The best thing of the whole film was the emphasis on the importance of having a father. For what it means to the growth of a child and how fatherhood goes beyond biological connection.
The week before my father past he told my brothers and I to pay attention to the movies. "They will tell where we are heading", he too was a french Canadian : ) Looking forward to more for sure.
This is the kind of hing I hoped to hear when subscribing to you after hearing your conversation with Dr. Peterson. I hope that you´ll put out more videos like this :)
Yes Mr Pageau thank you, your insights are intellectually deft and lay bare the symbolic analysis of modern storytelling most people might never consider… In many ways a modern comic arc (when skillfully articulated) is in many ways similar to the ancient spiritual mythological epics from the beginning of the written word. Please keep up the good work. Doctor Strange might be another movie worthy of your time and skill in dissecting. (in many ways the film is an advert for occultism IMHO) cheers cw
I really love these old movie analyses from Jonathan. So much clarity and wisdom. We severely lack this kind of symbolic understanding of reality in the modern world
I do not typically comment on UA-cam, but I wanted to know I found your page initially from your Logan analysis on Twitter, and have since watched the majority of your videos. This is the type of content I have been looking for for a very long time! My favorite UA-camr channel, by far. Hope you keep it up, and I will be sure to continue to share your videos.
Congratulations on 100,000 Jonathan! That Peterson podcast might have helped, but your channel content is what keeps us coming back. This has got to be around my 40th of yours!
I love you When I listen to your videos I feel like I'm opening a door to another world but I'm also afraid because i know there's so much to comprehend and it's overwhelming. I pray God grants me understanding
Heroes are always characters with tragic flaws. Can't really have a real hero (in the classic definition of a hero) without a tragic flaw of some kind. What the problem is today, in modern comic books, is the influx of sjw characters that literally have no flaws at all. They are perfect. This is largely why Rey in the new Star Wars movies has failed as a character so far.
@Electro_blob If Jesus had a victory, it was bringing about the dark ages. It was turning people from warriors into easily enslaved sheep. His "victory" was turning everyone into debt slaves to his Jewish people through usery laws.
@@gamedoutgamer That's not really a flaw. The OP is mistaken in their belief that heroes are always inherently flawed. Static characters exist in storytelling, ones who don't overcome their own flaws, but rather face challenges to their own beliefs and overcome them, changing the world around them in the process. Which, granted, can be used to promote some sort of virtue that character possesses, but not necessarily as the only correct way to live your life.
Great video, really enjoyed it. This is what I took from the movie 1.) a father figure is necessary to a kid, even if that father isn't biological (I saw this as the real issue with the golden people) 2.) the conclusion of the movie is that this generation must choose to take the responsibility the previous did not (post-credit scene with Peter and Groot)... In that way I thought this movie was very conservative.
Great start. I had reason to watch this movie a second time last night. The second time was unexpectedly poignant in terms of watching themes, and I woke up thinking about it and went on UA-cam this morning and was thrilled with your discussion. Keep doing these! Thank you.
I wonder about the insistence in movies like this that the "rag tag group of misfits" forms a real family. That doesn't seem true to life. If we look to criminal gangs, for example, they typically organize themselves around ethnicity. The trope of the multicultural gang of thieves, like you see in the Ocean's Eleven films, doesn't actually happen in real life. It is my experience that even people who have undergone really intense experiences together, tend to drift apart once that experience is past. You see this in the classic rock band break up: on the way to the top, you're a band of brothers, but, once you make it, you start quarreling amongst yourself. Really, the only way to form a workable group identity out of disparate people is to give them a common enemy, and then have that enemy never go away.
