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hasthcraft · 2 years ago

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Greatest Paintings by Madhubani

The authentic scenery of ethnic fine arts in India can be followed back to the Bhimbatka Sinkholes, where most likely the earliest masterpieces of India are found. Nevertheless, with respect to ethnic 'hereditary' craftsmanships of India the names which top the overview are Warli show-stoppers and Madhubani sytheses.

Madhubani painting, generally called Godhna, Maithili and Chitra figure organizations, started out of the genuine local services in Madhubani area of Bihar. Dominatingly normal in Madhubani region, it moreover diffused to the connecting areas of Jetwarpur, Ranti, Rasidpur, Bacchi, Rajangarh, etc.

As per the conviction of people of Madhubani that Heavenly creatures visit each house in the initial segment of the day to incline toward them with karma and thriving, Madhubani painting started as a welcome work of art on the walls, doorways and floors for the Heavenly creatures. Till the 1960s it was a just a decorating workmanship. Nevertheless, the Bihar starvation of 1964-65 took its work on people of Madhubani and they expected to move from cultivating to various designs work. Likewise, with that started the commercialization of the Maithili imaginative manifestations; it moved from walls and floors to paper, reflexive silk, sarees, dupattas, etc, without drifting off from its extraordinary subjects, the subjects of religion and old stories. Most of people of Madhubani as of now depend upon these pieces for their regular necessities.

A paste of cow fertilizer and mud is applied on the walls and floors to give an ideal dull establishment on which pictures are drawn with white rice stick; splendid vegetable tones are then applied on the figures making them more fiery. An uncommon number of Madhubani painters really apply a slim layer of cow fertilizer and mud stick on their materials to give an all the more obvious look and besides in light of the fact that it helps in genuine maintenance of assortment.

Essentially practiced by the women society, Madhubani is an exclusively female school of individuals painting. As a break from their everyday home-planning they portrayed their fantasies, convictions, customs and creative mind with hypothetical figures, by and large in direct models. This school, anyway, isn't bound to the female sort now, as the amount of male painters is extending over the long haul.

In particular, Madhubani materials are generally established on religion and fables. The severe subjects are reached out into two sorts - minimal custom and extraordinary practice. In the creations of little practice, Divine creatures like Raja Salesh, Buddheshwar, Jutki Malini, Reshma, and the inclinations occurs in flood. Phenomenal custom is an acknowledgment for the Hindu Heavenly creatures like Krishna-Radha, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesha, Maa Durga, and the inclinations. Before long, standard scenes of towns, everyday presence, vegetation which are such a ton of a piece of life of this school of painters, similarly entered the space of Godhna masterpieces.

The attributes portraying for all intents and purposes all Madhubani materials are :-

Usage of extraordinary ordinary and fake tones.

A twofold line with essential numerical plans or with extravagant blossom plans on it.

Pictures, lines and models supporting the crucial subject.

Dynamic like figures, of divine beings or human.

The embodiments of the figures has colossal jutting eyes and a stunning nose emerging out of the sanctuary.

Madhubani painting is a critical explanation of regular experiences and convictions. In that limit, symbolism, ease and greatness watch out for them in a single school of regular workmanship. The pictures that these Maithili painters use have their specific ramifications as, for instance, fish address lavishness, augmentation and good luck, peacocks are connected with genuine love and religion, snakes are the glorious protectors.

The treatment of assortment in the Indian culture creative articulation of Madhubani painting carries it somewhat close to the Impressionistic school and the Post-Impressionistic school of painting. Fairly their subject of miserable everyday activities and nature are in like manner shared by the Godhna painters.

Depicted by vigorous usage of assortment, essential symbolism and standard numerical models supporting the essential subject, the Indian culture show-stopper of Madhubani won with respect to making a spot for itself in the worldwide spot of differentiation and is presently seen all over the planet. The Public power of India is in like manner offering its acknowledgment by starting planning programs teaching people on Madhubani imaginative manifestations.

For more information, Visit us:-

Indian handicrafts

Madhubani krishna painting

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melissawyatt · 6 years ago

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Answering the Critics of Tarsem Singh’s The Fall

(Previously appeared on my old tumblr. Reposting revised version by request:) A couple of years ago, I fell head-over-heels in love. With a movie. Specifically visionary director Tarsem Singh’s 2006 labor of love, The Fall. The first time I watched it, I was swept away by the visuals but confused by the story itself. Was it good? I wasn’t sure. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I sat down to watch it again and this time, I realized that it was a film told in the language of symbols. Once my brain unlocked that, the film absolutely blew me away. It rocketed to the top of my favorites list, which is saying something considering my top ten hasn’t changed in about twenty years and most of the films on it are more than sixty years old. I hadn’t been so transported by a modern film in years.

Not only that, but it has changed the way I view my role as a writer and storyteller, a quantum shift. (I’ll write more about that in another post later.) Needing to connect with the opinions of others, I searched out reviews on-line and was staggered by how poorly this film had been received by mainstream industry critics. At the time, it had only a 59% aggregate rating on Rotten Tomatoes (the rating has since climbed to 61% but only because some negative reviews have been deleted,) ranking it significantly below such cinematic treasures as Talladega Nights and Jackass: Number Two.

So I began to carefully read the negative industry reviews in an effort to understand what it was that the people paid to professionally understand film did not, in fact, understand about this particular film. And what I discovered was this: they are Philistines. Yeah, I’m sorry, but they are. There’s something very wrong when people who make a living watching movies almost willfully misunderstand a film that is all about understanding, provided you have a basic grasp of the universal language of symbolism and metaphor and creative narrative structure. And you would think a film critic would have something of a nodding acquaintance with those things.

What follows is my defense of the film against the most often-cited issues raised in those reviews. If you haven’t seen the film, this won’t make much sense. If you have and didn’t like it, maybe it will inspire you to try again. In any case, spoilers abound.

What you have to understand about this film first and foremost is that it is a testament to the power of storytelling. You can’t go in expecting realism--even the sort of realism that often grounds fairy tales and fantasies. You know why? Because stories aren’t really real. They’re how we help ourselves understand reality by turning it on its head in a space removed from ourselves where we can safely examine it.

So we know this is a story about stories. We also know that stories function through the language of symbolism and metaphor. This is how storytellers connect their own thoughts and feelings to those of their audience through shared experiences. I can tell you that a man is like an oak tree and you will understand that I don’t literally mean this man is an oak tree. But because, like me, you have also seen an oak tree, you will instantly have a feeling about this man that I want you to have. That is the language of story.

The best stories add to this a language of their own and require the audience to learn that language in order to participate in the story. This film is such a story and one of the criticisms stems from those who were either deaf to that language, weren’t aware that they were expected to pay attention to it, or were too impatient to do so. These are the critics who found the film to be “empty eye candy” when, in fact, it speaks a rich, symbolic language.

