Myth logical
March 4th 2009 05:40
To what extent does modern fantasy, including Magic, draw on Western mythology? A great deal. Anyone who’s ever read widely in the field has noted the commonality of themes that can be summarized with catchphrases like “The Accidental Hero,” “The Futility of War,” and “There and Back Again.” They have probably also noted that many stories from Greek or Norse mythology can be summarized in a similar manner, often with the exact same phrases. Magic descends largely from the original Dungeons and Dragons game, whose Monster Manual made extensive use of mythological creatures and whose Dungeon Master’s Guide described a polytheistic religion similar to that of ancient Greece as part of the background flavour.
But is this an acceptable state of affairs?
Some harbor concern over whether the perpetuation of well-known (and in some cases ancient) tropes in fantasy harms the genre. Change is more often than not desirable and beneficial, and authors certainly do well by innovating wherever they can. But keeping the worlds of fantasy and mythology completely separate is not only undesirable but entirely unfeasible. Magic, like any creative work, is made within the cognitive framework of its creators – formed, in this case, by living in American culture, which is in turn a Western culture whose consciousness is heavily influenced by the Enlightenment and the Renaissance, and in turn by Celtic, Greco-Roman (via French), and Germanic traditions. Everyone who creates the game has thought processes which fall somewhere within this framework, and is familiar (even unconsciously) with the same cultural knowledge that supposedly weighs the genre down. It can no more be avoided than the phases of the moon can be delayed.
A cognitive framework is by no means a prison. Culture, like genetics, does not have to be destiny. People can invert or subvert archetypes by conscious design, and many writers have done so in effective and entertaining ways. In fact, people have been doing this since the beginning of time: mythology, even as retold by Disney and D’Aulaire in abridged PG-13 vignettes, is far from pure. Like a vast, omnidirectional game of Chinese Whispers, the imagery, plot, and meaning of myths changed with every retelling for countless centuries before Dungeons and Dragons was invented. On top of this, many versions of every story exist, and some blatantly incorporate elements of myths (which I suppose some would have us label "contamination") from other cultures. Jesus was murdered and rose from the dead – just like Osiris. Vali the Avenger was the instantly-maturing, dragon-slaying, bow-wielding god of eternal light – just like Apollo.
Myths are living, breathing ideas, and by demanding that modern fantasy refrain from examining them, you consign them to decay and eventually oblivion – and the culture would be so much poorer without them.
But is this an acceptable state of affairs?
Overt mythological references ensure the transmission of shared cultural heritage through non-traditional media . . .
Some harbor concern over whether the perpetuation of well-known (and in some cases ancient) tropes in fantasy harms the genre. Change is more often than not desirable and beneficial, and authors certainly do well by innovating wherever they can. But keeping the worlds of fantasy and mythology completely separate is not only undesirable but entirely unfeasible. Magic, like any creative work, is made within the cognitive framework of its creators – formed, in this case, by living in American culture, which is in turn a Western culture whose consciousness is heavily influenced by the Enlightenment and the Renaissance, and in turn by Celtic, Greco-Roman (via French), and Germanic traditions. Everyone who creates the game has thought processes which fall somewhere within this framework, and is familiar (even unconsciously) with the same cultural knowledge that supposedly weighs the genre down. It can no more be avoided than the phases of the moon can be delayed.
A cognitive framework is by no means a prison. Culture, like genetics, does not have to be destiny. People can invert or subvert archetypes by conscious design, and many writers have done so in effective and entertaining ways. In fact, people have been doing this since the beginning of time: mythology, even as retold by Disney and D’Aulaire in abridged PG-13 vignettes, is far from pure. Like a vast, omnidirectional game of Chinese Whispers, the imagery, plot, and meaning of myths changed with every retelling for countless centuries before Dungeons and Dragons was invented. On top of this, many versions of every story exist, and some blatantly incorporate elements of myths (which I suppose some would have us label "contamination") from other cultures. Jesus was murdered and rose from the dead – just like Osiris. Vali the Avenger was the instantly-maturing, dragon-slaying, bow-wielding god of eternal light – just like Apollo.
Myths are living, breathing ideas, and by demanding that modern fantasy refrain from examining them, you consign them to decay and eventually oblivion – and the culture would be so much poorer without them.
. . . but covert mythological references can be just as much fun.
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