Mythologies Purpose in our Modern World
Mythologies Purpose In Our Modern World, by Olivia Cowles.
Ever since ancient times, mythology has been foundational and didactic. It’s a vessel humans have used to teach lessons and create insights into the universal human condition. Myths help us to understand our place in this universe and give possible answers or reasons to the truly unexplainable questions of our world. Myths look at human nature in all its aspects including the parts of our psyche we are not entirely proud of, but need to highlight in order to heal. We use myths as a way to create meaning and purpose for our lives. Myths don't just show us of the divine but rather reminds us that we are human. The idols we see in older mythology were not necessarily ones to look up to but had human problems, emotions, and mistakes. As Karen Armstong stated in her book A Short History of Myth,
“The myth of the hero was not intended to provide us with icons to admire, but was designed to tap into the vein of heroism within ourselves. Myth must lead to imitation or participation, not passive contemplation”(pg 60).
However, many academics argue that mythologies' purpose has lost its value over time due to western modernity taking over the world; meaning logic and facts are taking precedence over the stories we tell. This is not entirely a bad thing as modernization came with benefits that increasingly made our lives more comfortable and gave us some truths of the world we can steadily rely upon. Although there is an unfortunate side to modernity as well, since as humans, we still crave that connection to “the other”--to get beyond our circumstances for a more fulfilling existence. Hence we need modern mythology, which we create via music, literature, films and video games.
Modern mythology gives our present day world that is evermore increasingly complicated, intersectional and lamentable, stories that teach us how to survive, thrive and understand our existence.
Many academics discuss what constitutes a myth and that we cannot have modern mythologies. Their arguments and classifications include that myths must be believed to be literal accounts of things that happened, while simultaneously being sacred (embedded in religion). Phillip Ball continues this exploration in his article, “Why Are We So Resistant to the Idea of a Modern Myth,” where he dispels these misconceptions and develops his own definitions of what modern mythology is. Ball claims,
“It is precisely because our modern myths go everywhere that they earn that label, and for this same reason we fail to see (or resist seeing) them for what they are. As classical myths did for the cultures that conceived them, modern myths help us to frame and come to terms with the conditions of our existence”. He goes on to say, “Myths purpose/meaning depends on the story you want to tell”.
He uses other academic authors' quotes that essentially say myth is not to represent objective depictions of our world but rather to be interpreted as an individual sees fit either anthropologically or existentially. Even though we've relinquished our old myths due to our rational modern world, we can still have (and already do) experience modern mythology in our present existence. We still need myths in order to endure and persevere in our changing world. The world will never be able to be perfect with all of our human and earthly problems solved, hence myths will continue to be created in order for us to use them, interpret their meanings and heal.
In 2020, when the world took a sharp turn towards an existential crisis (COVID 19) there emerged a film that did not get the recognition it deserved. It was directed by Edson Oda and is called 9 Days. A simple explanation of the plot is a “man” interviews five unborn souls to discover which soul should be given a new life on Earth, while the ones who are not chosen face oblivion. This film is engulfed with mythological elements, down to its very premise. Myths, as I’ve mentioned, explore the unexplainable and provide insight to life's greatest questions. I would classify this story as an emergence story, which Alex Evans states in his article, “Apocalypse, restoration and emergence: three myths to help us navigate a crisis” as,
“those who are resurrected come back changed, for these are stories of the birth of the new and not just the healing of the old– people who have survived trauma come back changed by the experience, and in a position to see how it has made them more resilient rather than more vulnerable, able to live in the present rather than being overwhelmed by the past” (Evans).
This film in particular invites you to reconsider your entire world perspective.
It starts with the main character Will, who is essentially a cosmic figure or spirit guide for these souls. He was once human, which gave him the position of arbiter over these souls. He is the one that conducts this interview process which determines how individuals could be chosen for existence. His character mirrors deities or divine entities which are known for determining the fate or destiny of individuals within mythology. Comparatively though, he shows us what it means to be truly human even while he is in this position of judgment and power over these souls. He goes through the human emotions, especially grief, as he grieves over the death of one particular soul he chose that reminded him much of himself. This soul commits suicide which he feels as a failure, more on himself that he didn’t notice the signs. He asks these questions, “Why choose such a good soul and why did this soul's potential go to waste?”, much like how he feels towards his own time on Earth. He holds onto this pain, which taints his interview process of these five souls, and at the end he fails in choosing the right soul because of his fear. He needed to fail in order to change, not “fix” his trauma but become more enlightened and resilient.