It’s not a difficult or obscure language and the storyteller (director Tarsem Singh) helps you to understand, if you are willing to participate. And because there is a theme here of shared storytelling, it is right that you should. The storyteller even tells you so with the defining lines of this film: “It’s my story,” the hero says. And the heroine counters “Mine, too.” It is a compliment he is paying you as well as a hearkening back to the very roots of story: the audience is part of the story.

In film, the storyteller makes use of images, visuals that help him connect the intent of his story with his audience. But that still requires willing participation. It still requires that you understand the language not just of words but of the things that he will show you.

So the director uses the camera in many different ways to direct you to see what he wants you to see and feel what he wants you to feel. In this film, our director/storyteller uses his camera as an open door into his vision. But he does not abandon you in this world of his. He stays with you, telling you what to notice. He even tells you he understands that you will not get all of it by making his heroine someone who barely understands the language around her. Like her, you will learn. But you have to listen to him and you have to remember.

Perhaps most importantly, you have to step away from the conventions of more realistic films and back into that language of story. Because in the real world and films that try so hard to ape it, randomness occurs regularly. But in symbolic story, nothing is random. Everything is important. And so it is, here.

Because we are in the hands of a virtuoso visualist, the wealth of symbolism contained in this film can be overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the images. That is a valid criticism but it’s what we call a high-class problem with a simple solution: watch it again.

At heart, this is a love story, but it is also a passionate love letter to storytelling. We are told this right up front, when our heroine Alexandria writes a love note. But love does not always lead us where we intend and like a butterfly, her note flutters through an open window and into unexpected hands.

Alexandria’s love note will appear again throughout the film, a reminder of its strength and power. And we will see her take up her crayons again later, as she literally tries to draw the hero out of his unhappiness. There is power in her creative expressions as there is power in story.

But back to those opening scenes. Everything is important and a potential symbol, and that includes Alexandria’s seemingly uninteresting costume. Notice that she wears a gray sweater and because her left arm is in a cast, one arm of her sweater hangs down. What does that remind you of? Maybe nothing just yet but keep paying attention.

When she meets Roy, the accidental recipient of her love note, she shows him her box of treasures and the first thing he draws out of the box is a small elephant. While elephants are universal symbols of good luck (you knew this, I hope), they are particularly so in India, where they are identified with water, of the greatest importance in a hot, dry climate. Water is the stuff of life. The Hindu god Ganesha is represented with the head of an elephant. He is the remover of obstacles.

As Roy begins to tell Alexandria his “epic tale of love and revenge,” he has stranded his characters on a desert island, a hot, dry place surrounded by water. (Deserts figure largely in this movie. The first shot we see in color after the black and white title sequence is a palm tree, indicating an oasis in a desert.) But the hero of Roy’s story, the Masked Bandit cannot swim and must be rescued by an elephant.

And so we have Alexandria, the baby elephant with her gray sweater sleeve trunk and her stubbornness, which we will see later. Obstacles do not get in her way. Alexandria arrives to save Roy from his desert island of despair.

See how easy this is once you think about it for a minute? And it’s all there, presented to you like the treasure box Alexandria carries. You only have to care enough to root through it and see what’s inside.

Let’s try another one: butterflies. Because they change from their earthbound caterpillar form to winged creatures of the air, butterflies are symbols of the soul. In the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche, Psyche is often symbolically connected with butterflies and her name is the Greek word for soul.

And this film is full of butterflies. One of the most often mentioned sequences is the transition from the iridescent blue butterfly to the Butterfly Reef where the bandits are stranded. But that is so much more than merely a cleverly beautiful camera trick. It’s deeply symbolic. Butterflies everywhere. Souls everywhere. Souls in peril.

Because that is what’s at stake here. Later on, it will be said outright, but for now, the storyteller is building intricate layers of symbolism so that when he comes out and tells you “Here is a soul in need of saving,” it will have the added depth of meaning and connection that art brings to life. By asking you to participate in “collecting” these symbols, the storyteller places his story into your hands through your shared understanding. You and the storyteller are collaborating. At that moment, it becomes yours as well as his.

But we’re not done with the butterflies. When the villain of the piece, Governor Odious, presents a rare butterfly to Darwin (one of the company of bandits), the butterfly is stabbed through the heart, and we learn that Roy’s heart has been stabbed through in much the same way.

Darwin himself wears an outrageous fur coat. Considered more carefully, the pattern of “eyes” on his coat mimics the defense mechanisms of certain butterflies.Later on, when Nurse Evelyn appears in the epic, she wears a gasp-worthy costume that again, can overwhelm with its artistry so that you might miss its symbolic importance. The fan-like screen of her headdress resembles a butterfly, and Darwin even gives voice to this. “Just like a butterfly,” he says.

But she is only “like” a butterfly. She is faithless, without a soul. Even in the “real world” hospital sequences, her caring is only superficial. The clue to this is when she can’t be bothered to retrieve Alexandria’s note when it goes astray.

When Alexandria stands before the bathroom mirror, she draws a butterfly on her belly rather than putting the lipstick on her cheeks as Nurse Evelyn did earlier, identifying with the soul rather than transient human vanity. (That scene is framed to perfectly reference the vanitas motif in classical paintings.)

Oranges are another heavily used symbol. Oranges are loaded with vitamin C. Vitamin C promotes healing. Oranges are delivered by the crate-load to the hospital, this place of healing, surrounded by orange groves, where Roy and Alexandria have come to recover from their falls. Other patients are seen consuming the oranges but never Roy because Roy is not healing. Alexandria, already associated with bright and hopeful things like butterflies and elephants, is such an exuberant messenger of healing that she throws oranges about. She has herself emerged from the very groves where oranges grow.

Let’s move on to another problem some critics had with the film.Other films have employed the conceit of having a real world frame story where one character tells another a story that takes place in a fantasy world. If you go into this movie thinking “Oh, this is going to be like The Princess Bride (or some similar film),” you will be confused. You might think that the epic sequences don’t make sense. That the epic doesn’t stand alone as its own story. That the epic, in fact, is not a very good epic.And you’d be right. But you would also be missing the point. The epic isn’t meant to be its own story. It isn’t meant to make sense. It isn’t meant to be—well—an epic. At first, it is just a bunch of nonsense this unhappy man is pulling out of the air to entertain this little girl. From Roy’s perspective, it begins as an idle diversion, develops into a manipulative tool and ends as a warped and dangerous weapon.