I often think about this in context of the politics of the UK. We were so united in the common enemy during the war against the Nazis, as horrible as wars are it meant that the two political leaders of the main parties Attlee and Churchill, had a mutual respect for each other and the common goal of winning the war and protecting people, so it necessitated that they didn't oppose and block each other too much. Nowadays it's all so tribal and partisan and the leaders do not respect each other at all, nothing gets done because the parties oppose each other and are at loggerheads all the time
Also I really like that rock band analogy, because it is often the case that bands make their best music when they overcome creative differences, because out of the tensions they had over musical direction comes some of the best music. If they don't overcome these differences, they either kick out someone who doesn't agree and go on making the same cookie-cutter formulaic albums again and again, or they split up and create their own solo acts or split-off bands, which tend to suck (although there are exceptions of good solo careers but they are few, and tend to come from the original band leader who was the visionary) and be just a worse knock-off, a less imaginative version of the style that made the original band so successful.
Generally the trope revolves around radically different people coming together under convenience, only to learn that they have more similarities than differences. It's always been a trope and there are real life instances, it need not be solely centered around ethnicity.
It suprised me when I look back at every one of my favorite stories that resonated with me, the heros all has this duality or link. This symbolic storytelling has always facinated me, and it frustrates me when people say stories like Gravity Rush make no coherrent sense when they can only see the story through the literal plot progression.
Thank you for this very coherent elaboration on the themes of the movie :) If you plan to further delve into these pop-cultural Topics, an interesting avenue would be a deeper explanation of the archetypal structures that are in the Legend of Zelda series. Especially in the games ocarina of time, and majoras mask. They are rife with religious symbolism, surprisingly somber for a Video game series and for my understanding have a nice take on the archetypal hero myth. Kind regards, and keep up the good work!
on the very surface level there's the father figure (yondu) who was big on discipline, vs the idealized father figure who was more of a wish-fulfillment type, reducing the hero to a neotenous mental state. there's a pretty obvious "beware the candy-house" message. but the movie has enough conflicting metaphors that audiences could only see what they wanted to see as well, so there's that...........
This is something of an aside, but Spawn is another example of what you said about Hellboy. Even characters like Batman contain a trace of that concept (using darkness and fear to fight crime), though far less prominently.
Great analysis. It would be great if you can do an analysis on the TV series "Lucifer" since it is using directly mythological figures. i personally found it mind-blowing when i tried to analyse it a bit, every detail was considered. In all cases, keep up the good work!!!
When I watched it I really thought it was interesting that the key to beating Ego was to take the divine energy source to the center of the ego, and destroy it from within.
Greatly enjoyed your thoughts. After watching the film I was surprised by the lack of discussion about the heavy symbolism and metaphysical thought in the story line. I was also greatly intrigued by Stan Lee placing himself in a private discussion with The Watchers.
Watching this film I couldn't help but think about what Peterson said in his mythological lectures and your conversation about Pepe. One reason why I liked this more than the first movie, which heavily relied on a McGuffin to move the plot along.
Even the Norse hero god Thor was born from a union of the giantess Jord (earth) and Allfather Odin (heaven). As a hero, he protects Asgard(guarded realm of the Aesir gods) and Midgard (guarded realm of man) from the giants, he is born from.
Very interesting. I like that you explain the importance of the hybridity of the characters. I would love to hear more comparison between egos pathology and that "pure," golden race.
4:44 the Star Wars universe is constructed with a center and a margin being modeled as the core worlds of the Galaxy and the outer rim territories which creates a vast psychological canvas on which to write the multitude of canonical stories and even those stories which deviate from Star Wars canon
It always seems to me that superheroes and comic book characters, while related to heroes from traditional cultures, are much less complex symbols than figures from older mythologies. Thor from Norse religion represents ordinary people, the sky, storms, lightning, oak trees, defense against chaos and so on. The comic book character is really just a super strong guy with some personality tics and an unusual weapon.
Live action movies also tend to present their characters and their worlds in a very literal, hyperrealistic style, as opposed to a more "iconic" style in more traditional art. Animated films are somewhat different. Superhero comics themselves tend to present things in a more literal way as well.
Great idea! Would love to watch more. Another interesting thing would be to see if classic films follow archetypal structures more closely than other films that have not lasted so well. Citizen Kane /casa Blanca - why are these still talked about.
