Messiahs in Pop Culture
Dec. 6th, 2005 05:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieCompiling my Star Wars post made me think about the recent rusurgence of “Messiahs” in pop culture and how they are an interesting and dark and twisted take on the story: they all have motifs of being chosen or profesied, they have power or skills that is outside their control (and that they themselves did not ask for), there is temptation and eventual saving of the world and death (literal or figurative) but generally they are a much darker breed than the traditional Jesus figure.
Who am I talking about? Anakin, Neo, Frodo and Harry Potter. Welcome to the Jesus quartet.
To me, Anakin is the most fascinating and the darkest of all the Messiah figures. Not to mention the most tragic. He is someone who is profesied and fated to save the world from the evil of the Sith and he is a product of a Virgin birth and someone from humble surroundings. Only? There is a catch. He seems to be profesied as a Messiah of the evil side as well (if Palpatine’s story about Plagueis does mean what it seems to imply, i.e. that Anakin was created by the Sith directly).
Just like a typical Messiah figure, he has skills/talents that make him stand apart from the norm, even when the norm is as extraordinary as the Jedi, and it’s something that is outside his control entirely (his midichlorian count).
But what really makes Anakin a very, very dark variation of the Messiah figure is his fall. He has his own private tempter, Palpatine. And unlike Jesus tempted by Satan in the New Testament, Anakin listens to his out private devil and gives in. Anakin is Lucifer fallen, only much worse, because Lucifer was one of many angels, while Anakin is the symbolic savior of the world.
Of course, his fall is sped by the fact that of the four characters I mention, he has the least of support network. He has Obi-Wan who loves him but does not understand him and is utterly committed to the Jedi ideals which are inimical to so much of what Anakin feels. He has the Jedi who are rigidly distant. And he has Padme whom he loves madly but who I don’t think understands the true fear and desperation at the core of him and who is the source of most of his anxieties anyway. Neo has Trinity who is not a source of anxiety but also the support of his Zion friends and co-workers, Frodo has the Fellowship and especially Sam, and Harry is surrounded by love and caring. Anakin has none of this.
And the brilliant thing is that what makes him fall are his good qualities: his strength of love for Padme who he will do anything to save (unlike the Jedi, I don’t hold with emotion=bad philosophy), his loyalty and lack of guile, as he won’t believe bad of Palpatine until it’s too late. Even his belief in immutability of goodness, because the corollary is that once he goes back he is damned forever. The Messiah in this story ends up the helpless, self-loathing slave of the devil. Yes, Anakin eventually saves the world as prophesied and dies, but Star Wars is a world where the Devil holds all the cards and has a ball with it, for a long, long, long time.
Then we have Neo. Once again, we have someone who is prophesied, who is supposed to lead the humans out of slavery/ignorance, who gives up everything for the world and dies.
There is, once again, the fact that Neo has the skills not through training (though of course he gets trained up) but through being who he is. This is Messiah in a leather coat, toting a gun which I find fascinating. But in many ways, even though everyone dies, this is a kinder, gentler story than Anakin’s. Neo’s opposite is not a Sith master who is skilled in manipulation and can enslave him forever (or almost forever). Agent Smith is out to annihilate and what not, but he never manages to “convert” (nor does he want to) Neo to his way of thinking. I think the crucial difference is that Neo does not want to be special, unlike Anakin who yearns to stand out (probably because he thinks it will bring him love. Of course, Neo is also older).
And the interesting thing is, Neo’s biggest downfall, the same as Anakin’s or Harry (but not Frodo’s) is his personal love. It’s not as starkly portrayed or punished as Anakin’s (he does not literally give away his soul and grovel to the Evil Incarnate, killing innocents, to save the woman he loves). When, in the second movie, the choice is saving Trinity or the world, he choses to save Trinity (though the Matrix world is a lot more ambiguous about this being a bad thing. You get the sense the personal love makes all the difference in this iteration of the Matrix, as the previous Neos all chose impersonal good so all it did is maintain the status quo). And it’s not until Trinity is dead and Neo himself is blind (thus he doesn’t have to see the worldly world but just the spirit one) that he can go on and fulfill his mission and die and save the world. (I might be one of 5 people who loved the second and the third Matrix movies, btw. They were definitely flawed but they provided me and Mister hours of conversation).