9 Days weaves a narrative that taps into many universal and existential themes, much like traditional mythologies have done throughout history to make sense of the world and our experience in it. The characters and their journeys become allegorical, and the film overall invites viewers to contemplate deeper aspects of life and the choices that shape our destinies. It shows how a real loss, which is naturally a part of living, can create both the burden and gift of being alive. It teaches the lesson of how one must fail in order to change. It challenges opposing viewpoints and philosophies– pessimism versus optimism, nihilism versus existentialism, asking the question “What is the right way to live?”. When we live in such a bleak world where there is so much suffering, should we still choose to cherish and accept every moment? This whole film explores essentially, one could argue, the purpose of life. I believe this is what classifies it as a modern mythology.
Another film that is in a different classification within modern mythology is called Snowpiercer, directed by Bong Joon-Ho. It creates lots of commentary through a futuristic dystopian post-apocalyptic backdrop. Apocalypse stories, according to Evans, function as an unveiling of truths about society. The story begins with the knowledge of scientists who have meddled too much with geoengineering which causes the world to go into a massive freeze. Much like how our current scientists are trying to combat climate change with chemicals rather than practical means. Subsequently, all of humanity is put on this train that runs around the world and never stops thanks to a “sacred engine”.This train is controlled and operated by its creator Mr. Wilfred, who can be compared to the all powerful creator archetype within mythologies. Although the character has trickster characteristics (he is very cunning and manipulative), overall he lives in a completely separate reality than the people he holds dominion over, giving him a creator status. This includes the fact that he has immense power over the destinies and lives of the people on the train, orchestrating much of what happens behind the scenes.
The film showcases the symbolic struggle between a radical evil (totalitarianism) versus a Marxist proletariat revolution. It depicts a purposely manipulated war between an inherently unjust class system. It additionally explores themes of the human condition and as Brian Burtlad states in his article, “Snowpiercer Review: A Marxarian, Weberian, and Totalitarian Train Ride”,
“This movie is so powerful because it takes the very real types of inequality and difficult social problems we see in our contemporary society (from war, to classism, poverty hunger, terrorism, drug addiction, and genocide) and takes them to an extreme for the fantastical situation presented.-- it takes relatable problems and social issues and presents them in a different way for the purposes of entertainment, but more importantly as an allegory”. (Burtlad)
On a brighter note, the film leaves you with hope that humanity will overcome and start a new path, even though it’s not explicitly stated. This modern myth shows the darker aspects of humanity and probably our fears of the repercussions our current societies actions could produce. It begs the question, “Is it even possible to fix a corrupt system? Or is it easier to tear it all down and start anew?”. It reveals these horrors to the extreme but allows us to contemplate and step back at the big picture. Acknowledging that our current system is corrupt and showing us just how hard it might be to enact the change we need, but still giving us the hope we require to persevere.
My concluding example circles back to another emergence story, in the film Everything Everywhere All At Once, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The film, similar to 9 Days, explores themes of existentialism and nihilism. Conversely though it also includes surrealism and absurdism elements. The gist of the plot is that there’s a multiverse of all the different lifetimes and actions one could have taken in life, with the unlikely main hero having to channel her newfound powers in order to bring balance to the fate of the world and her family. The central message is the importance of kindness. Through the main hero’s journey, she and her daughter become nihilists thinking, “ If anything is possible, then nothing matters”, leading them to thoughts of oblivion and giving up. They pose the question, why should we keep existing if no matter what we do, there will still be suffering and that it’s all inconsequential in the end? A similar premise to the myth of Sisyphus, which has been talked about in comparison over media platforms surrounding this film. In the myth of Sisyphus, it has the same overall concept where the gods sentence Sisyphus to an inconsequential life, where no matter how many times he gets the boulder to the top of the mountain, it will always roll back down again.
All this pressure that we feel as humans, all the wrong or right choices we make, if none of it actually matters what's the point of it all?