What you need to remember is that Roy is not a storyteller. He is a broken, desperate man. Physically and psychologically wounded, in pain and clouded by morphine, he strings together seemingly random elements from his “college man” background. His words grow into the vivid, sweeping images, colored by Alexandria’s imagination and her own experiences. The inside lid of her treasure box is the handbill of her imagination.That is what sets the structure of this film apart from those with which it is most often compared. The real world story and the epic are inextricably linked. They inform on each other. The epic reflects what is going on in Roy’s battered mind. As he falls apart, so does the epic.

Another frequent criticism is the five bandits and their lack of development as individual characters. This is an outgrowth of not understanding the role of the epic in the larger story and that the five bandits are not individual characters but instead represent different aspects of Roy’s fractured psyche.

Without realizing he is doing it, Roy reveals a great deal about himself through them.First, there is the Masked Bandit, who is of course the dashing hero Roy wishes he could be, who he tried to be. It’s a fantasy he can’t sustain when later in the epic and in the real world, Alexandria puts him too firmly in the position of hero and the Masked Bandit crumbles.

Then we have the Indian who has lost the only woman he has ever loved and has vowed never to look at another woman again. The Indian represents Roy’s broken heart.

Next is Luigi, the explosives expert, who represents Roy’s suicidal tendencies, which ultimately prove to be impotent. Note that Luigi’s bombs never go off until the end, when he still does not achieve the release Roy sought through suicide.

Otta Benga, the escaped slave, is Roy’s desire to escape the physical bondage of his disability. He loses his brother, his other half, in the way that Roy considers himself, as a paraplegic, half a man.

And then there’s Darwin. Darwin is Roy’s calmer intellect, his kindness and ironically, his spirituality. Among the bandits, he is the only one without a weapon. He stops Luigi from blowing open the door of the castle with a more thoughtful solution. He is the one to invoke God when the Masked Bandit attempts to execute Evelyn. And he is the one, through the Mystic (who represents Alexandria), to warn that swallowing the morphine tablets was a mistake. He is Roy’s voice of reason and he is the first to go when Roy starts killing off the bandits. In his final desperation, Roy must silence that voice. Darwin is the side of Roy we care about, the Roy we hope will win in the end.

So no, the bandits are not developed as individual characters because they are not individual characters. Like the epic itself, their function is to help you understand Roy.

The film takes the storytelling conceit to another level by allowing Alexandria to alter the epic. She is no passive listener or static receiver of story. She participates. She exerts her own influence over the story, at first in small ways and without understanding the significance, such as stating that she doesn’t like pirate stories and so Roy turns it into a story about bandits (inadvertently supplying him with a term and concept he uses later for his own purposes. “Be a good bandit.” Steal for me.) Or when she pushes for romance and kissing when Roy, heartbroken and betrayed, doesn’t want them. And going so far as to change the main character from her father (who she informs Roy—in the poignantly matter-of-fact way of children—is dead) to Roy, with whom she has fallen in love. Roy becomes her hero, though he is so wrapped up in his own misery, he misses the significance of this moment until it is too late.

Later on, when the story takes a turn that is too dark for her, Alexandria alters it in the most dramatic way, by inserting herself into it. At first, she makes a heroic effort—even so far as dressing herself in her imagination in the same costume as her hero—and it seems as though she might succeed. But even this stubborn little Ganesha is powerless when Roy succumbs to the three real morphine tablets he has swallowed (along with the placebos.) She can’t waken him and she must walk away.

This is where the epic shifts from the idea of shared storytelling to a battleground where the two of them fight for control of the ending. After her second fall, when Alexandria pushes Roy to finish the epic, he turns it into a weapon, using it to strike out at her and make her understand why he feels he needs to die, to kill the hero image of him he has unwittingly helped build in her mind. Her influence has become so strong, he is aware that she can alter not only the story he has been spinning for her but his own choices. He tries to silence her. In the epic, she is gagged and in the hospital, he speaks over the things she tries to tell him. But she has also become aware of the true nature of the epic and what is really at stake and she will not give up. Note here that the tables have been turned and it is Alexandria in the bed and Roy in a chair by her side, the storyteller roles reversed.

And that is what this film is telling you. We connect with each other through story and story can be more powerful than we can guess. There is a great responsibility we take on when we invite people into our stories, regardless of our agenda. Roy did not begin his epic believing or even hoping that Alexandria would save him by changing the course of his own story. But that was the unpredictable risk he took by letting her in.

Is it a perfect film? Of course not. There is no such thing as any perfect work of art. But you don’t look at the Mona Lisa and say “The perspective of the background on the left does not match the perspective of the background on the right. This thing is crap!” No. Why? Because you are transported by the creative power of the rest of it. And maybe you are even a little touched by its flaws. Perfection is achieved by machines. Flaws are human. Humanity is who we are, and that is beautiful.

So some of the writing is clunky, some of the supporting performances awkward, and something is a bit off in the climactic sequence. The most troubling problem is that of Roy’s motivation. The reason for his great despair is not established well enough to support the ultimate resolution. But I believe these flaws are born out of the creative passion of the storyteller, and I will take flawed, risk-taking passion over carefully calculated flatness or a string of polished CGI tropes any day. Beyond the justly celebrated dazzling imagery of this film, what it gets right is loving, generous, and human. It is a rare and unusual combination of flamboyance and bombast alongside tender intimacy. It is a love note in astoundingly beautiful gibberish that will reward you over and over if you take the time to learn its language.

#the fall #the fall movie #the fall 2008 #tarsem singh the fall #lee pace #tarsem singh #the fall 2006

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kaibuntsu · 6 years ago

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Equatorial Beasts - #2

Subject: Lembuswana - (/ləm’bʊswʌnʌ/ - “lem-BOOS-wah-na”)

WHAT THEY ARE:

Lembuswana is an amalgamated cryptid, with the body of a bull, head of an elephant, wings of an eagle, talons of a rooster, and fish scales for skin. They are the royal steed of kings that once ruled what is now known as Kalimantan a.k.a Borneo.

They don’t have a very extensive history behind them; the famous one was just acting as the steed which brought baby Princess Karang Melenu from the bottom of the Mahakam River (which was ‘born’ from a dragon, by the way). Later beliefs simply depicted the Lembuswana as just a ride or a chariot puller, an exotic water buffalo, most famously as a steed to King Mulawarman of the Kutai Empire.

Today, the Lembuswana are mainly revered in Kalimantan. Multiple statues have been made of them, with a golden one standing in front of the Mulawarman museum, East Kalimantan. They are a symbol of regal, righteous, and wise leader because of their association to great kings and the Hindu god of wisdom, Ganesha. Despite their ties to godlike ancient kings and Hindu gods themselves, they are not holy and sacred creatures. Their status is like Sleipnir, in a way.