Then there is Frodo. He has no special skills or prophesies, but the purity of heart. And though he does not physically die, the suffering makes it impossible for him to stay in this world. In some ways, he, like Anakin, is twisted by his burden (of the Ring). Even if Sauron has no interest in him, the Ring does a good job of twisting him and he can never fully recover (or deal with the fact that when the push came to shove, he failed. Even if no one else could have succeeded or come as far). And here, it’s compassion that saves the world. Frodo’s compassion to Gollum. The same way that Luke’s compassion (and love) towards Anakin saves the world in Star Wars, or that hopefully Harry’s compassion to Peter will save the world in HP.
Then we have Harry Potter. Who has the lovely Messianic handle of “The Boy Who Lived.” He is also someone who is a subject of a prophesy, and someone famous for something that is innate (repelling AK). I think this is the kindest take on the Messiah story of the four. I have no idea if Harry will die at the end (though I doubt it), but his tempter (Voldemort) is never a serious threat. He can kill him, but he cannot (nor does he try) to taint his soul. Harry succums to personal love over the greater good more than once (most significantly and catastrophically in trying to save Sirius in OOTP) and he is capable of losing sight of goodness in anger (trying an unforgivable on Bella after Sirius’ death), but he is ultimately unable to use an unforgivable, Voldemort can offer him nothing he wants (even if V did think to do so), and while his impetuousity is a fault, his loyalty and love have never been so.
Who am I talking about? Anakin, Neo, Frodo and Harry Potter. Welcome to the Jesus quartet.
To me, Anakin is the most fascinating and the darkest of all the Messiah figures. Not to mention the most tragic. He is someone who is profesied and fated to save the world from the evil of the Sith and he is a product of a Virgin birth and someone from humble surroundings. Only? There is a catch. He seems to be profesied as a Messiah of the evil side as well (if Palpatine’s story about Plagueis does mean what it seems to imply, i.e. that Anakin was created by the Sith directly).
Just like a typical Messiah figure, he has skills/talents that make him stand apart from the norm, even when the norm is as extraordinary as the Jedi, and it’s something that is outside his control entirely (his midichlorian count).
But what really makes Anakin a very, very dark variation of the Messiah figure is his fall. He has his own private tempter, Palpatine. And unlike Jesus tempted by Satan in the New Testament, Anakin listens to his out private devil and gives in. Anakin is Lucifer fallen, only much worse, because Lucifer was one of many angels, while Anakin is the symbolic savior of the world.
Of course, his fall is sped by the fact that of the four characters I mention, he has the least of support network. He has Obi-Wan who loves him but does not understand him and is utterly committed to the Jedi ideals which are inimical to so much of what Anakin feels. He has the Jedi who are rigidly distant. And he has Padme whom he loves madly but who I don’t think understands the true fear and desperation at the core of him and who is the source of most of his anxieties anyway. Neo has Trinity who is not a source of anxiety but also the support of his Zion friends and co-workers, Frodo has the Fellowship and especially Sam, and Harry is surrounded by love and caring. Anakin has none of this.
And the brilliant thing is that what makes him fall are his good qualities: his strength of love for Padme who he will do anything to save (unlike the Jedi, I don’t hold with emotion=bad philosophy), his loyalty and lack of guile, as he won’t believe bad of Palpatine until it’s too late. Even his belief in immutability of goodness, because the corollary is that once he goes back he is damned forever. The Messiah in this story ends up the helpless, self-loathing slave of the devil. Yes, Anakin eventually saves the world as prophesied and dies, but Star Wars is a world where the Devil holds all the cards and has a ball with it, for a long, long, long time.
Then we have Neo. Once again, we have someone who is prophesied, who is supposed to lead the humans out of slavery/ignorance, who gives up everything for the world and dies.
There is, once again, the fact that Neo has the skills not through training (though of course he gets trained up) but through being who he is. This is Messiah in a leather coat, toting a gun which I find fascinating. But in many ways, even though everyone dies, this is a kinder, gentler story than Anakin’s. Neo’s opposite is not a Sith master who is skilled in manipulation and can enslave him forever (or almost forever). Agent Smith is out to annihilate and what not, but he never manages to “convert” (nor does he want to) Neo to his way of thinking. I think the crucial difference is that Neo does not want to be special, unlike Anakin who yearns to stand out (probably because he thinks it will bring him love. Of course, Neo is also older).
