Research Paper

POSTED BY: CortexOverride
UPDATED: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 10:35
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CORTEXOVERRIDE

Friday, February 18, 2011 7:58 PM

In my Humanities Class, we're expected to complete a research paper on a Movie and some how tie it in with mythology.Since I chose the BDM, I'm puzzled as to how to relate it to myths. Any suggestions would be much abliged.

MENDUR

Friday, February 18, 2011 8:33 PM

That depends: do the "myths" of the ca: 1870 American West count? Or does your instructor want "classical" myths, a la Greece or Norse or Chinese?

There is, of course, the Hero's Journey myth which fits the movie rather well (and you could use the parts where it departs from that myth to show your knowledge of it).

If you can provide a bit more information, I think the Browncoats could provide you with a bit more guidance.

The Codex Menduri: http://mendur.blogspot.com

RIONAEIRE

Friday, February 18, 2011 9:13 PM

Well Bytemite always is talking about this TV tropes website, I think that would have a lot of info about how Firefly pertains to myths, and if Firefly does then you can extend that to the BDM.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

THEHAPPYTRADER

Friday, February 18, 2011 9:15 PM

It all depends on how you, or your teacher rather, defines 'Myth.' In my anthropology classes, 'Myth' was used to describe stories central to cultures and the like, whether it was true or not was irrelevant for the purposes over understanding the culture.

For example, the Christ myth, which I happen to believe is true, was a myth for the purposes of understanding the culture and it's a myth repeated throughout many legends, stories, and movies from King Arthur to Star Wars. (Arthur being the Christ like figure, Luke in a sense doing the same).

You could possibly make a case there concerning River's 'awakening' and Mal finding faith in something.

BYTEMITE

Friday, February 18, 2011 11:18 PM

*cough* Assuming he found faith in something...

(is one of the few who argues he's not quite there yet).

I'd try comparing it to The Odyssey, by Homer.

For example:

Quote:
The name Odysseus is derived from the verb odussomai (oδύσσομαι), meaning "to be wroth against', 'hate",[6] suggesting that the name could be rendered as "the one who is wrathful/hated"

The movie is the culmination of a many year journey after the end of a brutal war (though Odysseus won that one).

The Roman empire considered Odysseus a villain and a falsifier, like the Alliance would think of Mal. There's also the greek's admired cunning (Independents), while the Romans were focused on honour (Alliance).

Where it departs is that Odysseus is considered diplomatic... However, this could translate to Mal's speechifying inspirational abilities.

Book is Aoelus.

River Tam is an Oracle.

Penelope is Inara.

It's obviously not the whole of the Odyssey, it's really just the part of the story up to the lotus eaters and the cyclops, but there's probably plenty here to compare.

Miranda is the land of the lotus eaters.

Reavers are the cyclops.

CORTEXOVERRIDE

Saturday, February 19, 2011 1:01 AM

These are the Parameters for the paper:

Quote:
]I.DESCRIPTION OF FILM
-Title
-Date
-Producer
-Actors

II. MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FILM
You Must Discuss 3 Specific Major Elements Of Creation, Destruction, and/or Hero categories in the body of the paper. As you analyze the film, you are to connect these to specific correlations with myths from your text(i.e. Prose Edda) by using definitive examples to help explain how you reached your conclusions. Use quotations from the film and footnotes will be needed here.

III. CONCLUSION
-Be subjective and describe how you feel about the film. Does it intrigue, please, disturb you? Do the parts compliment each other? What does it mean to you? How does the film work in our modern society?

IV: BIBLIOGRAPHY

I've asked the professor about this and he admitted to never hearing of Firefly/Serenity.

BYTEMITE

Saturday, February 19, 2011 1:27 AM

Your class is using a terminology and a curriculum I'm not familiar with. I'll try to stab at it based on the definitions I can glean from the surface.

There's not a whole lot in Serenity about creation, but the movie is framed by two events of destruction (which establish the Alliance as the bad guys).

The first is the destruction of River's sanity and innocence. The second is the destruction of the population of Miranda.

And I say destruction of Miranda instead of creation of Reavers because Reavers are what's left over when humanity within humans is destroyed.

Mal is an anti-hero character, an outlaw fighting against oppression. He is not, however, a classical anti-hero that you might find in the old myths (classic anti-heroes are weak or cowardly instead of having unusual methodology or moral myopia) so watch how you use this.

THEHAPPYTRADER

Saturday, February 19, 2011 2:26 AM

Quote:
*cough* Assuming he found faith in something...

(is one of the few who argues he's not quite there yet).

Probably, still, he seems to have taken Book's advice to heart and he believes in River.

The Odyssey isn't a bad comparison either, though Mal doesn't really seem to be 'going home.' He's got no rudder, goes where the wind takes him as it were. That's the only reason I didn't think of that one first. Anyway, there are many fascinating myths to choose from, it really just depends on what your teacher accepts.

BYTEMITE

Saturday, February 19, 2011 2:58 AM

Quote:
though Mal doesn't really seem to be 'going home.'

This is where the fridge brilliance comes in. :D

First, some background. Not only did Mal lose the war, in the backstory, he lost his home. And I don't mean that the Alliance took his ranch, I mean the Alliance charbroiled his homeworld. Everyone he knows, his entire family is gone, and he can't go back to the life he used to love.

This is confirmed in the Serenity RPG manual, and also in the extras on the Serenity Blue ray DVD. It's hinted at in the series theme song: "Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand" and "Burn the land and boil the seas".

So he comes out of the war, he finds out his home is gone. What's the first thing he does?

Buys a ship as a proxy for home, and puts together his own little family.

What Mal secretly wants is a normal life, a chance to rebuild or regain what he's lost.

So in a sense, the whole series and movie is really about Mal trying to find a way home.

RYCE

Saturday, February 19, 2011 3:37 AM

I'm thinking the Epic of Gilgamesh. Mal = Gilgamesh. Enkidu = a cross between Book and River, a wild creature. They kill the Bull of Heaven = Reavers (I'm changing up the order a little bit). In the Epic, Enkidu dies, which could be River regaining her sanity (or the death of Book). Mal/Gilgamesh goes on a quest of immortality, which is the quest for truth at Miranda. Heck, the goddess Ishtar could be the Alliance, who punish Mal/Gilgamesh for spurning her. I kinda like Mr. Universe as Utnapishtim, the holder of immortality/truth ("Can't stop the signal").

Phew, I knew this minor in mythology would come in handy!

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