The continual reemergence of mythology is a fact and is best seen through movies, fairy tales, and cartoons. The reason mythology is continually reoccurring in modern times is because it is a modern equivalent to the oral epic. Humans love tragedy and comedy because these themes are so entertaining to them. “The Godfather” and “Jaws” are just a few examples of myths in movies that are recreated.
Contemporary movies may use Greek myths as inspiration indirectly or they may actually reference the gods, demigods and titans directly. The movie “The Godfather” indirectly references the Succession Myth by correlating the grandfather, father and son to Ouranos, Kronos and Zeus. In the Succession Myth, it chronicles the passage of power from one generation to the next. The example of Ouranos, Kronos and Zeus is the Theogony myth, where Kronos castrates Ouranos (his father) and then Zeus (Kronos youngest son) overthrows Kronos and becomes king of the Gods. This is the same thing that happens in “The Godfather,” the youngest son inherits his aging father’s organized crime family. The youngest son is the least favorite and ends up being the most successful. Then the son in power has a child who becomes the last piece to the Succession Myth. This same Succession myth is seen in the popular fairy tale “Cinderella” where the youngest step daughter gets to marry the prince over her sisters with the help of her godmother. The movie “Jaws” shows a viscous shark, with blood and violence that can be related to the monsters of ancient Greek mythology.
In the movies “Hercules” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” gods and myths are referenced and part of the plot of the movie. Hercules is the son of Zeus who has been raised by mortals, and when he realizes who he is, he starts a quest to become a true hero. This movie directly uses the Greek gods to make a movie entertaining and epic and even contains the character Hades who is the God of the Underworld. Also, in “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” the main character Percy discovers that he is a demigod, the son of Poseidon and is accused of stealing the lightning bolt of Zeus. The movie also stars the characters of Hades, Persephone, Medusa and the daughter of Athena. It is amazing what influences Greek mythology has on modern movies. The things that people found interesting and entertaining then, are also thought to be entertaining today by using the same characters in some things and by using just the plot in others.
The reemergence of mythology is also seen in modern cartoons and fairy tales such as in animations and movies like “Cinderella” and “Hercules.” Also, in the movie “The Little Mermaid,” Ursula, the antagonist of the movie resembles Medusa. Ursula has tentacles like an octopus and Medusa has snakes on her head, Ursula puts curses and spells on the people she encounters just like Medusa did if you looked into her eyes.
The continual reemergence of mythology is a fact and is best seen through these movies and fairy tales.
Chelsea Carter
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