And the interesting thing is, Neo’s biggest downfall, the same as Anakin’s or Harry (but not Frodo’s) is his personal love. It’s not as starkly portrayed or punished as Anakin’s (he does not literally give away his soul and grovel to the Evil Incarnate, killing innocents, to save the woman he loves). When, in the second movie, the choice is saving Trinity or the world, he choses to save Trinity (though the Matrix world is a lot more ambiguous about this being a bad thing. You get the sense the personal love makes all the difference in this iteration of the Matrix, as the previous Neos all chose impersonal good so all it did is maintain the status quo). And it’s not until Trinity is dead and Neo himself is blind (thus he doesn’t have to see the worldly world but just the spirit one) that he can go on and fulfill his mission and die and save the world. (I might be one of 5 people who loved the second and the third Matrix movies, btw. They were definitely flawed but they provided me and Mister hours of conversation).
Then there is Frodo. He has no special skills or prophesies, but the purity of heart. And though he does not physically die, the suffering makes it impossible for him to stay in this world. In some ways, he, like Anakin, is twisted by his burden (of the Ring). Even if Sauron has no interest in him, the Ring does a good job of twisting him and he can never fully recover (or deal with the fact that when the push came to shove, he failed. Even if no one else could have succeeded or come as far). And here, it’s compassion that saves the world. Frodo’s compassion to Gollum. The same way that Luke’s compassion (and love) towards Anakin saves the world in Star Wars, or that hopefully Harry’s compassion to Peter will save the world in HP.
Then we have Harry Potter. Who has the lovely Messianic handle of “The Boy Who Lived.” He is also someone who is a subject of a prophesy, and someone famous for something that is innate (repelling AK). I think this is the kindest take on the Messiah story of the four. I have no idea if Harry will die at the end (though I doubt it), but his tempter (Voldemort) is never a serious threat. He can kill him, but he cannot (nor does he try) to taint his soul. Harry succums to personal love over the greater good more than once (most significantly and catastrophically in trying to save Sirius in OOTP) and he is capable of losing sight of goodness in anger (trying an unforgivable on Bella after Sirius’ death), but he is ultimately unable to use an unforgivable, Voldemort can offer him nothing he wants (even if V did think to do so), and while his impetuousity is a fault, his loyalty and love have never been so.
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...and hot to boot!
Date: 2005-12-06 10:32 pm (UTC)I got really confused with the whole Anankin/prophecy thing, because of the whole him turning to the darkside thing, and then Luke being a jedi. Don't mind me, I'm one of the special people that actually needs Veronica Mars voice overs to understand what's happening.
Neo?...I watch Matrix for the lobby scene. You have a really interesting point, though. I never really thought about it that way, which is probably due to Keanu Reeves astounding ability to display absolutely no facial expression for an entire movie. Really, it's amazing.
The whole "Frodo never recovers" thing always kills me in Lord of the Rings. Woah, I never really connected the compassion thing with those three. It's really interested. I hope my brain doesn't explode.
I wouldn't necessarily count Harry Potter as a messiah figure, if only because he really does have a choice. It's prophesized that only he can kill Voldemort, but as someone in the book said, it doesn't necessarily have to come true. He has a choice, and has chosen to go after Voldemort. Whereas when I think Messiah figure, I think no way out of the prophecy. That may just be my interpretation, though.
Sorry if I'm rambling.
Re: ...and hot to boot!
Date: 2005-12-06 10:37 pm (UTC)Well, the Prophesy is true in HP: "neither can live while the other survives." There can be a number of outcomes. Just as it's true that Anakin is the prophesied one, but he could have not fallen to Palpy, or not returned to the good with Luke etc etc. Or Neo could have done exactly the same thing all the other Neos did and thus restart the cycle as opposed to break away. So no destiny is immutable. Otherwise there is no point in free will.
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Date: 2005-12-07 12:04 am (UTC)I might be one of 5 people who loved the second and the third Matrix movies, btw.
