Influence and Adaptation(Mythology & Media Research Paper

Initial Research Post
Post Due: Thursday, 11:59pm ET
Length: At least 500 words
Choose a narrative media piece in which you can clearly identify a myth's or a family of myth's influence on the content.
Part A) Choosing A Media Piece
You can choose a movie, game, novel, comic, etc.
Be sure to check and review the discussion board prior to researching and posting to avoid choosing a media example that has already been selected. Do not duplicate a topic others have already posted.
Additionally, you will want to ensure your media piece is not on the Banned List under the "Overview" section. In this section, please include the following:
Name of the media piece and release date.
An official promotional image (e.g. poster, box art, dust jacket cover, etc.)
Use APA formatted citations: make sure to cite your image and all other resources
Part B) Analysis and Reflection
What media piece have you chosen? Give a brief summary of the plot for your media piece (no more than 5 sentences). What family of myths (Egyptian, Norse, Japanese, etc.) does the piece draw from? Is the piece an adaptation of a specific myth (e.g. Disney’s Hercules as an adaptation of the 12 Labors of Hercules) or does it draw elements from different stories within a family of myths (e.g. The Mummy using various elements from Egyptian myth)?
How does the media piece change the details from the original myth(s)? If your piece is based on a specific story, how have the details of the story been changed? Are the characters depicted differently than they are in the original myth? Are there new characters added to the piece that weren’t in the original myth? Does the media piece change the setting or time period from the original myth?
Given the details you noted in the previous question that have been changed in the media piece, does the media piece alter the message or themes of the original myth in a significant way? Explain. You may want to think here about using some of the theories we’ve covered this month (functions of myth, character archetypes, etc.) to compare the original myth and the media piece.
Now that you are familiar with the mythology that influenced the media piece, how has your understanding changed of the media piece? Do you catch references you wouldn’t have otherwise? Do you better understand certain characters? Explain.
How did the use of mythology enrich the media piece? Does it facilitate world building or character development? Does it give name recognition to the characters and stories? Explain.
Please include the questions in your submission.
Response Post
Reply Due: Sunday, 11:59pm ET
Length: At least 10 college-level sentences
This is your chance to share your thoughts on your classmate's work. Start by looking through everyone's first post and choose a post that resonates with you.
When making a response, avoid critiquing your classmate's submission. The goal here is to add to the discussion. When you do post, make sure you are expanding the conversation. Your responses to others need to contribute additional insights and can even raise further questions. Be as specific and expansive as possible.
Consider researching the example they've used or the concepts more in-depth. You may, sometimes, find it necessary to reference outside information to get your point across, as well.
INSTRUCTORS EXAMPLE
Media Piece: The Mummy
Release Date: May 7, 1999
Image Citation: The Mummy. (1999). Retrieved from https://en(dot)wikipedia(dot)org/wiki/The_Mummy_(1999_film)#/media/File:The_mummy.jpg
Analysis and Reflection:
1. What media piece have you chosen? Give a brief summary of the plot for your media piece (no more than 5 sentences). What family of myths (Egyptian, Norse, Japanese, etc.) does the piece draw from? Is the piece an adaptation of a specific myth (e.g. Disney’s Hercules as an adaptation of the 12 Labors of Hercules) or does it draw elements from different stories within a family of myths (e.g. Marvel’s Thor using various elements from Norse myth)?
The Mummy is greatly influenced by the Egyptian myths and gods of their afterlife, including the god Anubis, the goddess Bastet, and the myth of Osiris, Isis, and Horus regarding resurrection. Set sometime in the 1920s, an American, a librarian, and her brother journey to the fictional ancient city of Hamunaptra, where they accidentally resurrect a cursed mummy, Imhotep. In his destructive wake, the mummy is determined to resurrect his ancient love, Anck Su Namun. Loosely following the steps Isis took to resurrect Osiris, the movie pulls most of its plot from the myths, beliefs, and history of the ancient Egyptian region.
2. How does the media piece change the details from the original myth(s)? If your piece is based on a specific story, how have the details of the story been changed? Are the characters depicted differently than they are in the original myth? Are there new characters added to the piece that weren’t in the original myth? Does the media piece change the setting or time period from the original myth?
The adaptation first changed the ancient beings who performed the resurrection to the forbidden lovers, Imhotep and Anck Su Namun. While he was successful twice in resurrecting her, the major changes of the myth are the lack of journey to the world of the dead and lack of preparation for his resurrection in the 1920s. In Osiris, Isis, and Horus’ tale, after Isis spent years looking for Osiris’ body parts, Horus took Isis and Nephthys to the Other World to find Osiris and restore him to his body. This is somehow brushed over in the movie with the otherworldly pool that shows the spirits rising in and out, but neglects to explain how a librarian can accidentally resurrect a mummy without all of his vitals or Ka available.
As far as their adaptation of the gods according to the myth, the god Anubis is intended to guide the dead to their heart weighing ceremony, which, clearly did not happen; however, he is still the guardian of the Book of the Dead. While the book of the dead is misrepresented in the film, the book was found at the feet of Anubis’ statue. Secondly, the myth of why Imhotep was afraid of cats deviated but was close to accurate mythological understanding. The Goddess Bastet is depicted as a cat. Her duties, among others, were to protect against evil spirits and disease, which Imhotep represented both. Finally, the god Set, Osiris’ brother is symbolized in myth as the deserts and catastrophes around Egypt. Imhotep’s powers and destructions he brings along are similar to those caused by “evil”—particularly, that of sand storms.
