The Marvelous Thor of Norse Mythology
I chose to review the film Thor (2011) as I am relatively familiar with the comic book incarnation of the Norse mythological characters and having of course studied and learned about them more in depth I felt this was the overall better choice of film and topic to engage. My personal views of mythology have greatly changed during my time studying this course and I now view it as more of a precursor to the foundation of most modern religious movements. While I appreciate that mythology and theology are both considered different, the similarities are nonetheless striking between the two. “The film portrayal of both Odin and Thor owes more to Judeo-Christian mythology than it does to Norse mythology. The first
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Thor's appearance in the film was a stark contrast to the Norse god of myth as he appeared, in the guise of Chris Hemsworth, more as a European model who spoke with a flair for Shakespearean theatricality. The "actual" god of Thunder was anything but. Hemsworth had blonde hair, whereas the mythological figure of Thor had red hair and a beard. He (mythological Thor) also seemed to be less of a well-mannered individual than Hemsworth's portrayal would belie. Anthony Hopkin's Odin is also very dissimilar to the mythological figure as he is a god whose existence is predicated upon war and strife, so why then would he have scolded his son for starting a war with the Frost Giants? Loki, portrayed by Tom Hiddleston, is a relatively sadistic and twisted villain who comes across more as an angry and petulant child who has waited, biding their time to hatch a nefarious plan, rather than a mischievous entity. Within the context of our studies, I found him to be more of a trickster than a villain outright, leaving that aspect of him only for the end and climactic buildup with the onset of Ragnarok due to the death of Balder caused by his (Loki) own hands. Balder was also obviously absent from the film and was never mentioned or even hinted at. Of course, there was an artistic liberty taken in the decision making process to change the ethnicity of Heimdall with the casting of Idris Elba. While I didn't fully understand why, with maybe the exception about it being a strictly business perspective in Hollywood, he must have "read" well for the casting of the character. Nonetheless, I didn't feel it detracted much from the character and I have always personally been a fan of Mr. Elba as he is a truly talented
The representations of Thor has definitely changed over the past years because of the way people have thought and imagined about the “Thor scenes” in the Greek mythology to create a movie or cartoon for readers. Some representations have been kept and some have been varied, such as the outfit, powers and friends. During the years of people have created multiple movies of the same concept and have added more characters or changed some bits. In the extract of Snorra Edda it reveals that Thor wants to prove that he is powerful and worthy, he comes with the giant Hymer to find his own bait but ends up being arrogant and aggressive because the Midgard Serpant had made him angry. He cannot control his anger and slashes out. Meanwhile as, in the film
Since Hugo's father is focusing on Odin, he will help Odin when they both get into troubles.
Another Greek myth that can be compared to the movie Iron Man is the myth of Hercules, these two stories can be compared using a motifs of the Iron Man armour, and the physical appearance of Hercules. The most common motif that appears in the movie Iron Man is the armoured suit. It is the most common thing you see in almost every scene. Although the suit may change in appearance throughout the movie it is almost always visible and present in the movie itself, it is also very vibrant, and outstanding with a gold, and bronze paint job all this together makes the Iron Man armour the best example of a motif from the movie Iron Man. In the Greek myth Hercules who is the son of Zeus, a motif that is similar, and present in this story is the physical appearance of Hercules himself. Hercules in his story is portrayed as being physically massive tall muscular extremely fit person who has a physique similar to a god.
One of the greatest Greek mythological stories portrayed in a movie would be Hercules. Hercules is a well-known hero; he displays a supernatural individual who has to overcome the villain and his bad monsters. In “Creating the Myth” by Linda Seger, she argues that the hero myth as many obstacles (the death experience, the road back, the reborn) that he or she need to overcome to be transformed into a hero. However, these obstacles play a very important role in the hero’s stage of initiation. The movie “Hercules” by Walt Disney and the creator Alan Menken, we encounter the characters of the movie which are Hercules of course, Philoctetes the trainer, Pegasus the horse, loyal companion, Megera the love of Hercules and Hades the villain. All these characters connect strongly with Hercules because they guide him to become a hero. I argue that the movie “Hercules” follows the theory “the Hero Myth “by Seger, because he was a caring person who loved to help others; he evolved to be a strong person because he listened to his mentors that helped him gained strength, and was courageous individual because of all the obstacles he had to overcome.