*raises hand* I am another. And you are dead on in your Neo-analysis. Even some people inside of the Matrix fandom didn't get it when I used to ramble on about him as a character (a bit of which can be found here - aww, memories). I agree; while the seqs weren't perfect movies by any means (what movie is?), but conceptually they were amazing - there's so much they leave us to think about - and I loved where the characters ended up.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 05:03 pm (UTC)I really like how the Matrix dealt with the duality of "possessive" personal love. Because clearly, Neo had to give up all hope for earthly happiness to save the world at the end. And for Neo, that is Trinity. Once she is dead, once there is no glimpse of HEA at the horizon, he can abnegate all his desires and open himself to the willingness to die.
OTOH, if he never had that "selfish" love in the first place, he wouldn't have saved and renewed the world but instead did the same thing as all the other previous Neos and just maintained the status quo and restarted the Matrix.
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Date: 2005-12-07 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 07:14 pm (UTC)After all, any good fundamentalist will have fits about someone like Neo (besides, isn't Matrix all full of the gnostic heresy stuff anyway), and does have fits about Harry Potter. And if you mention to them Anakin=Evil Jesus, I can only imagine the reaction you'd get.
I think it has to do with resurgence of scifi/fantasy genre which is always more prone to that sort of thing (hard to have a Messiah in a kitchen-sink drama). That is due to CGI being available easier in movies. Also, because times are less stable all over the world, we get fantasy or dystopia resurgence.
There is copycatting of success too. Narnia being made into a movie (thus enabling Aslan) is the result of Rings making so much money
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 07:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 05:37 pm (UTC)Anakin is Lucifer fallen, only much worse, because Lucifer was one of many angels, while Anakin is the symbolic savior of the world. Well. I couldn't have said that better.
And you're right - Anakin is so isolated in a sense. He has support and people who love him, yes, but none of them really understand, none of them see his torment or what he needs to thrive, and that's why Palpatine so brillantly manages to seduce him.
Love destroys and love saves, and that's what makes SW beautiful in a sense. Most things are simply love saves - and it's fascinating to study the other side of it.
Neo I can't comment on, having never seen The Matrix.
Frodo is a great character study because he's NOT part of a prophecy, a foretold saving grace or doom. He's one of the little people, and there's never a stigma that he must do what he does, that it's his duty or fate. He chooses to carry the Ring, chooses the burden, and writes destiny himself. Nobody writes it for him. He suffers endlessly, and in essence his spirit does die, his spirit, most essential to him, is irrepairably damaged and he must go to the Grey Havens to find any sense of peace. I love that both good (Sam) and evil (Gollum) are so essential in Frodo's journey. It would be easy many times over for him to fall into the Ring's trap, but in the end he somehow ends up in the middle. He cannot sacrifice the Ring, and thus sees himself as a failure, but he also spares Gollum, which enables the Quest to succeed.
Harry is an interesting one, because still after six books, with only one left, his internal journey is not yet clearly defined. I don't think Harry will die, but he's suffered plenty that has damaged and strengthened, in various ways, him already, and it defines him. The interesting thing is the contrast between he and Voldemort. Harry and Tom Riddle are essentially not that different. Except that Harry chooses one path while Tom chooses another. Harry's soul, I think, is something very important - the strength and virtue, the elemental goodness and love that he holds in him, even after all that has happened, is the direct foil to Voldemort's complete lack of love. Voldemort never had love, so how could he understand it? And now, we've learned, Voldemort doesn't even have a complete soul. Harry's by no means perfect - he's angry and irrational at times, but in the end his loyalty and love for his close friends, who have become his family, never wavers, and that is what saves him.
Essentially, fellowship (in LOTR, the literal one) and compassion is what saves every single one of them. It's Luke's compassion for his father, it's Frodo's compassion for Gollum and in turn Sam's love for Frodo, and Harry's capacity for giving and receiving compassion as well that turns all of the stories around.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-13 08:52 pm (UTC)Oh yes. Because love can be jealous and possessive and tormenting and a weakness. And the world is still better for it. And I love that SW shows that.
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Date: 2005-12-13 09:05 pm (UTC)