The sapience of these creatures is dubious at best, though it wouldn’t be quite surprising if they have some form of sapience.

ARE THEY ELIGIBLE?

Proceed with caution.

Do realize that the Lembuswana has always been referred to as an ‘animal’ in the myths.

People of Borneo (and Indonesians in general, for that matter) have never heard of romances with a being that isn’t human. Our myths aren’t as raunchy as the Greeks or the Nordics. We’re a generally very chaste culture, too shy to even think about sex.

Sexualizing and objectifying the Lembuswana is INADVISABLE.

Romanticizing is a different story, though. The Lembuswana’s concept is already a romanticization of ancient kings that are revered to the same level as gods (they did name a shopping mall after it and had its statue built at the entrance) . Regular water buffaloes just aren’t pretty enough, so whoever started this myth began slapping other cool animal features to the bull and make it shiny golden.

I can’t speak for the people of East Borneo, but romancing the Lembuswana seems to be pretty okay. I’d just advise you to keep their regalness and wisdom intact. It’s sort of like the only thing they’re known for. A high fantasy setting where they remain as a king’s steed and companion but has the sapience to interact with people is, in my opinion, the best, most respectful way to depict them in a romantic fashion. Bonus point if you can give the effort to make it extra ethnic.

Platonic affection is the safest way to depict this creature in fiction.

Random trivia: The Indonesian contestant for Miss Supranational 2017 in Poland wore this Lembuswana-inspired costume to the runway and I just have the greatest need to share this adasdkaskfljasjd

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#monster #exophilia #terato #cryptids #lembuswana #mythology #equatorial beasts #indonesian monsters #indonesian cryptids

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nadziejastar · 6 years ago

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Analyzing the Weapon Names of Organization XIII (Part 3)

No. III - Xaldin (Whirlwind Lancer)

Founding member. A warrior with a silver tongue. He carries six lances, and can harness the wind.

Xaldin is interesting because he has no dialogue whatsoever after being recompleted as a human. However, his lack of characterization is at odds with his status. He is one of the strongest and most high-ranking members in Organization XIII, as well as a founding member. He has the second-highest chair after Xemans.

He shed tears when Ansem the Wise returned to the castle in KH3, but his characterization in Days and the names of his weapons suggest that he probably had sinister intentions while serving him as a guard. It is likely that Xaldin was originally far more important to the apprentices’ fall to darkness; his weapon names are among the most unique and intriguing.

The names of many of his Lances are derived from terms relating to the sky, air, or wind, and several have names based on constellations. Zephyr, Moonglade, Aer, Nescience, Brume, Asura, Crux, Paladin, Fellking, Nightcloud, Shimmer, Vortex, Scission, Heavenfall, Aether, Mazzaroth, Hegemon, Foxfire, Yaksha, Cynosura, Dragonreign, Lindworm, Broom (joke), and Wyvern.

The Mazzaroth, also known as the zodiac, is the name given to the pattern of stars found on the celestial equator. Crux is also called Rending Crescent Moon in the Japanese version. It refers to the constellation Crux, also called the Southern Cross. Jack London depicts the Southern Cross accompanied by a crescent moon in the novel Martin Eden:

“Overhead drifted a pale crescent moon, and the Southern Cross burned low in the sky.”

Ancient Greeks considered it to be part of the Centaurus constellation. Centaurus represents the beings called centaurs. A centaur was a creature from Greek mythology which was half-man and half-horse. These creatures represented barbarism and unbridled chaos.

Cynosura is another name for the constellation Ursa Minor. Interestingly, one of Lexaeus’ weapons is named Ursa Major. Ursa Major means “great bear” and Ursa Minor means “the lesser bear”. Nomura said that the strongest Organization members are Xemnas and Roxas due to his potential as a Keyblade wielder. Lexaeus and Xaldin are the next strongest. Maybe the constellations refer to how Laxaeus just edges out Xaldin when it comes to raw strength.

Some of his weapons reference Greek mythology. Zephyr was the god of the west wind, and one of the four seasonal wind gods. He was the bringer of light spring and early summer breezes. According to some versions of the myth, Zephyr killed a young man who was the lover of the god Apollo due to jealousy.

Beauty and the Beast is actually based on the ancient Greek myth Cupid and Psyche. Psyche is a princess so beautiful that the goddess Venus becomes jealous. In revenge, she instructs her son Cupid to make her fall in love with a hideous monster. Zephyr was the attendant of Cupid, who brought Psyche to his master's palace where Cupid ends up falling in love with Psyche himself.

Aether was one of the primordial deities in Greek mythology. He was the personification of the upper air that only gods breathe, as opposed to the normal air breathed by mortals. The air encircling the mortal world was called Chaos or Aer, while the Underworld where the dead dwelled was enveloped in Erebos, the mist of darkness.

Nescience is another word for ignorance that is used mainly in a philosophical context. According to the Doctrine of the Three bodies in Hinduism, nescience is the root cause of Dukkha (suffering, pain, dissatisfaction), and is asserted as the main cause that leads to repeated reincarnation. Nescience is an interesting weapon name for Xaldin. His most memorable moment in 358/2 Days happens during a visit to the Beast’s Castle.

Xaldin is definitely one of the most callous Organization members. He has no understanding of love and says that it is only a power of poetry but not practicality. He could not even tell that the Beast was more concerned with Belle’s safety than the rose. This attitude existed even before he became a Nobody. In his report, he admits that he threw away his heart entirely by choice to escape the trappings of emotion.

Watching that foolish beast flail about only deepens my disdain for humans and their incessant need to be pinned down by feelings. We became Nobodies precisely to avoid the shackles of emotion. It was only later that we realized the scale of that loss: that some things simply cannot be done without a heart. Nonetheless, I see nary a pleasant thing about it.

Xemnas: My friends! Remember why we have organized–all the things we hope to achieve. The strength of the human heart is vast. Soon, though…we will have gained power over it! Never again will it…have power over us.

This was an interesting quote from Xemnas that was never expanded upon much. It seemed like Organization XIII wasn’t just trying to regain hearts; they were trying to gain some sort of mastery over the heart as well. This seems right in line with what we can gather about Xaldin’s motivations.

Brume is another name for mist or fog. Foxfire is another term for will-o’-the-wisp. In literature, will-o’-the-wisp sometimes have a metaphorical meaning, for instance, describing a hope or goal that leads one on but is impossible to reach.

Asura, in Hindu mythology, refers to a class of divine power-seeking deities. Asuras are defined by their opposition to the more benevolent devas. In general, the Asuras are associated with the underworld and represent the malevolent nature of the Hindu tradition.

In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts, the Yaksha has a dual personality. On the one hand, a yaksha may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the yaksha, which is a kind of ghost that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travelers.

