..I couldn't watch the Avengers without thinking about this course. I spent the whole time thinking about what this portrayal means, what it tells us about society. Really, i just wanted to watch a blockbuster, but i couldn't stop analysing it. If you do not wish to have the same experience please stop reading now.
It was Thor, a demi-god, who origninally caused me to begin to think about the portrayal of religion in this film. I'm still skeptical about whether we can 'pull' religious ideas out of fiction. But stay with me and please respond. I want to know how you feel about this concept.
*caution; events of events of the film are explained below*
..There is one scene in which Thor and Iron man are fighting. Trees split, greenfolage is brutally flung as the argoant, self-heroized Iron man clashes with Thor. It says something about where we place technology. Not only does it save iron-mans life. It also enables him to become a hero who brings about peace and enables him to substancially challenge a demi-god.
Is this true about how we feel about technology? Is this how we feel about demi-gods and God or gods themselves? Can we really become strong enough, through our own inventions, to proport a sufficent challenge to these powers? Are there any other films that depict this? And do you agree that this representation reveals something about how society feels about the gods or god?
Whedon, J. (Director). 'The Avengers' (2012). Marvel
Very interesting post, I've often thought the same thing about Batman. He is really only a superhero because of his wealth and access to expensive gadgets and the like. Technology enables us to do "god-like" things and in turn we are led to falsely believe we are our own gods, at least in some sense. We are led to think we don't need a god, and rely instead on technology for so much of our daily lives. It's interesting how technology itself can become a god for people as well as enabling people to play god.
ReplyDeleteThe role of God and gods, and how humans are reaching "for the heavens" as it were is becoming more and more prevalent within film. Ridley Scott is one director that deals with the concept of humans becoming "God-like" repeatedly. He explored the Prometheus myth back in 1982 with Blade Runner and he is doing it again with this years Alien (1979) Prequel: Prometheus. You should check out the TED speech he wrote and posted earlier this year as it deals specifically with this idea: http://blog.ted.com/ted2023/
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Blade Runner . Directed by Ridley Scott. Performed by Harrison Ford. 1982.
Scott, Ridley. “Peter Weyland at TED 2023: I Will Change The World.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. http://blog.ted.com/ted2023/ (accessed May 7, 2012).
Alien. Directed by Ridley Scott. Performed by Sigourney Weaver. 1979.