Excellent video, pretty much what I'd hoped to see after subscribing. Do you have any insight on how symbolism affects the psyche or sub-conscious, if that even occurs. Cheers!
In a future video can you comment on the directors intentions? Would the director not in agreement or would it be news to them, or are they just reusing ideas with our knowing why?
Talking about Ego and what he represents made me think of Agent Smith in the Matrix. He replaces everyone he touches with versions of himself. Same image.
Mr. Pageau could you please explain how these images manipulate their viewers in the ways that the ultimate unablers Desire, I understand that it is an unconscious effect, what would be the most desirous be?
Hey John cool video. Actually just wondering how you got into religious symbology and or how you learned to interpret it as such. Was it art and iconography first our the literature? I grew Christian Orthodox but soon became agnostic and when I decided to read the Bible I was very captivated by Jesus and the logos. Also into Carl Jung at the time so they did blend somewhat but not as clearly as when I discovered JP and you too. How can one study symbology these days?
I loved this video, please do more like this. If you're less interested in pop culture and more interested in Christianity, maybe you can focus on movies that borrow heavily from Christian mythology? It would be really interesting to see how many popular science fiction or fantasy movies are "secular christian" myths of today.
Hi Jonathan, I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot. I liked that you mentioned off the bat that it is important to look at these things from both sides. I just saw the movie last night and I would love to hear your analysis or opinion on what appeared to me to be a rejection of the logos by Quill. He rejects the power to make the world with his thoughts and speech in order to be like everyone else. It seemed to me that he was denying the logos in order to submit to the collective rather than to become the divine individual. However perhaps in Vol. 3 he will realize this error and redeem himself. I definitely want to watch the movie again as I think there is more for me to learn about the difference in his relationship with Ego and Yondu. I really enjoyed the movie but I was concerned about the rejection of the logos and the divine individuality in favour of the collective.
While I prefer your talks on the Eastern Orthodox, fine art, and other 'high' matters, I think we your audience all enjoy whatever insights you have to share on whatever topic, Jonathan.
I am the same way. Great to hear your analysis. I can't watch a movie without looking for a deeper meaning in it. It is not surprising that when a movie gets popular a lot of times it is because the director is able to weave in symbology especially Christian symbology and try and twist it so that it is acceptable to the modern mind. I call it hijacking the metaphor and the best example is the highest rated IMDB movie Shawshank Redemption which is basically the Gospel story. For GOG2 the idea of how sacrifice can atone for an immoral life is seen in Yondo sacrifice for Quill. The Christian concept that if a seed of wheat falls in the ground and dies it brings forth much fruit is literally what Groot does at the end of the first movie giving his life and being reborn as a seedling which provides the motivation and love for the Guardians to become a "family" seen in the first scene of the movie. I wrote a blog on it at www.thebooklings.com. I also did one for Logan. It would be interesting to hear your take on Logan which is highly charged with Christian symbolism and ideas of sacrifice and redemption.
Literally, at the end. That is the interesting thing about symbolism that sometimes the metaphoric symbology becomes the literal symbol and is self referencing. Most people don't realize that is happening they just know that they like it. It is also interesting when it is broken like X-Men: Apocalypse and the movie becomes a flop.
Jonathan, I am amazed at the way you analyze the symbolism of things. I wish to be able to look at life, stories and my Christian faith in this way too. Is there a reading list you could recommend to help me and others in this journey?
Thank you Jonathan. I find this fascinating, and would love to see more, if you have time. I recently re-listened to the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, having initially read it 25 years ago. This is one of those stories that effects me deeply every time I hear it. It must be full of archetypal themes - the misunderstood individual who is outcast, ventures into chaos, then out of love, returns to the group to share a higher knowledge. Or something like that. At the risk of controversy, the more sceptical amongst us, suggest that symbology and themes in Hollywood movies are a very deliberate form of conditioning for the masses (especially children and Disney movies). You hinted at it with your reference to social justice themes. If you are willing to comment, what are your thoughts? Or is Hollywood just trying to make a profit using archetypal themes they know will appeal.
