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originally posted in:Art and Stuff
Edited by THA rofltard: 4/17/2015 7:02:30 AM
11

Modern Mythology

people in the future <(-.-)> assuming we have one cynicism = 9001 will probably not have action figures because of either a zombie apocalypse or just everyone only plays video games. this is just an assumption of mine. Point is, action figures and these little statues of ours may seem alien to them. Its perfectly reasonable to assume that they may think of these toys as totems or shrines. Many of them have symbols that go with them; Superman's shield for example, its almost like a crucifix or Mjölnir pendant. The point I'm getting to is; we still have gods, just now we call them aliens or superheroes. The thing that I found most interesting while researching mythology is how closely the story structures reassemble modern day comic books as far as the overall narrative goes, the weird relationships between all of the characters, origin stories, the need to know some characters before you can understand others and where they stand etc. there are so many different stories and versions of these old gods nobody can decide what the legit cannon is was it Hephaestus who built Talos? Or was it Zeus? there's two different versions a lot like comic books I'll use Superman as an example, to sum up and explain my point. A lot of people have written their own take on superman. We can't really decide what is legit cannon and what is garbage the new 52 for example, not sure where that fits into anything, its a complete reboot but not many people like it. back to the main point tho these modern stories all greatly resemble mythology. they're stories about super powered beings from other worlds who protect us, or toy with us and have loads of adventures and great feats and who sometimes interact directly with mortals, even falling in love with them. its goes a bit deeper I suppose. Superman is pretty much the Zeus figure. Leader of the justice league, the most powerful dude, he was one of the earliest comic book characters and acts sort of like the father figure to all the younger superheroes. Superman also, like many figures in mythology, represents the standard of perfection in the culture that the myth comes from. speaking of the Justice League, the watchtower is pretty much Mount Olympus or Asgard. So we still have all these super beings, guardians from a higher level of existence. Superman is from another planet where everyone was super smart and had super advanced technology, ya see? higher beings right? there's also Superman Prime, where he literally becomes god. Its seems reasonable that people from the future could think that we worshipped Superman what with everyone wearing his shield on their shirts and hanging posters of him on their walls and telling stories about him being a god and referring to him as a god and getting way too overhyped for movies about him and pitting him against other super beings. so you see how we still have gods and mythology, and how ancient mythologies may have just been stories, their own version of comic books that we've misinterpreted slightly because of a language and cultural barrier. same stuff, just we use different words to describe it Gods/Demigods = Superheroes/Aliens The heavens = space/other planets Demons/Giants/evil beings = Supervillains Great hall of the gods Asgard/Olympus/whatever else = Towers/secret lairs It goes beyond superheroes too, but I couldn't be bothered going into this, its too deep. Catch my drift? TL;DR: Superheroes and aliens are the modern version of gods.

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  • Sunny wee wee

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  • A problem I have with anthropology in some of my classes is that when asked about the potential significance of a given artifact, a majority of the students will immediately answer something about religion. While that may be the case every once in a while, a good majority of it can be attributed to simpler things. The Easter island heads for example are commonly associated with gods. Other interpretations say they were to ward off outsiders. However, given [b]context[/b] these may more likely be markers for a given family in a "watch over us" sense. These statues have little implying worship and they all face inland. Context is important to interpretation. Popularity implies importance but not reason. We have a written language with records of [i]a Superman[/i] and the [b]comic book superhero[/b] [i]superman[/i]. Add several things which without proper contextual interpretation can be seen as religious fervor (Comic con and similar) which have well documented purposes to explain the context for most things. Archaeologists have the trouble of interpreting the past through artifacts that are difficult to interpret due to a variety of reasons. However with the introduction of written languages and record keeping, the things referenced in those writings became easier to interpret. In conclusion, it may be possible that future observers see our interest in things like [i]Superman[/i] as religious worship, but if they are worth their salt they should be able to understand our writings about popular culture and the place creations such as [i]Superman[/i] have in it.

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    • So you're saying that ancient people read comics on Zeus?!?

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      • [quote]assuming we have one[/quote] I think assuming we even have one is giving us too much credit.

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        • A good idea and I agree. Dare you to go to ISIS and explain all this though.

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          • But people actually believed that their gods existed Every time there was a thunderstorm the ancient Greeks thought that they were witnessing an act of Zeus. I hope that there aren't people that legit believe in superheroes lol

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            • I'm just waiting for the new religion to show up. I wonder what it's gonna be.

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              • I have read your post.

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                • Oh my... This is a development I never foresaw. *Slowly starts clapping*

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                  • I sometimes wonder what people will think of when they find old images and models of Master Chief everywhere.

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                    • [quote]Catch my drift?[/quote] Sorry, this is a "no wake" zone.

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