Research Paper

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

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 1:45 PM

Quote:
Oiginally posted by CortexOverride:
These are the Parameters for the paper:

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.

Hmm. Sounds like you have to find the parallels to the movie within your textbook. Can you give us a list of myths from your textbook? Or am I misunderstanding things, here?

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

CORTEXOVERRIDE

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 3:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Mendur:
Quote:
Oiginally posted by CortexOverride:
These are the Parameters for the paper:

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.

Hmm. Sounds like you have to find the parallels to the movie within your textbook. Can you give us a list of myths from your textbook? Or am I misunderstanding things, here?

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

I'd rather not since it's a pretty long list,but someone did mention that I should read The 'Daniel Boone Myth'.

JOURNEY

Thursday, February 24, 2011 7:58 AM

If you are focusing on the story of the movie (but using the series only as a source for informing about your characters), I would say that Serenity does have quite a good bit of the Creation element. Simplistically, myths explain why the world is the way it is. Serenity explains where Reavers came from. Yes, I know there is a lot of other stuff going on, but stay with me here. That starting point can be further developed into why did the Alliance think there was a need for the Pax and what does that say about their view of people, how exactly did it backfire and what does this say about what the story believes about the makeup of a human being, does this humanize or demonize the Reavers. Each of those points probably have similarities (or maybe try to answer the same question but get a different answer) to classical or ethnic myths, but I am sorry I don't know any well enough to point you to any.

At least, that is my opinion on the thing. Let us know how it turns out.

Exploding popcorn.

BYTEMITE

Thursday, February 24, 2011 3:56 PM

Heh, I deliberately left out the creation of the Reavers because there was no way I could actually consider that anything but destructive.

I mean, it's like the fall of Lucifer, the war in heaven, and the rise of hell and the demons. Is it part of the creation myths of Islamo-Judiac religions (or at least the backstory)? Sure. Is it creation element more than destruction element? Ehh, probably not: really it's actually CREATING the destructive element OF the 'verse, so it's arguably more an act of destruction than of creation.

But I did think that people could interpret it either way.

MENDUR

Thursday, February 24, 2011 5:46 PM

Well, the first five minutes of the movie does "the creation of the 'Verse" so maybe that is enough of a parallel for the paper?

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

BYTEMITE

Thursday, February 24, 2011 6:09 PM

Ooooh, the myth of Earth That Was, I LIKE that.

In Norse mythology, the world was destroyed a couple times before the Norse gods settled on this arrangement, and if that's considered a creation myth...

JOURNEY

Friday, February 25, 2011 2:19 AM

Me too! Just the name "Earth-that-was" gives me the shivers.

I would agree that the Reavers definitely fall in the destructive metaphor or whatever the term was. But there is usually an link between the creation and the destruction part of myths, at least the ones I have studied. I can't remember who started it, but I know Tolkien used the idea that evil cannot create, it can only distort. Example, the Unholy Trinity in Milton's Paradise Lost. But that is probably a rabbit trail...

I was more coming from the side that destruction was not the intent, creation was. It fubared, yeah, but since the Alliance was trying to create, it might be interesting to look at what they were trying to create and why. Seeing how they failed would be the destructive part, showing what was wrong with their original assumptions and therefore what was wrong with the government that Mal and crew have to live with.

~

Exploding popcorn!

STINKINGROSE

Friday, February 25, 2011 9:52 PM

See if you can find common archetypes throughout world myths which resonate with the characters/institutions in the 'verse. (I'll bet you can, without even trying). You may find a hodge-podge of bits of myths and stories woven together.
You definitely have the "Hero". You might consider River the Trickster figure (chaos).
Perhaps look into The Fool's journey as described in some Tarot decks. (The legends are older than the cards.)
Indian myths and Buddhist stories are another good place to start. It's not all Western/European myth out there. Africa's probably got a few good ones in the Anansi legends. Check out the Native American legends while you're at it.

VERASAMUELS

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 10:35 AM

Since Serenity [and Firefly] have Chinese influences, you might like to look at any Chinese myths that have a bearing on your paper.

Also, dating from Greek drama tropes;

The seven basic characters of fiction:-

Sun - the man/woman in charge [Mal]

Moon - the one who has the power/influence to get the Sun to back down [usually Zoe]

Mars - the fighter [Jayne]

Venus - the lover; the one everyone is supposed to want [Inara]

Jupiter - the one trying to be a lover [Wash/Kaylee] [Simon, though he mostly fails!]

Mercury - good with hands, messenger, the fix-it guy [or gal] [Wash/Kaylee]

Saturn - the one on the edge, observing things from a distance [River/Book]

The genius of Joss is that he gives us those seven characters and TWO MORE!!!

Devout Keeper of Jayne's Lunchbox

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