Well, like JLS, you certainly do have a spiritual gift to share with the rest of us. And I don't know of anyone else willing or even able to point out the meaning of the symbolism we are being bathed in, and from a Christian perspective. I would appreciate any attempt you make, but realize we all have other priorities. If there are some other good resources you can recommend, would be appreciated. When I have looked into symbolism in the past (concerned about the things my kids are watching) it has lead to the occult and conspiracy theories.
I thought one of the morals of the Tower of Babel is that multiculturalism doesn't work. Because they are different peoples smushed together in the hopes they will achieve heaven, but it just ends up amplifying and aggravating their innate differences until everything explodes. Also from the description of the movie, it's message seems to be that whites are arrogant and oppressive for wanting to retain their identity (purity). Of course, it's fine and even ideal for every other people to retain their identity such as the Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, Eskimo, Mexican, African, etc. In other words, typical Hollyweird social conditioning.
Do your interpretations stem from a study of the Kabbalah? Also, what do you make of the theme of "Renewing the Covenant" as a way to breathe life into civilization?
I don’t think even the divine is singular ,God acknowledged that in being able to do anything he lacked limitation and that’s why he made man, because finding the edge of your limits is a noble aim.
Would you say that all symbols are a description of common human principles and the misinterpretation of the symbol or the myth becomes dogmatic thought or the chronic ideological behavior of people ?
The Superhero movies are an abomination: they condition the young to preserve the Establishment. The "enemy at the periphery" is the revolutionary impulses, experienced by the individual living in contemporary society. That is, the young are encouraged to fight these revolutionary impulses, which are chaos for the Establishment. Think of Will Smith. It would be chaos for him, to find himself in a society that rejects the kind of products Hollywood makes. eg. think of an American footballer who find himself in Europe, where nobody plays American football. or think an alcohol smuggler after the prohibition came to an end. Superhero movies are like those drugs that the pharmacists used to sell, and are now banned. I donno, vicodin, ritalin, valium, etc.
The best thing of the whole film was the emphasis on the importance of having a father. For what it means to the growth of a child and how fatherhood goes beyond biological connection.
The week before my father past he told my brothers and I to pay attention to the movies. "They will tell where we are heading", he too was a french Canadian : ) Looking forward to more for sure.
This is the kind of hing I hoped to hear when subscribing to you after hearing your conversation with Dr. Peterson. I hope that you´ll put out more videos like this :)
Yes Mr Pageau thank you, your insights are intellectually deft and lay bare the symbolic analysis of modern storytelling most people might never consider…
In many ways a modern comic arc (when skillfully articulated) is in many ways similar to the ancient spiritual mythological epics from the beginning of the written word.
Please keep up the good work.
Doctor Strange might be another movie worthy of your time and skill in dissecting. (in many ways the film is an advert for occultism IMHO)
cheers
cw
Agreed. Great stuff. The man is so insightful
I really love these old movie analyses from Jonathan. So much clarity and wisdom. We severely lack this kind of symbolic understanding of reality in the modern world
I do not typically comment on UA-cam, but I wanted to know I found your page initially from your Logan analysis on Twitter, and have since watched the majority of your videos. This is the type of content I have been looking for for a very long time! My favorite UA-camr channel, by far.
Hope you keep it up, and I will be sure to continue to share your videos.
Congratulations on 100,000 Jonathan!
That Peterson podcast might have helped, but your channel content is what keeps us coming back.
This has got to be around my 40th of yours!
9:53 "Lets say they want to destroy the normies" *long pause*
Lmao
I love you
When I listen to your videos I feel like I'm opening a door to another world but I'm also afraid because i know there's so much to comprehend and it's overwhelming. I pray God grants me understanding
Heroes are always characters with tragic flaws. Can't really have a real hero (in the classic definition of a hero) without a tragic flaw of some kind. What the problem is today, in modern comic books, is the influx of sjw characters that literally have no flaws at all. They are perfect. This is largely why Rey in the new Star Wars movies has failed as a character so far.
