Reply #210: I will attempt to answer your question seriously: Mythology & Storytelling

[IdaBriggs]

are documented traditions that are thousands of years old. As we explore the (real) world, our adventures/fantasies have to expand into alternate universes / outer space / alternate-realities-where-magic really works / etc. to create a place where protagonists (heroes) can wrestle with real life / moral quandaries / coping with bad things without obvious 'modern' fixes. Historical fiction can also be a valid setting for these adventures, as in, 'someone died of something that a modern antibiotic would have rendered easily curable', but as our knowledge of the real world grows, creating a literary world with its own set of rules is easier when we want to suspend disbelief.

For example, 100 years ago, the 'average' person did not have a clear picture of 'deepest, darkest Africa,' so Edgar Rice Burroughs was able to utilize the myth of it as a backdrop for an entertaining series about an orphan child (Tarzan/John Clayton/Lord Greystoke) who then had to wrestle with 'what makes a person civilized / how deep does a veneer of barbarian coat the true inner character / what makes a person noble and decent / how does the human heart and brain differ from the animal / what makes a person DECENT / how does environment impact on such concepts as self-sacrifice, courage, and empathy / etc.'

All wrapped up in an adventure tale that has captured the hearts of people for decades, and been retold in visual mediums multiple times, as well as print.

Like any good story, there is the surface of the tale, and then, when you look closer, there is the undercurrent. How does the character change / grow? What choices were made? Who am I, in relation to my environment? How do I feel about the choices the character makes? What choices would *I* make, given the same situation?

As I said, Africa was the great unknown; nowadays, we can easily google the place, and some of the 'mystery' is gone, because we 'know' that apes behave one way, and elephants another, and since Burroughs didn't have the benefit of google, or one hundred years of anthropology (plus he was a screaming racist, which was normal for his society), his 'aliens' were animals which we can now view in the local zoo. He could just as easily have placed his young orphan on another planet (yes, I know about John Carter of Mars - we are talking about Burrough's examination of nature vs nurture with his Tarzan series, thank you!), and that was Africa At The Time -- almost like an alien planet to the average person.

Now, back to your questions about Star Trek / X-Men: one of the MANY reasons they are enduring is because they have built their own layered mythology, based on characters who experience tragedy and triumph. Some of the tales are lightly concealed morality plays (how do we treat those who are different? what makes us 'better' than other people? what is civilization? what is courage? what is self-sacrifice? etc.), with human beings who might look different (green, adamantine claws, working in outer space, gifted with something that sets them apart from normal, etc.) but are REALLY US.

Think about it: you are going about your business, and all of a sudden, WHAM! You are different. You can do something that no one else can do. (See any adolescent walking the road between childhood to adult!) You can walk through a wall, control the weather, survive a fall from a ridiculous height -- fill in the blank, because once that initial moment of freak out passes, now you have to accept the fact you ARE NOT A GOD, and get about the business of living. How do you do that? And honestly, if someone can pick themselves up after having their family killed in front of them (which happens in 'real life'), then maybe a person unexpectedly in a wheelchair, or with a broken home, or whatever the problem is, can find the courage to pick themselves up, too, and if they can then commit themselves to trying to make the world a better place, then double yeah, because its hard to think outside of yourself when you are in pain, which is a pretty standard human condition.

I also think one of the reasons particularly bright people love these stories is because they deal with being different. If one accepts the fact that an IQ of 100 is 'normal' (50th percentile), that means half the population is above that number, and the higher the intelligence factor, the lonelier a person can be. As one wise person once said, 'its not how smart you are that counts, its what you do with it,' and the fantasy heroes with special abilities are just like us (only thinly disguised). Sometimes its easier to relate to the villain, and that is okay, too. We can intellectually explore the ideas, then put them aside while we deal with the real world, and that is fine.

For the Star Trek fan, there is also another bit: just like we know Africa today, or are still exploring the world under our seas (thanks to the inspiration of tales of mermaids and submarines), the idea of space travel as a normal part of the job is inspiring to some of our greatest minds. Yes, there are difficulties in the mechanics of it (E=mc2), but once one moves past the obvious problems, one begins to work on the solutions, until a probe exploring Mars (which looks nothing like Burroughs envisioned, by the way) seems plausible, and then normal. A space shuttle is nothing, and a space station is acceptable. Our writers and readers and storytellers have already been discussing some of the problems small crews will have as they deal with the new normals (small spaces, unexpected problems, and people with real personalities who don't always get along), and those of us in the know already understand that once we get past the mechanics of space travel, we will still be people -- and we will be the ones who define who a person is.

People can be white, or black, or green with pink polka dots. They can be hetero, homo, or multi sexual beings. They may believe in one god, or a thousand. Their ideas of family and how to treat each other may be the same, or different.

Either way, we will be richer for the knowing.

In the meantime, our imaginations will continue to ask the same questions we have been asking and answering for millenia.

Who are we? How did we get here? Why are we here? What makes us unique/special/different? What is courage? What is self-sacrifice? How should we behave?

Who are we, anyway?

End Note: For more information, I highly recommend reading any work by Joseph Campbell, including "Hero with a Thousand Faces," and my personal favorite, "The Power of Myth." Plus, of course, seeing the latest Star Trek and X-Men: Wolverine movies! LOL!