Xaldin’s weapons also commonly reference his warrior attributes as well as dragons. Shimmer is called Violent Lightning in Japanese. Paladin refers to one of the twelve peers of Charlemagne’s court. It is also the name of a recurring Job class in the Final Fantasy series as a class excelling at aerial tactics.

Heavenfall is called Conquering Heaven in Japanese. It is probably a reference to his involvement in creating Kingdom Hearts. Though it is also possible that Xaldin, like Xigbar, had some knowledge of Xemnas’ true agenda to forge the X-blade and open the true Kingdom Hearts.

Fellking is called Furious King in Japanese. Fellking is a combination of the two words “fell” and “king”, meaning “ferocious king”. Did Xaldin aspire to be the new king of Radiant Garden? Was this his motivation for betraying Ansem the Wise? Hegemon is the word for “ruler of earth” or “imperial commander”. Xaldin’s Pandora Gear is Dragonreign.

Xaldin’s Zero Gear is Lindworm, his original weapon from KH2. A lindworm is a type of wingless, bipedal dragon known for its venomous fangs. His Mystery Gear is Wyvern. The wyvern was widely believed to be a symbol of power, strength, and endurance. In the bestiaries of the Middle Ages, the wyvern was used as an allegory of Satan and was associated with war, pestilence and sin.

No. V - Lexaeus (Silent Hero)

Founding member. Tremendously strong, but surprisingly quiet—stalwart as the earth itself.

Lexaeus uses weapons called Axe Swords, which possess traits of axes, swords, and hammers. Many of his weapons have names referencing nature. His joke weapon is the Bleep Bloop Bop, a simple cartoonish hammer. His other weapons are Reticence, Goliath, Copper Red, Daybreak, Colossus, Ursa Major, Megacosm, Terrene, Fuligin, Hard Winter, Firefly, Harbinger, Redwood, Sequoia, Iron Black, Earthshine, Octiron, Hyperion, Clarity, 1001 Nights, Cardinal Virtue, Skysplitter, and Monolith.

Many of his weapons are a reference to his size. Colossus (called Orge in Japanese) and Goliath are both giants, and Sequoia and Redwood are two of the tallest trees on Earth. Ogres are man-eating giants in folklore. They are usually cruel and terrifying. Other names are a reference to minerals. Octiron, Copper Red, and Iron Black. Octiron is a fictional element, a magical metal, in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books. Octiron is unaffected by anything except magic. It is described as being black and heavy.

Harbinger refers to someone who announces something (usually bad) is going to happen soon. Hyperion was one of the Titans of Greek mythology. His parents were the primordial beings Uranus (the sky) and Gaia (the Earth). In these ancient times, Uranus behaved as a tyrant towards his children, prompting Hyperion's bother, Kronos, to plot a coup against him. When Uranus came to Gaia, Hyperion and three brothers pinned him down so that Kronos could castrate him. Thus, the Titans overthrew their father and started a new era. Since the four brothers were responsible for restraining Uranus and keeping him from Gaia, they became the four cardinal pillars that hold up the sky and keep it from colliding with the world. Was this a reference to the betrayal of Ansem the Wise. His Zero Gear is Skyplitter, his original weapon.

Reticence refers to his quiet and reserved nature. Many of his weapons deal with a specific mental state. Clarity is called Clear Mirror, Still Water in Japanese. This phrase refers to a Chinese Daoist concept. When a mirror is dirty or it has something on it, it does not reflect things as it should; it is not working as it is supposed to. When your mind is not clear, it does not work as it is supposed to, either. Moreover, when your mind is not clear or clean, it usually means that something evil thing is going on in your mind.

His Pandora Gear is Cardinal Virtue. It is called Wind, Wood, Flame, Mountain in Japanese. This phrase comes from from Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as mountain." Megacosm is another world for the universe at large. In Japanese this weapon is called Heaven, Earth, Man. The three powers of Heaven, Earth and Man refer to the basic elements required to make powerful chi energy in Tai Chi. Firefly is symbolic of self-illumination, teaching that the light within is the power of life.

Terrene is a word derived from Latin meaning of or like earth. It is called Of This World in Japanese. This phrase is commonly used in a spiritual context. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of the pursuit of material comforts, in the interests of achieving spiritual enlightenment. It is highly practiced in Jainism, Hinduism, Christianity and many other religions. In Buddhism, renunciation conveys more specifically "giving up the world and leading a holy life" or "freedom from lust, craving and desires". Since Lexaeus is still “of this world”, it suggests he has not mastered this ideal and has a strong earthly attachment to something or someone.

Fuligin is a word derived from Latin that means sooty or black. In Japanese it is called Of Darkness. It could be referring to the Buddhist term “fundamental darkness” which is similar to Xaldin’s lance “Nescience”. Fundamental darkness is primal ignorance. The most deeply rooted illusion inherent in life, said to give rise to all other illusions. Darkness in this sense means inability to see or recognize the truth, particularly the true nature of one’s life. The term fundamental darkness is contrasted with the fundamental nature of enlightenment, which is recognizing the spiritual nature inherent in life.

Interestingly, Redwood is actually named Camellia in the Japanese version. In China, the camellia represents the union between two lovers. The delicately layered petals represent the woman, and the calyx (the green leafy part of the stem that holds the petals together) represents the man who protects her. The two components are joined together, even after death.

Sequoia was also called Holly Olive in the Japanese version. Holly olive is also known as osmanthus. A traditional symbol of love and romance, osmanthus was used in old wedding customs. The fragrant plant symbolized true love and faithfulness, and the fruit tree symbolized fertility and peace. The custom had the meaning of "giving birth to noble children" and "many children and many grandchildren". Chinese mythology held that a sweet osmanthus grows on the moon. Osmanthus fragrance is associated with a number of Lunar legends in China, which makes it symbolic at the time of the Chinese Moon Festival.

It might be why one of his weapons is called Earthshine, the glow caused by sunlight reflected off the earth, especially on the darker portion of a crescent moon. When you look at a crescent moon shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you can sometimes see not only the bright crescent of the moon, but also the rest of the moon as a dark disk. That pale glow on the unlit part of a crescent moon, the light reflected from Earth, is earthshine.

Hard Winter is called Great Snowfall in Japanese. Snow and winter are often used to represent sadness, bleakness or death. Snow can also be a symbol of cleansing. It is a blanket that obscures all, which can either be a new, clean beginning, or a blanket obscuring a truth. Another weapon is called Daybreak. Dawn or daybreak suggests the notions of illumination and hope, the beginning of a new day and thus a chance for happiness and improvement. Sunrise is a symbol of birth and rebirth, of awakening.