Yes, that is how you recognize propaganda.
@Electro_blob If Jesus had a victory, it was bringing about the dark ages. It was turning people from warriors into easily enslaved sheep. His "victory" was turning everyone into debt slaves to his Jewish people through usery laws.
@@gamedoutgamer That's not really a flaw. The OP is mistaken in their belief that heroes are always inherently flawed. Static characters exist in storytelling, ones who don't overcome their own flaws, but rather face challenges to their own beliefs and overcome them, changing the world around them in the process. Which, granted, can be used to promote some sort of virtue that character possesses, but not necessarily as the only correct way to live your life.
Great video, really enjoyed it. This is what I took from the movie 1.) a father figure is necessary to a kid, even if that father isn't biological (I saw this as the real issue with the golden people) 2.) the conclusion of the movie is that this generation must choose to take the responsibility the previous did not (post-credit scene with Peter and Groot)... In that way I thought this movie was very conservative.
Please, do more. Thank you!
A pathology of uberhygiene that is wielded like a weapon and acts as a destructive force. Weird, that sounds so familiar.
Always fascinating. I particularly liked your video on the flipping of the archetypes in modern superhero films
Great start. I had reason to watch this movie a second time last night. The second time was unexpectedly poignant in terms of watching themes, and I woke up thinking about it and went on UA-cam this morning and was thrilled with your discussion. Keep doing these! Thank you.
I wonder about the insistence in movies like this that the "rag tag group of misfits" forms a real family. That doesn't seem true to life. If we look to criminal gangs, for example, they typically organize themselves around ethnicity. The trope of the multicultural gang of thieves, like you see in the Ocean's Eleven films, doesn't actually happen in real life. It is my experience that even people who have undergone really intense experiences together, tend to drift apart once that experience is past. You see this in the classic rock band break up: on the way to the top, you're a band of brothers, but, once you make it, you start quarreling amongst yourself. Really, the only way to form a workable group identity out of disparate people is to give them a common enemy, and then have that enemy never go away.
I often think about this in context of the politics of the UK. We were so united in the common enemy during the war against the Nazis, as horrible as wars are it meant that the two political leaders of the main parties Attlee and Churchill, had a mutual respect for each other and the common goal of winning the war and protecting people, so it necessitated that they didn't oppose and block each other too much. Nowadays it's all so tribal and partisan and the leaders do not respect each other at all, nothing gets done because the parties oppose each other and are at loggerheads all the time
Also I really like that rock band analogy, because it is often the case that bands make their best music when they overcome creative differences, because out of the tensions they had over musical direction comes some of the best music. If they don't overcome these differences, they either kick out someone who doesn't agree and go on making the same cookie-cutter formulaic albums again and again, or they split up and create their own solo acts or split-off bands, which tend to suck (although there are exceptions of good solo careers but they are few, and tend to come from the original band leader who was the visionary) and be just a worse knock-off, a less imaginative version of the style that made the original band so successful.
Generally the trope revolves around radically different people coming together under convenience, only to learn that they have more similarities than differences. It's always been a trope and there are real life instances, it need not be solely centered around ethnicity.
I found it ironic how Ocean's was so blatantly pro-diversity but expressed it through meritocracy
It's a romanticized version of reality, duh.
It suprised me when I look back at every one of my favorite stories that resonated with me, the heros all has this duality or link.
This symbolic storytelling has always facinated me, and it frustrates me when people say stories like Gravity Rush make no coherrent sense when they can only see the story through the literal plot progression.
Please keep analyzing story. This is great.
