Sacred Places and the Lonely Mountain

Thank you Maya and Sean for being awesome partners in our presentation of "The Mountain of the Lotus and the Fan." The poem itself seems to be a traditional Japanese hymn based on the divinity of Fuji Yama, the never-dying mountain. Mount Fuji is a fount of traditional identity of life and death, which makes it a sacred place, as Maya explained. And Sean concluded that because of the influence the myth has on identity, this creates and shapes Japanese cultural psychology. Great effort, guys. I'm proud of our work!

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For the trickster exercise: I am Scribbles d'Hobbit, the god of craft and contentment. I am willing to sacrifice wealth and power for simplicity and peace. Easily bribed by food and wine.

Myth leaks into the Modern

Queen Elsa and Princess Anna in Frozen

I was preparing an entirely separate post regarding this, but I stumbled upon an idea that tickled my fancy more. In English 495, we were told to find a myth that had hidden itself in modern storytelling, with an emphasis on film and television. My Tumblr dashboard actually brought this modern parallel to my attention: the two sisters in Disney's newest animated film, Frozen, were said to reflect this generation's modern myth, the brothers Thor and Loki in Disney/Marvel's two films based on the comic book franchise. 

Thor and Loki are already myth retold, as myth regenerates for each new audience over time. The original Loki and Thor were part of the Norse pantheon, though they were not siblings like in the Marvel universe. Loki and Thor were often at odds with one another, Loki being the Western epitome of the Trickster figure in mythology.

Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth as Loki and Thor

In the Marvel age (now), Loki is Thor's adopted brother who, at the discovery of the adoption, loses a sense of identity while at the same time discovers his new scope of powers. He is the son of Frost Giants, with blue skin and ability to manipulate ice among other magical abilities. 

This ice ability and identity crisis are similar to the story that Disney Animation Studios decided to tell when they chose to adapt Hans Christian Andersen's beloved fairytale of "The Snow Queen." Like Marvel's Thor, Princess Anna tries multiple times to reconcile a tense relationship with ice-sister Queen Elsa.

In metaphor, it could be said that the ice-sibling represents the isolation of a suppressed identity. 

In Tumblr speak, this parallel calls for a fun costume change!

Art by Brianna Garcia