3. Given the details you noted in the previous question that have been changed in the media piece, does the media piece alter the message or themes of the original myth in a significant way? Explain. You may want to think here about using some of the theories we’ve covered this month (functions of myth, character archetypes, etc.) to compare the original myth and the media piece.
One could argue that it subverted the mythology, which I would mostly agree. The myth explains that evil is ever-present, but not rewarded. The idea that both the ancient Egyptians could be brought back at all raises doubtful questions regarding the belief of afterlife ceremonies. Osiris became the judge of the dead in the Hall of Judgements, one of fourteen in the weighing of the heart ceremony. This ceremony determines if the individual lived an earthly life worthy of eternal life. Clearly, as Imhotep was “cursed in this life and the next”, and Anck Su Namun was unfaithful to a pharaoh, their hearts would have been eaten by the Ammet; thus, removing any possibility of Osiris granting immortality or passage to the Field of Reeds. That being said, the movie did mention that the sacred rites were scratched off of his sarcophagus, then explained that meant he would have been lost and Anubis, the jackal-headed god, could not take him to the heart weighing ceremony.
The only support of this movie is, of course, the fierce loyalty to Imhotep’s lover, Anck Su Namun seems to be paralleled to that of Osiris and Isis. Osiris is murdered by Set, while Anck Su Namun was murdered by the Pharaoh Seti’s guards. Although his ritual for bringing her and himself back involved a live sacrifice (instead of retrieving Anck Su Namun’s body pieces like Isis did for Osiris), the process of gaining the ability to see, speak, and walk was similar to Horus giving his father his eternal eye to eat; thus, giving Osiris strength to climb the ladder to the world of the gods. Being that this film is influenced by the ancient Egyptian myths, I would say it supported some myths about the Egyptian gods and the afterlife, but it deviates too far to be an adaptation of the Osiris, Isis, and Horus myth specifically.
4. Now that you are familiar with the mythology that influenced the media piece, how has your understanding changed of the media piece? Do you catch references you wouldn’t have otherwise? Do you better understand certain characters? Explain.
My understanding of some aspects has heightened. The references of Anubis guarding the book of the dead, the reference of the book of the dead, itself, and the discussion of how Imhotep was cursed to be “undead” definitely explained a lot that I originally believed to be creative freedom. I believed that Anubis was menacing and evil, but now I know that he is, in fact, a revered god among the Egyptians, and the key to the afterlife. The book of the dead sounds disturbing and dark. On the contrary, the afterlife was something the Egyptians looked forward to; therefore, this book was sacred and highly important to their hopes for eternal life. Cursing a person to never be guided by Anubis to the heart-weighing ceremony (though, Imhotep’s chances of that going over well for him were slim) seems much crueler. Also, I gained much more appreciation for the reasons behind the traps placed in tombs regarding the desecrations of their sacred places by grave robbers. I do see now that it is—like I originally thought—loosely based on actual myth, however, there is a founding in Egyptian myth regarding resurrection.
5. How did the use of mythology enrich the media piece? Does it facilitate world building or character development? Does it give name recognition to the characters and stories? Explain.
The film’s inclusion of the Egyptian myths gave the antagonist depth. The origins of Imhotep’s eternal curse as well as the promise of return and ruin that coincides with ancient Egyptian beliefs give the story more weight and intrigue. Although Imhotep was the bad guy, setting his origins in ancient Egypt and how he comes back still intent on resurrecting his love means that he’s not just evil. Through his perspective, he was cursed for thousands of years for acting through love. While that crime was coveting his Pharaoh’s mistress and murder, the people of that Pharaoh stripped him of the chance to be judged by the gods. Not only does the myth enrich his background, but it also gives the audience insight into the severity of his punishment, which explains his power and motive when he is resurrected.
Finally, it gives a parallel to the good vs. evil and right and wrong of the Osiris vs Set mythological conflict and the ultimate Egyptian belief that if you are good in this life, you will be rewarded in the afterlife. Here, we have 3 couples, Osiris and Isis, Imhotep and Anck Su Namun, and Rick and Evelyn. All three couples have love and desire to keep each other alive since they’ve all found themselves in life and death situations. Imhotep and Anck Su Namun are doomed because they defy the gods, ignore the natural rule of the world, and are very selfish in regards to their end goal of simply being together (as immortal plague bringers, of course). Rick and Evelyn are the good in this equation much like Osiris and Isis were the good against Set. They ultimately ignored their feelings for each other until the world was safe.
References:
Jarre, K. (Producer), & Sommers, S. (Director). (1999). The Mummy [Motion Picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.
Mark, J (2013). Ancient Egyptian mythology. Retrieved from https://www(dot)ancient(dot)eu/Egyptian_Mythology/
Mark, J. (2012). Cats in the ancient world. Retrieved from https://www(dot)ancient(dot)eu/article/466/cats-in-the-ancient-world/
Rosenberg, D. (2014). Osiris, Isis, and Horus. In World mythology: Anthology of great myths and epics (pp. 34-43). Retrieved from vbk://9781308246291
The Mummy. (1999) Retrieved from https://www(dot)imdb(dot)com/title/tt0120616/