Thank you for this very coherent elaboration on the themes of the movie :) If you plan to further delve into these pop-cultural Topics, an interesting avenue would be a deeper explanation of the archetypal structures that are in the Legend of Zelda series. Especially in the games ocarina of time, and majoras mask. They are rife with religious symbolism, surprisingly somber for a Video game series and for my understanding have a nice take on the archetypal hero myth. Kind regards, and keep up the good work!
I am very impressed with your channel, especially with this type of break down of pop-culture. Keep up the great work!
Has he done any on Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings? I would love to hear what he has to say about series that gripped whole generations.
Thank you Jonathan, this was wonderful! I hope you can make more!
I enjoyed it and hope you make more. You've successfully combined several of my favorite things and I dig it!
This is great. More movie examinations please.
on the very surface level there's the father figure (yondu) who was big on discipline, vs the idealized father figure who was more of a wish-fulfillment type, reducing the hero to a neotenous mental state. there's a pretty obvious "beware the candy-house" message. but the movie has enough conflicting metaphors that audiences could only see what they wanted to see as well, so there's that...........
This is something of an aside, but Spawn is another example of what you said about Hellboy. Even characters like Batman contain a trace of that concept (using darkness and fear to fight crime), though far less prominently.
Great analysis. It would be great if you can do an analysis on the TV series "Lucifer" since it is using directly mythological figures. i personally found it mind-blowing when i tried to analyse it a bit, every detail was considered. In all cases, keep up the good work!!!
When I watched it I really thought it was interesting that the key to beating Ego was to take the divine energy source to the center of the ego, and destroy it from within.
i think your symbolic analyses are very valuable, keep it up
Thank you for putting these videos together. Please keep them coming! :)
Excellent, easy to understand, relevant and insightful!
Greatly enjoyed your thoughts. After watching the film I was surprised by the lack of discussion about the heavy symbolism and metaphysical thought in the story line. I was also greatly intrigued by Stan Lee placing himself in a private discussion with The Watchers.
Watching this film I couldn't help but think about what Peterson said in his mythological lectures and your conversation about Pepe. One reason why I liked this more than the first movie, which heavily relied on a McGuffin to move the plot along.
This was cool! I'd be interested in more videos like this.
Even the Norse hero god Thor was born from a union of the giantess Jord (earth) and Allfather Odin (heaven). As a hero, he protects Asgard(guarded realm of the Aesir gods) and Midgard (guarded realm of man) from the giants, he is born from.
Awesome to hear people like this and Peterson talking about semiotics.
Very interesting. I like that you explain the importance of the hybridity of the characters. I would love to hear more comparison between egos pathology and that "pure," golden race.
I love this kind of content.
i hope you will do much more of these. thanks
Excellent analysis, definitely worth continuing into this uncharted territory.
great video. I know now I need to go back and re-watch Logan and Guardian
Thank you for creating these incredible videos.
Thanks for the video. Explaining symbolism in modern culture is worth doing. You are awesome!
it is worth it. Please keep it up mr Pageau.
What would you say are the negative active and passage aspects of Chaos or the periphery?
4:44 the Star Wars universe is constructed with a center and a margin being modeled as the core worlds of the Galaxy and the outer rim territories which creates a vast psychological canvas on which to write the multitude of canonical stories and even those stories which deviate from Star Wars canon
Thanks for the Hellboy shout out!
It always seems to me that superheroes and comic book characters, while related to heroes from traditional cultures, are much less complex symbols than figures from older mythologies. Thor from Norse religion represents ordinary people, the sky, storms, lightning, oak trees, defense against chaos and so on. The comic book character is really just a super strong guy with some personality tics and an unusual weapon.
Live action movies also tend to present their characters and their worlds in a very literal, hyperrealistic style, as opposed to a more "iconic" style in more traditional art. Animated films are somewhat different.
Superhero comics themselves tend to present things in a more literal way as well.
Great video man, I would love to see more
Great idea! Would love to watch more. Another interesting thing would be to see if classic films follow archetypal structures more closely than other films that have not lasted so well. Citizen Kane /casa Blanca - why are these still talked about.
