!" (Richard III, Act V, Sc. IV)
"Off with his head!" (Richard III, Scene IV) Shakespeare said this before Lewis Carroll's Queeen of Heart's character in his immortal work "Alice in Wonderland"
"Friends, Romans, countrymen; lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" (Julius Caesar, Act III, Sc. II) Mark Antony's speech after Julius Caesar was murdered on the Senate floor.
"But for my own part, it was Greek to me" (Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II).
"The course of true love never did run smooth" (Midsummer Night's Dream" Act I, Scene I) Amen to that brother!:)
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child" (King Lear, Act I, Scene IV)
"T'is neither here nor there" (Othello, Act IV, Sc. III) How many times have you said that in your life without the "T'is" part?:)
"I will wear my heart on my sleeve for daws to peck at" (Othello, Act I, Scene I). Oh it gets even better!
"It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock" (Othello, Act III). And I could go on and on.
The point is that even if we don't quote from a Shakespearean play line for line, the idioms have transcended well beyond the Elizabethan period from where they came. It has always been my assertion that a lot of people don't approach the Bard's works because the speech is hard to understand and the plots seem complicated; as a Shakespearean admirer all of my life, my response is that one does not have to understand every word spoken right away because (a) there a quite a few lines in the plays that are quite simple and understandable, (b) they are not to be read just once, in my opinion, and (c) everything that one could find in a slew of today's movies (death, sex, revenge, violence, love, etc.) can be easily found in Shakespeare's plays.
Since we are on the subject of movies, here is a recommended list that I have compiled if you are interested (I don't claim to be an expert; I just like to share my ideas):
I-Hamlet (1948) Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons (when she was 18 years old and STILL a hottie!): One of the quintessential Shakespearan movies directed by the master himself,Mr. Olivier, considered to be possibly the greatest ever.( Remember the classic movie "Spartacus" with Kirk Douglas? Jean Simmons and Laurence Olivier acted together again in this epic!)
II- Richard III- Another Olivier gem with him starring, directing and producing. Check out this phenomenal cast: Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir John Gielgud, AND the legendary Claire Bloom. A must-see.
III- Henry V- Hey, I had to include Mr. Olivier again. It is another perfect production.
IV-Henry V- Kenneth Branagh's version which is pure magic! I am looking forward to his Shakespearan bent on the upcoming movie "Thor" that comes out next year! (I was a fan of the comic book).And Emma Thompson! What a terrific actress AND a hottie to boot!:)
V- Ran- Akira Kurasawa is one of my all-time favorite directors and this is his version of Shakespeare's "King Lear": a breathtaking panorama of dialogue, sound, and visuals. I saw his original paintings upon which the film's scenes are based and they are nothing but astounding. This is a prime example of how the Bard's works can be told in other forms.
VI- "Looking for Richard"- Al Pacino's personal views on the story of Richard III as well as a documentary that has him actually going out in the streets and asking evceryday people what they think of Shakespeare. An over-looked film in my view.
I could also mention Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" (MacBeth) as well. I will stop here because I do not want to belabor the point. Well, I hope you enjoyed this new blog of mine. Stick around for many more including those that will feature updates on my upcoming EP "The Raven Trail". Take care! BKT:)
Hey gang! Now that I am back in the States, I am trying to keep as occupied as possible with work on my Master's degree in Creative Writing, re-working a Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel I wrote many years ago, AND preliminary work for my new upcoming EP which shall indeed be called "The Raven Trail". A lovely friend of mine just emailed me and said that she is already working on sketches for the cover. I am very excited at the prospect of having a painting as a cover that would exemplify the mood and feel of the album. Well, stick around because there is A LOT more to come! BKT
I am so excited that work on the the "Lord of the Rings" prequel, "The Hobbit" is underway! I have been a longtime Tolkien fan and I will always be thankful to an old girlfriend of mine who introduced me to two things: the music of the Doors and Tolkien! The appreciation for his masterful works of fantasy fiction is at a fever pitch and I think it is well-deserved. I must also recommend, through my endless quest for more material to watch on youtube, two fantastic fan made films: "The Hunt for Gollum" and "Born of Hope" which tells the story straight from the appendices of the book LOTR of Aragorn's father and mother's struggle to keep their world from becoming extinct from Sauron's growing power. Also, "Hunt for Gollum" is from the appendices as well so these are Professor Tolkien's own extensions of the classic story of the One Ring. Both films are excellent for different reasons and they prove that one does NOT need an over-inflated Hollywood budget with big stars to make a high quality movie; they were made on shoestring budgets but the beauty is that one could not really tell even with close scrutiny. "The Hunt for Gollum", directed by Chris Bouchard is very Peter Jackson-like in the direction and feel of the movie whereas "Born of Hope" directed by the talented and lovely Kate Madison, who also produced and co-starred in the movie, has a different mood but well worth watching because it acts as a natural extension to the world of Middle Earth.So for all of those revelling in the Tolkien revival like I am, go to youtube and check out these gems; you won't regret it! BKT
Hello everyone! I know that I promised to deliver a blog on Music as Literature but so many interesting things have been happening to me in Dublin; one of my favorite spots in this terrific city is called "The Bleeding Horse". Some of the finest singer-songwriters and musicians call this pub home. I even met a great songwriter who worked with John Denver. Also, another great spot is at the Bankers Inn were the "Dave and Friends" open mic takes place every Tuesday. There is a great deal of amazing talent here and I look forward to working with some of these artists on my next project which willl definitely be called "The Raven Trail". I premiered it on the radio show which went very nicely. They will have a CD ready for me by next weekend and then I will have a link that one can click on to hear my interview. I had so much fun talking about my adventures here in Dublin, American politics, my love of the opposite sex, and of course, my songs. John and Gary, my two interviewers could have not been more gratious and funny and I thank them for a great time in my first real radio interview. I promise that you will be able to hear it once it gets into my hands! Take care!BKT