Those aren’t the only weapons suggesting that Aelaeus probably had a love interest. 1001 Nights is an epic collection of Arabic folk tales written during the Islamic Golden Age. Scorned by an unfaithful wife, Shahryar is the sultan of a great empire, but is brokenhearted. Shahryar chose to marry a new virgin woman every day only to kill her the next morning. More and more innocent women die until one day Scheherazade, the daughter of the king's top vizier, offers to marry the king. The sultan and vizier both protest, but Scheherazade insists, all knowing that the night could be her last. That night, she requests the presence of her sister and tells a story that manages to be the beginning of dozens of stories meant to keep her alive. The sultan falls in love with her over 1001 nights and spares her life.

Perhaps Xaldin’s disgust at the power that love has over humans was related to Aelaeus. This also may have been a reason why Aelaeus chose to give up his heart. Was he heartbroken over possible unrequited love? Probably. In the secret ending of BbS, Master Xehanort tells Terra that many seeds have been sown. Telling Braig and Maleficent about Kingdom Hearts was one part of his plans, but what were the others? We never really see what other seeds were planted. Interestingly, one of Xigbar’s weapons is called Cupid’s Arrow in both English and Japanese. It sounds a bit strange at first. But what if it was related to one of the seeds? Maybe Aelaeus was motivated to experiment on the heart hoping he could find a way to be with the one he loves? Or maybe to rid himself of his unrequited romantic desires?

Lexaeus’ Mystery Gear is Monolith. It is a depiction of one of the heads of Easter Island, known as the 'maoi'. They are described in local tradition as having once possessed 'mana', a beneficial power. The islanders have a legend that the statues were moved to the platforms and raised upright by the use of mana, or mind power. Lexaeus’ other weapons show that he is dedicated to mastery of his mind and body. He probably struggled to master his heart, though. The maoi could also be a reference to Lexaues’ mysterious and quiet personality. Easter Island is regarded as one of the most mysterious places on Earth.

#KH3 #anti-kh3 #anti kh3 #kh meta #kingdom hearts meta #kh org #organization xiii #lexaeus #xaldin #kh aeleus #kh dilan

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professional-anti · 6 years ago

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Chapter Eight: Weapon of Choice

Heyyyyy!! Sorry, life has been cray, and it’s never gonna change, unfortunately. But guys, dw, I am dedicated. Also, weirdly, doing this has made me appreciate books even more? It’s so much fun to talk abt books, and I learn so much, even if it’s a book I hate. Okay, getting started (pray for me):

We last left off with Clary jumping thru the surprise door, like one does. Jace lands on top of her, yay, OTP moment, gag me. There’s a nice little detail where “Clary coughed hair (not her own) out of her mouth” which kind of captures the chaos and would be cute if it were an actual good ship. I hate when that happens. Jace criticizes Clary, FINALLY for a valid reason.

It turns out they’re at Luke’s house. Oh, classic, he lives in Williamsburg, the gentrified hipster paradise. Where else would a man who wears flannel live? Even more classic, he lives behind a bookstore. Clare is obviously one of those heavy-handed authors who has exactly two professions for her Intellectual Men™: bookseller and evil Giles.

I’m going to shake Clary. She doesn’t know why they’re here, despite having thought “I want to go where my mom would have gone” right before jumping. Like, bitch??? Do you have a brain? I’m cryingfff

Clary decides she wants to leave, even though there’s cleary something super sketch abt Luke. He’s so obviously protecting her, so he must know something, right? Well, Clary rubs her two brain cells together and decides, nope, nothing to see here! Time to go home!

Jace, being reasonable for once, is like, yo, maybe we should stay. They run into Simon, so you know there’s gonna be Dramaz. Jace and Simon apparently devolve into primordial wild dogs driven by the intense urge to fight for the girl dog so they can screw and produce puppies that are as annoying as they are. Here is what everyone is doing:

Clary is fixing Simon’s hair bc she’s a Woman Simon is pushing Clary’s hand away bc he’s Annoyed Jace is using his stele to file his nail bc he’s Not Paying Attention

There’s some horrible forced tension between Simon and Clary, where he’s all, “Clary, you ran away from me, I thought I and my dick upset you,” and Clary’s all, “Never, Simon, I love you,” and Simon cums. Not actually, instead he slut shames Clary:

“Yeah, well, you clearly also couldn’t be bothered to call me and tell me you were shacking up with some dyed-blond wanna-be goth you probably met at Pandemomonium”

On the one hand, draaaaag him, Simon!! Jace IS a peroxide blond who listens Evanescence (I almost wrote MCR before googling it and learning that if I wrote that, about a million punks would stream into my inbox in tears).

Simon’s eyes are “dark with suspicion”. which is just annoying. Yes, I would be so fucking annoyed if my friend ran out on me and then disappeared and then reappeared with a blond guy. But I’d also do some more questioning of the situation. Is she okay? Why is she with such a rude guy? Is he hurting her? Was she kidnapped? Is she being held against her will? Is this a drug thing? Does she need my help? Why did Luke cover for her? Is something deeper going on? Instead Simon is all possessive Nice Guy.

Apparently Simon spied on Luke packing a duffel bag of weapons. So he couldn’t give Clary any benefit of the doubt? It sounds like her family is caught in a bad situation! Maybe she had to hide for her life! Simon, use your brain!!

kajlkfaklsdjfalksdflk Clary tells Simon everything, and Simon asks if they kill all these different magical creatures, and Jace says ONLY WHEN THEY’VE BEEN NAUGHTY a;dlfjals;kdjfl;asdjfl;aksdjf hahahahahahahah This image that Clare is going for is just sooooo overdrawn. This dialogue, omfg.

Simon loses his mind and excitedly compares everything that’s been going on to D&D. Let’s totally forget abt the fact that Clary’s mom is missing, or that Luke just filled a duffel bags with murder sticks, shall we?

Jace and Simon have a bizarre conversation, and then they walk. In. The. Back. Door. Bc Luke doesn’t lock his back door. Bc that’s totally not something that someone who fills a duffel bag with weapons would do. At least the door to the bookstore is locked, though Jace opens it pretty easily with his stele. Why didn’t Luke have Jocelyn fix up some wards or something?

Simon asks Clary how she stands Jace, and she’s like “he saved me life” and he’s like “huh?” even though she told him everything that happened. Why is Simon so dumb. I guess all his blood is in his dick? Wouldn’t surprise me.