Excellent video, pretty much what I'd hoped to see after subscribing. Do you have any insight on how symbolism affects the psyche or sub-conscious, if that even occurs. Cheers!
In a future video can you comment on the directors intentions? Would the director not in agreement or would it be news to them, or are they just reusing ideas with our knowing why?
I liked the analyses a lot. please keep it up!
Talking about Ego and what he represents made me think of Agent Smith in the Matrix. He replaces everyone he touches with versions of himself. Same image.
@Jonathan Pageau
Thank you for your great content, Jonathan! I am a subscriber and an admirer (and a Christian).
Mr. Pageau could you please explain how these images manipulate their viewers in the ways that the ultimate unablers Desire, I understand that it is an unconscious effect, what would be the most desirous be?
Hey John cool video. Actually just wondering how you got into religious symbology and or how you learned to interpret it as such. Was it art and iconography first our the literature? I grew Christian Orthodox but soon became agnostic and when I decided to read the Bible I was very captivated by Jesus and the logos. Also into Carl Jung at the time so they did blend somewhat but not as clearly as when I discovered JP and you too. How can one study symbology these days?
I loved this video, please do more like this.
If you're less interested in pop culture and more interested in Christianity, maybe you can focus on movies that borrow heavily from Christian mythology? It would be really interesting to see how many popular science fiction or fantasy movies are "secular christian" myths of today.
great stuff! Keep making them!
Hi Jonathan, I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot. I liked that you mentioned off the bat that it is important to look at these things from both sides. I just saw the movie last night and I would love to hear your analysis or opinion on what appeared to me to be a rejection of the logos by Quill. He rejects the power to make the world with his thoughts and speech in order to be like everyone else. It seemed to me that he was denying the logos in order to submit to the collective rather than to become the divine individual. However perhaps in Vol. 3 he will realize this error and redeem himself. I definitely want to watch the movie again as I think there is more for me to learn about the difference in his relationship with Ego and Yondu. I really enjoyed the movie but I was concerned about the rejection of the logos and the divine individuality in favour of the collective.
The way you describe the hero here reminds me of the trickster.
While I prefer your talks on the Eastern Orthodox, fine art, and other 'high' matters, I think we your audience all enjoy whatever insights you have to share on whatever topic, Jonathan.
I am the same way. Great to hear your analysis. I can't watch a movie without looking for a deeper meaning in it. It is not surprising that when a movie gets popular a lot of times it is because the director is able to weave in symbology especially Christian symbology and try and twist it so that it is acceptable to the modern mind. I call it hijacking the metaphor and the best example is the highest rated IMDB movie Shawshank Redemption which is basically the Gospel story. For GOG2 the idea of how sacrifice can atone for an immoral life is seen in Yondo sacrifice for Quill. The Christian concept that if a seed of wheat falls in the ground and dies it brings forth much fruit is literally what Groot does at the end of the first movie giving his life and being reborn as a seedling which provides the motivation and love for the Guardians to become a "family" seen in the first scene of the movie. I wrote a blog on it at www.thebooklings.com. I also did one for Logan. It would be interesting to hear your take on Logan which is highly charged with Christian symbolism and ideas of sacrifice and redemption.
Literally, at the end. That is the interesting thing about symbolism that sometimes the metaphoric symbology becomes the literal symbol and is self referencing. Most people don't realize that is happening they just know that they like it. It is also interesting when it is broken like X-Men: Apocalypse and the movie becomes a flop.
Thank you for sharing
Can you do a video or list some of the books/ scholarly works related to this sort of material?
excited to watch this
Jonathan, I am amazed at the way you analyze the symbolism of things. I wish to be able to look at life, stories and my Christian faith in this way too. Is there a reading list you could recommend to help me and others in this journey?
Jordan B Peterson is a great start.