During the separation, Thor is about to be pronounced king and their rivals, the Frost Giants showed up. Thor lives on a planet called Asgard, the Asgardians stole a capsule, the tesseract containing the Frost Giants powers. Thor
Crucial to the epic of Sigurd is the presence of Odin. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that this tale is weaved with threads from each of Odin’s most divine characteristics: war, wisdom, death, and ecstasy. Only Odin is there to see this epic through from beginning to end. Indeed, it was Odin who set the events in motion. It could reasonably be asserted that despite the favor shown towards Sigurd, Odin knew of Sigurd’s eventual downfall and the downfall of his family. When Odin set the world in motion, he knew what events would transpire and that he would be there to see them through.
Even though everyone knew that Loki had done it, because they had lost the one that they loved, they were too sad to do anything about it. Frigg thought that she had made sure of Balder’s safety, even though she had overlooked this one small plant.
Lindow, John. "Loki (Norse mythology).” World Mythology: Handbook of Norse Mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Credo Reference. Web. 26 November 2013.
The Vikings have garnered attention over the years not only for their raiding and trading, but also for the Paganist gods and religion. Similar to many other ancient civilizations, the Vikings leave behind many myths containing tales of their gods and their beliefs. Marvel’s 2011 film Thor serves as an introduction to Norse gods and mythology, but it does fall flat in term of accuracy and detail in certain areas. Despite various large and small-scale changes to its overall plot and characters, Thor has been well-adapted to portray Norse myths as best as possible within an existing Marvel franchise.
The legend of Hercules has been told and retold thousands of times; it is by far one of the best known Greek myths of all time. In fact, it was so well known that Disney made it into a movie. Like any story that’s adapted into a movie there are some differences and similarities between the myth and the movie. This paper will go over the main differences and similarities between the two versions of the same myth.
...lly, Ragnarok, or the end of the world, is the biggest difference between Norse mythology and most all mythologies including Greek. Ragnarok is the essential “end of the world” although no actual destruction of the world comes to pass during it. Ragnarok is a very detailed battle where all the warriors from Valhalla fight with Odin and the rest of the Aesir against the Jotnar and Loki (the god of trickery). This cannot be compared to anything in Greek mythology Because Greek Mythology doesn’t have an equeivalent to Ragnarok or anything close.
In most cases, the Norse Viking Age is recorded to have officially began in 793 AD with the first recorded raid through to 1066 AD, ending with the Battle of Hastings. However, these dates vary upon scholars. The Battle of Hastings wasn't exactly the end of the Viking Age, because the Norse were spread out across Europe and Viking raids continued to take place in other locations. With that said, dating the conclusion of the Viking Age is fairly generic because Viking raids were sporadic in many locations and when one area was under control, another area was being raided. Additionally, because Viking raiders weren't unified efforts and most Norsemen tended to 'vikingr' (raid) at their own whim. This places the conclusion of the Viking Age at approximately the beginning of the 12th Century-ish. This is also about the time when Norse and other Kingdoms were becoming increasingly solidified and more able to repel Viking incursions. This was also around the time when the Christianization of Northern Europe and Norse dominated lands began to take a firmer hold. So dating the exact end of the Viking Age is vague at best.
Zeus hurls his thunderbolt and the world trembles. Odin invites fallen warriors in the halls of Valhalla for a drink. Jesus Christ spreads the words of his father and gathers disciples. Buddha sits and meditates the meaning of the universe. Across the world there have always been mythological stories. From the first civilization to modern times, mythologies help explain the vents of the world and attempt to provide answers for unanswerable questions. Though every mythology appears different, if one looks close enough, commonalities appear. Joseph Campbell spent his life studying mythologies and religions along with compiling the commonalities amongst them. This study on the works of Joseph Campbell focuses on the following areas:
http://www.pentheon.com/articles/o/odin.html 1 page, accessed April 7, 2004. Created on March 3 1997, Modified Feb. 12, 2004. Encyclopedia Mythica 1995-2004
Thor is the Norse God of Thunder. He is also a Deity of lightning, storms, Oak trees, farmers, fertility, strength, destruction, healing and death. Thor is also a protector of mankind and is very loyal to his father Odin and the Aesir Gods. In the past, he came to their defence any time it was needed, no matter how far away he was or what else he was doing. His family always comes first.