They find manacles in the wall, so either Luke and Jocelyn have (even more) hidden depths, or Luke practices

Luke’s apartment is filled with books. Of course. Look, I love books. I have about 500 in my room at this moment. I buy them constantly, I get from the libarary, I read and read and read. I think most of us on booklr do. But when every single Good Character in your book has books, it’s boring. And no one has unique book taste. What if all of Luke’s books were nature books? Jack London? Travel guides? That would paint a picture. Instead he has a bunch of fantasy and other fiction. That’s boring. I learn nothing, bc every goddamn person in this goddamn book reads fantasy. It’s so fucking generic. I totally approve of “good” characters admiring and liking reading bc that’s how you get ideas, and that’s how Lemony Snicket rolls, but there are more books than fantasy and mystery (the other main type that Lucas has) in the world. Justice Strauss has an inexhaustive library. Uncle Monty has all those books about snakes. Lucky Smells just has that one history of Lucky Smells. Already, you know so much abt each person (and place) by what books they have. We learn nothing about Luke.

Clary finds the overnight bag she leaves at Luke’s and changes clothes. I mention this only bc she puts on “a blue tank top with a design of Chinese characters across the front” bc of COURSE she is That Bitch. I hope it translates to something like “Radishes” or “Bridge”.

Luke’s bedroom has a shelf of “Indian statues and Russian icons” which, idk, makes me a little uncomfortable. These sound like things that are holy to someone. But I think the worst part is that Clary says, “Luke collects stuff. Art objects. You know … Pretty things.” I just googled it, and Hindu statues, like the one Luke has of Kali, are seen as actual avatars of gods. Clary is diminishing someone’s god to a “pretty thing”. It’s not a nick-nack or a trinket. (If you know more abt this, like if I’m wildly off-base, feel free to send me an ask!)

Jace finds the Metaphor known as a smashed picture of Luke, Jocie, and Clary, which Clary threw at the Ravener in her apartment, so realize that Luke went back through the apartment. Jace says that Luke must have gone through the Portal-potty last, so it brought them here. I’m still team Clary Asked to Go Where Her Mother Would Have Gone and Therefore the Portal did What it Was Supposed to Do and Brought Her Where She Wanted.

Luke and some warlocks show up, so Clary and co. hide behind the super convenient silk screen. Jace uses his sonic stele to make the screen transparent and we get this gem:

Jace shook his head at them both, mouthing words: They can’t see us through it, but we can see them.

Bc mouthing works that well. You don’t mouth compound sentences!! You mouth something simple like they can’t see us. Simon and Clary already know they can see Luke and the warlocks bc they’re looking at them right now! And this spell or whatever that Jace did takes the tension in the scene waaaaaay down. If they can’t see Luke, then everything becomes more tense. Are the voices getting closer to the screen? Is somebody about to reveal them? Instead, all the tension is drained in a dumb quick-fix.

Bc Clare thinks we’re stupid, she adds “It was frightening even though [Clary] knew [Luke] couldn’t see her, that the window Jace had made was like the glass in a police station interrogation room: strictly one-way.”

GD ARE YOU THERE??????? STOP THIS.

Jace realizes that the warlocks are actually Shadowhunters dressed as warlocks. Idk how he can tell, but whatever. He conveys this by whispering, so I don’t know what the mouthing nonsense was earlier.

The Shadowhunters are named Blackwell (redhead) and Pangborn (gray mustache). What sorts of names. It’s like Clare used a fantasy-name-generator. Who are we kidding, that’s totally what she did. Pangborn picks up the Kali statue and this conversation happens:

“Ah,” said Pangborn, taking the statue from his companion. “She who was created to battle a demon who could not be killed by any god or man. ‘Oh, Kali, my mother full of bliss! Enchantress of the almighty Shiva, in they delirious joy thou dancest, clapping thy hands together. Thou art the Mover of all that moves, and we are but thy helpless toys.’” “Very nice,” said Luke. “I didn’t know you were a student of the Indian myths.” “All the stories are true,” said Pangborn, and Clary felt a small shiver go up her spine. “Or have you forgotten even that?” “I forget nothing,” said Luke.

So the Shadowhunter mythology is that all religions are true? Inch resting. I vaguely remember this. Idk how I feel about this. The Shadowhunters are still gonna be super Christian no matter what lip-service Clare pays to other religions. She has angels! And demons! She’s trying to be inclusive, but it’s never really gonna work, bc she’s doing it in name only. But at the same time, I wouldn’t want her to mess with any religion but Christianity or, sigh, Judaism. Christianity bc it’s the dominant religion and can’t be marginalized (different denominations can be, but not Christianity as a whole) and Judaism bc she’s Jewish. There’s not very much Jewish in these books, though. Yeah, there are angels in Judaism, but it’s not really the Jewish Vibe. A book influenced by Judaism would have a lot of magic based on specific wording, and arguments, and Hebrew and Hebrew-derived languages. This book uses Latin and is into angels. It’s Christian-influenced, which is fine, I guess, but the lip-service to other religions doesn’t ring true. But also, saying “Christianity is the one religion!” is super upsetting and she shouldn’t do that. I don’t really know where I’m going with this, I’m literally thinking on the page. Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Please hit up my ask box or talk about this in the notes! This discussion really interests me, and I want to get diverse opinions.

Luke asks if Valentine sent them (he did) and if their clothes “are official Accord robes” “from the Uprising?” (they are). Wow. The Uprising. What a descriptive name! We don’t call things “the Uprising” in real life. It’s more like, “The French Revolution.” “The Cultural Revolution.” “The Revolutionary War.” “The Civil War.” Am I being unfair?” I guess someone right after one of the French Revolutions might just say “the Revolution.” But something about The Uprising is so boring. And aren’t there more than one Uprising? There should be. The Warlock Uprising. The Vampire Uprising. It doesn’t have to be all internal. Any organized group would rise against the Clave. The Clave is legit the worst.

It turns out Luke’s real name is Lucian AND. I. AM. DYING. Luke is Lucius Malfoy, confirmed!! Let’s do a list of what we know so far:

Clary: Ginny Jace: Draco Jocelyn: I’m getting Bellatrix vibes? Bc of the whole in-love-with Voldemort thing? Valentine: I don’t know?? I can’t think of who he could be??? We’ll have to leave this blank for now I guess :/ Hodge: Giles. Not a HP character, but this is a crossover event with Buffy. Isabelle: Pansy Parkinson Alec: I actually don’t know here. He’s the GBF. Simon: Does Harry make sense? They’re both boring nice guys (don’t @ me!)

This game is getting boring, let’s move on. Luke apparently used to fight with B and P, so we know he’s a Shadowhunter (or, if you’ve read this book before, you know he used to be one). Then he tells them he doesn’t know where the Mortal Cup is (they think Jocelyn hid it).

CLARY IS SO FUCKING DUMB OMFG. P and B talk about how Jocelyn hasn’t regained consciousness and Valentine wants to see her again (using her name) and Clary goes:

Jocelyn? Can they be talking about my mother?