Albert Camus who wrote The Myth of Sisyphus in 1942 argued that Sisyphus was probably quite happy, even with the torture of knowing everything is inconsequential. Aamatullah Rajkotwala wrote an article comparing Camus and Everything Everywhere All At Once called, “Everything Everywhere All At Once and Albert Camus”. In the article he stated,
“Just like Camus, Waymond (the second hero) recognizes the third option– the choice to rewrite the narrative. Instead of desperately trying to reconcile this conflict between what we want and what we get from life, we can accept and embrace the absurdity of existence. We can choose to be conscious of it and free ourselves from the endless quest of answers.”
Within our journey of life, it is not the end goal that counts. The stuff that matters is everything along the way, the journey of life. In order to do that, we must be kind and empathetic to each other and find joy along the way. This is what Waymond, the underdog hero of the film, means when he says, “Please be kind. Especially when we don’t know what’s going on or everything is going wrong. When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything. I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight.” The film is an emergence story due to the fact that the world does not go back to how it was, it's born new again with the knowledge learned. The characters are not the same nor the dynamics between the characters. They are not fixed but healed. This is what makes it a modern myth offering hope and compassion when our world can seem so dark and unforgiving.
When life feels so overwhelming with just the weight of being alive, to remember one can rewrite the narrative and accept that it's a miracle we even exist in the first place. We learn to let go and decide what truly matters.
Our world is extremely interconnected and information is as accessible as it’s ever been. Our scientific discoveries, our daily living, our wars and weapons we use against each other, it’s all unprecedented. Our planet is dying, people are dying and the systems that govern are inherently corrupt. With this newfound modernity as Armstrong states,
“We need myths that will help us to identify with all our fellow-beings, not simply with those who belong to our ethnic, national or ideological tribe. We need myths that help us to realize the importance of compassion, which is not always regarded as sufficiently productive or efficient in our pragmatic, rational world. We need myths that help us to create a spiritual attitude, to see beyond our immediate requirements, and enable us to experience a transcendent value that challenges our solipsistic selfishness. We need myths that help us to venerate the earth as sacred once again, instead of merely using it as a ‘resource’”(pg 60).
She continues later in the book saying essentially, if something is created and admired with enough serious intention, it can become a work that helps us transition from one state of mind to another. I would argue this is what many modern films, novels, video games and music allow us to do, reckoning them as modern mythologies. Modern myths must be able to teach us to see our world differently; show us how to look into our own hearts and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our own self-interest. These films teach us how to cope with our ephemeral mortality, how to de-program our altered societal values and when the weight of all our human problems starts to feel like it’s drowning you, to reach for each other. Modern myths show us how to love deeper, have empathy for one another and give us the feeling of a connected higher existence.
Sources:
Armstrong, Karen. A Short History of Myth. Canongate Books, 2004.
Ball, Philip. “Why Are We So Resistant to the Idea of a Modern Myth?” Literary Hub, 2 June 2021, https://lithub.com/why-are-we-so-resistant-to-the-idea-of-a-modern-myth/. Accessed 4 December 2023.
Brutlag, Brian. “Snowpiercer Review: A Marxian, Weberian, Totalitarian Train Ride.” The Sociologist's Dojo, 3 July 2014, https://thesociologistsdojo.blogspot.com/2014/07/snowpiercer-review-marxian-weberian.html. Accessed 5 December 2023.
Evans, Alex. “Apocalypse, restoration and emergence: three myths to help us navigate a crisis.” openDemocracy, 21 June 2020, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/apocalypse-restoration-and-emergence-three-myths-help-us-navigate-crisis/. Accessed 4 December 2023.
Rajkotwala, Aamatullah. “Everything Everywhere All At Once and Albert Camus.” Film Companion, 11 January 2023, https://www.filmcompanion.in/readers-articles/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-and-albert-camus. Accessed 6 December 2023.
Savage, Mark. “Everything Everywhere All At Once: A guide to the references, Easter eggs and meanings.” BBC, 13 March 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64938320. Accessed 6 December 2023.
Weninger, Stephen. “The Sacred Engine: Myth and Fiction in Snowpiercer.” Journal of Narrative Theory, vol. Vol 51, no. Issue 1, Winter 2021, pp. 104-125. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/jnt.2021.0004. Accessed 04 12 2023.