Thank you Jonathan. I find this fascinating, and would love to see more, if you have time. I recently re-listened to the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, having initially read it 25 years ago. This is one of those stories that effects me deeply every time I hear it. It must be full of archetypal themes - the misunderstood individual who is outcast, ventures into chaos, then out of love, returns to the group to share a higher knowledge. Or something like that.
At the risk of controversy, the more sceptical amongst us, suggest that symbology and themes in Hollywood movies are a very deliberate form of conditioning for the masses (especially children and Disney movies). You hinted at it with your reference to social justice themes. If you are willing to comment, what are your thoughts? Or is Hollywood just trying to make a profit using archetypal themes they know will appeal.
Well, like JLS, you certainly do have a spiritual gift to share with the rest of us. And I don't know of anyone else willing or even able to point out the meaning of the symbolism we are being bathed in, and from a Christian perspective. I would appreciate any attempt you make, but realize we all have other priorities. If there are some other good resources you can recommend, would be appreciated. When I have looked into symbolism in the past (concerned about the things my kids are watching) it has lead to the occult and conspiracy theories.
Russell Pizel i
Thanks. I enjoyed your views on this. I would love to see your views on Infinity War and Watchmen (the uncut version) too.
I thought one of the morals of the Tower of Babel is that multiculturalism doesn't work. Because they are different peoples smushed together in the hopes they will achieve heaven, but it just ends up amplifying and aggravating their innate differences until everything explodes.
Also from the description of the movie, it's message seems to be that whites are arrogant and oppressive for wanting to retain their identity (purity). Of course, it's fine and even ideal for every other people to retain their identity such as the Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, Eskimo, Mexican, African, etc.
In other words, typical Hollyweird social conditioning.
Do your interpretations stem from a study of the Kabbalah? Also, what do you make of the theme of "Renewing the Covenant" as a way to breathe life into civilization?
Am in love with your mind.
Thanks, enjoyed this!
So good.
Great job!
Nearly 4 years later and someone else is finding worth in these videos. Hopefully that escalates. Appreciate your insights.
You're the best.
Worth it!
very nice. you got me🎶
Definitely worth it. :)
Intéressante interprétation !
Thanks
Great work. So what is Groot?
I saw the oedipal story being retold. The boy who loved his mother so much that he was destined to kill his father
fantastic
the hulk is actually jeckal and hyde?? maybe even a frankenstine?? jack the ripper,?
13:34 "Safe spaces"!!
Can you do a breakdown of annihilation?
Keep at it!
Could you analyze Zootopia?
Normies!!!
Reeeee
Yeah, normies are a drag. Typicals get on my nerves too
Superman actually released, unintentionally, General Zod when he hurled the nuke and destroyed the prison.
I don’t think even the divine is singular ,God acknowledged that in being able to do anything he lacked limitation and that’s why he made man, because finding the edge of your limits is a noble aim.
That Dragon destructive energy is what Kanye thinks he and Trump have in common.
Hey, every body wants to be a super hero. Or wanted to.
Read "The Promethean Right"
Would you say that all symbols are a description of common human principles and the misinterpretation of the symbol or the myth becomes dogmatic thought or the chronic ideological behavior of people ?
"We find this excess in hygiene, disinfectants for example.." well hello 2020 lol
Could you consider making some x-men interpretation?
Makes me think of the Anti-Hero hero.
Always a smart mouthed misfit like Spiderman.
The Superhero movies are an abomination: they condition the young to preserve the Establishment.
The "enemy at the periphery" is the revolutionary impulses, experienced by the individual living in contemporary society.
That is, the young are encouraged to fight these revolutionary impulses, which are chaos for the Establishment.
Think of Will Smith. It would be chaos for him, to find himself in a society that rejects the kind of products Hollywood makes.
eg. think of an American footballer who find himself in Europe, where nobody plays American football.
or think an alcohol smuggler after the prohibition came to an end.
Superhero movies are like those drugs that the pharmacists used to sell, and are now banned. I donno, vicodin, ritalin, valium, etc.
Guardians of the galaxy has a lot of in your face transhumanism, too.