Myths in Society

As I was thinking through past discussions during our mass media class, I was drawn to re-visit the topic of several of the Myths that our media follows. These myths include that I would like to address are the Coming of the Messiah, and the Possibility of Conspiracy. In the Myth of the Coming of the Messiah, there is always one person who can save an entire group or society. In the Possibility of Conspiracy, there is one person who knows a secret that a group of people are keeping, and the secret can cause harm to others. Thus the "hero" who finds out the secret can save the others from the bad things that could happen.

Just a few days ago I was watching the Movie called Walking Tall staring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Chris Vaughn. The movie is about a guy who comes back home after getting hurt in the military, only to find that the mill his father (and he himself during summers) had worked at for many years was shut down. The new and biggest thing in town is a casino that is owned by the local bully Jay Hamilton. Throughout the course of the storyline, The Rock comes to find out about a secret drug ring that Hamilton is running out of his casino. *Here is where the secret of the group is known by the one who can save others from harm.*

With corruption all throughout the city, even in the local sheriff's department, The Rock has to take matters into his own hands. *Thus taking on the role of the Messiah saving his town from the widespread corruption and the drug ring.* Helping him along in this area was his election as the town's brand new Sheriff. Surviving a near death experience with Hamilton's groupies, and a shootout in the sheriff's office, The Rock is able to find where Hamilton was running the drugs out of; ironically it was in the mill that had been shut down because of the casino. In the end, all peace is restored to the small backwoods town, the mill is re-opened, and The Rock remains the good Sheriff.

I think it is amazing how these myths can be taken and twisted and morphed and re-told in so many different shapes and forms. This movie was able to take two of the myths and integrate them together to create a character that fills the roles of those myths to the T. These myths can serve as "transparent" mirrors. We can see these myths and look through them to see them acted out in characters in movies or dramas, but at the same time, the overall ideals and actions are reflected back onto our own lives. What I mean by this is these myths are lived out in each one of our lives in many facets and many ways. Even though the myth is turned and twisted and applied in so many different ways in movies, the underlying theme of the myth is always there.

I think that is why we enjoy to see these myths relived and re-shown in so many diverse styles. Everyone loves a good story, and everyone really loves to see a good story re-told in many new and interesting designs. These two myths and several others that were discussed in class are eternal and will always be told and re-told as long as film makers, and script writers have the unction to make new and complex plots. Myths are a great tool of our society, and I believe they will continue to be lived out and applied to our lives to our lives for a long time to come.

~DeLiRi0uS~