On Friday I got to go see the movie ‘Immortal’ and I think Mr. Bahlmann has succeeded in getting me to think about superheroes with everything I watch or read. Throughout the movie I caught myself comparing what I was seeing to what we had read/discussed in class and even considering whether or not the main character could be considered a superhero or not. I must give a warning that I may spoil certain parts of the movie, if you haven’t seen it but want to, I’m sorry. Anyhow I thought it was interesting that I could find elements from some of the stories we read in class in the movie. There was a bow and arrow that had magical powers from the Greek Gods (Ramayana), Theseus (the main character) got his training or “powers” (Beowulf), the idea of immortality (Gilgamesh), and the Greek Gods played an important part in the story (Iliad). Throughout the movie you could see different elements of a superhero story, there was the
damsel in distress, development of a villain, a messed up supervillain, growth of a superhero, gaining of a sidekick/best friend/brother, and epic fight scenes.
Theseus was a bastard child and when asked by his trainer why he didn’t fight in the army he said it was because he only fought for what he loved. Him and his mother were seen and treated as outcasts of the village, if you’ve ever read The Scarlet Letter, they treated Theseus and his mother the same way people treated Hester and Pearl. The supervillain is King Hyperion, his hatred towards the world stems from his past, and wanting everyone else to feel his pain and prove to them that there was no purpose in being faithful to the Greek Gods. The bow is an important part of the story because it can release the Titans that had been locked in the middle of a mountain. Before all of this happened there was a battle in the sky between the Titans and the Greek Gods. Having lost, the Titans were placed
underground imprisoned and the Greek Gods ruled on Mt. Olympus. Releasing the Titans are like releasing all the evils in the world, but the Gods had made a promise that they would not interfere in mortals’ business, it’s only when the Titans are released will they come down and fight. I won’t explain everything that happened in the movie but the ending to me symbolizes that there will always be evil in the world, but becoming immortal isn’t only having a story that will be passed down from generation to generation but it’s also having/starting a family.
In class we had discussed how there were few superheroes that were women and even if there are the male superheroes would save them from danger. In the movie I could see Athena as a superhero in the movie, but the only thing that makes her a superhero is that she is a Goddess so she does have “powers” that mortals don’t have. That leads to another discussion that we had in class: If we can see Greek Gods/Goddesses as superheroes, than why not Jesus? (Or a form of that question). So I guess I could see Jesus/God as
a superhero, I mean why not? If I can see Greek Gods/Goddesses as superheroes than I’m willing to accept Jesus/God as a superhero as well. Overall I felt that the movie had summed up what we had been discussing in class and incorporated different elements of the stories we read. I must admit that I was feeling a little “nerdy” because I would think to myself, “Hey, that’s like this part in the Ramayana! Wow I wonder if they incorporated that on purpose” or “This is like the hero’s journey and, OH! is that the supervillain, I’m pretty sure it is! That guy seems pretty psychotic, kind of like The Joker.” I hope I’ve successfully related this movie to this class, while I was watching I was taking mental notes about all the different comparisons I could make!
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And this picture popped up on my newsfeed a while ago and it's so true:
I thought it was interesting and cool how you tied in the movie 'Immortal’ with everything we learned in class. I have never seen the movie, but it seems like it's a movie worth watching.I also agree with you that this whole superhero stuff is seen everywhere in our lives, especially in movies. I feel the term superheroes or the books we read in class are seen in our lives and maybe this is why we can relate to it.
ReplyDeleteI did not watch immortals yet but it sounds like a really good movie and reading about it in your blog makes me want to watch it now. After talking about superheroes every week, I also find myself comparing things to superheroes and see if they fit the category or not.
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