A New Mythology?

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2003)

What started with Greek gods and philosophies stating that man is nothing more then "Dust in the wind" and has been kept alive by artists through out the generations such as Shakespeare and been puzzled over by the greatest minds on the planet as well as argued over by believers and non-believers around the world - has been perpetuated again by new Mythologies and Philosophies that have snuck into our culture and become a part of our "Fabric" and structure without our seeking them out. These Ideals, Stories and Moral Systems, based on very early Christian and Buddhist philosophies and belief systems, have been revealed to some of us at very early ages and have been pressed upon us as a moral compass and overall vision of how we should and should not interact with one another in order to achieve the peace and/or shelter from evil/sin that we so desperately need.
What is it that began in a Galaxy Far, Far Away? What is it that gave us the choice between a Red Pill and a Blue Pill? What is it that continues to make us answer such questions as - Would I be able to destroy the One Ring?
Star Wars - Lord of the Rings - The Matrix. These are our new philosophies. These are our new mythologies.
The stories they tell are full of characters that we are familiar with because their traits are not unlike our own and faced with the same opportunities and obstacles might we choose the same path as they had?
Of course, if we do end up applying any of what we have learned from these stories the story tellers themselves will have been successful in their task, all the way from Plato and Aristotle to George Lucas, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Wachowski Brothers.
It's just my opinion but I don't think I'm far off the mark on this one. All I know is - I've learned more about faith, hope and love from ancient philosophies revisited in recent films than any other medium, ever.
Just a thought.