NO THE OTHER FUCKING JOCELYN. CLARY HOW RU STILL ALIVE.

CC must think her readers are really dumb and can’t figure anything out on their own:

“I’ve never felt any way about [Jocelyn], particularly,” said Luke. “Two Shadowhunters, exiled from their own kind, you can see why we might have banded together. But I’m not going to try to interfere with Valentine’s plans for her, if that’s what he’s worried about.”

He might as well have said, “Jocelyn and I were both exiled. EXILED. We were exiled. We were exiled as fuck. Do you get it? Reading context clues is hard, so I’m saying WE WERE EXILED.” The quasi-warlocks should have responded like, “Yeah? We know you both were exiled? We were there?”

Blackwell refers to Jocelyn as “that bitch” bc institutionalized mysoginy is the absolute best! I love when vicious sexism is included for no reason! Bc also these guys aren’t any worse than Luke! Bc may I remind you that Luke was basically a supremacist! Just like them!

For some reason, these idiots believe Lucius when he tells them that he’s not close with Jocie. Then please explain why you both live in Brooklyn.

P and B threaten to make Luke stay in the city, and Luke threatens them, and somehow they let this happen? In other news, Clary is still dumb as rocks. She’s super hurt that Luke said that he doesn’t care about Jocie bc she has about 0 critical thinking skills. We’re talking none. She could have someone whispering the answers in her ear and still bomb the SAT.

Jace thinks that P and B think Luke “knows more than he’s telling” so why would they let him go???? Then Jace reveals that P and B murdered his dad, and this chapter is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Someone bring me a Bloody Mary. It’s how I feel inside.

#anti cassandra clare #anti the mortal instruments #book snark #CoB: Chapter 8 #CoB snark

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legit-writing-tips · 7 years ago

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Legit Worldbuilding Tip #3

or - “Crafting Religions for Fictional Worlds”

Whether you’re religious or not, there’s no denying the cultural, political, and social impact that religion has had on the world around us.

So when crafting a brand new world, whether it’s high fantasy, science fiction, science fantasy, etc., religion can play a big part of the world that you’re building. And because of its relative importance, there are a lot of things to think about re: crafted religions.

Religions Shape Morals and Virtues

Morals are a strange thing. People aren’t born with an innate knowledge of what to do in life, or how to act. It only makes sense, then, that people would turn to religion as a guide for how they should behave. That’s easy enough to see with the world we live in.

The Golden Rule. Nearly everybody learns this one growing up. For Christians, it comes in the form of a Biblical quote - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But the concept isn’t unique to Christianity. Nearly every religion has this same rule, in some form or another.

But when you get further into the details of differing religions, you see that each has its own set of morals and what it feels is “right.” This can range from Evangelicals who feel that same-sex love is a sin because of an archaic passage from the old testament to vegetarianism as a way to avoid hurting other living creatures, commonly found among Hindus.

So What Does This Mean?

Well, this means that when you’re crafting a religion, one of the things to think about is what morals you want in your world.

Don’t want a world with a bunch of homophobic assholes? I’ve got good news for you! A same-sex couple amongst your pantheon of Gods and you can have a world where people don’t just accept same-sex love, but celebrate it!

But that’s not the only thing to think about. Different taboos are often religion-centric as well.

These taboos can have minor consequences on your world-building in some ways. For example, maybe you just want to make things more interesting by adding details such as characters who avoid certain kinds of metals or stones because they’re strictly forbidden in their religious texts.

These taboos can also have major consequences on your story. For example, even in the modern day and age there are a lot of prejudices against albinism in some African countries. You can imagine the consequences for such a character.

Religions Shape Cultural Practices and Thoughts

In the West, pretty much everybody celebrates the holidays, even if they aren’t Christian. They may adapt their practices depending on their beliefs, but regardless, if you live in a country like America you’ll experience a lot of religious influence around the holiday season. Christmas, a day that celebrates the birth of a religious figure, has a tremendous cultural impact even on those that aren’t Christian.

When crafting a religion, it only makes sense to think about the cultural impact said religion will have. Holidays, prayer, rituals, religious pilgrimages, the way that people keep track of time (as in our AD system), taboos (as already mentioned), fasting, celibacy, religious bathing/cleansing...

These are just a few practices that exist within different religions. Many are so ingrained in our culture that people don’t even think of them as “religious” any more.

For example, the practice of abstaining from sex before marriage. This single religious belief has created a culture that is very prohibitive regarding sexuality. A lot of people still think that fewer sex partners = a better person, even those who aren’t adherents of any religious philosophy. It’s just something that’s ingrained in our culture.

All this to say - the best starting point for creating a religion in a fictional world is knowing what kind of world you want to write.

With all that out of the way, let’s get on to the actual creation process. There are a few things to think about, but I want to start with something I feel is very important.

There are a lot of religions out there. I suggest you research them and learn about them.

But please don’t just take an existing religion, especially one from another culture, slap a new name on it, give it an air of mysticism, and then be done with it. It’s disrespectful to those who actually practice these religions.

*Ahem* Okay, I’ve said my piece and now I’ll move on.

Remember - Multiple Religions Can and Usually Do Exist in a Culture

This is the first and most important thing I want to point out. Most of the stories I’ve seen where creators do religion right is when they remember that not everybody practices the same religion.

George R. R. Martin does this incredibly well with the different religions in ASOIAF. They are all different, they are all unique, they are very much shaped by the part of the world that those characters live in.

Also remember that the same religion can have many different interpretations, leading to different branches and sects. They can be quite different and they may not get along that well. This is another thing that is often forgotten.

Different Types of Religions

Throughout history there have been many different types of religions. Some have a single god. Some have an entire pantheon. Some see gods as people. Some see gods as animals. Some gods are both people and animals, depending on the story that’s being told. Some religions see gods as having no form. Some religions teach that god is the universe. Some say that there are no gods, but there is power in everything.

Let’s Talk Prophets and Stuff

Another thing to remember is that religions are often centered on a prophet, or a person’s teachings. While a god or pantheon of gods may be central to that religion, the prophet/guru/etc. is also very important. Jesus, Muhammed, the Buddha... just a few real world examples.

This is where I take the time to point out something important. Your religion doesn’t have to have a male prophet/teacher. A prophet can be a woman. Or nonbinary. There can be six prophets who worked together, all of different gender identities. In fact, this can be a really good way to get rid of gross stuff like sexism in your world’s culture, or just plain avoid stereotypical high fantasy with Manly Men and Damsels in Distress.

Leave Some Stuff Unexplained

Another thing I want to point out is that religions don’t usually have explanations for everything. I mean, the whole point of religion is faith most of the time.

I was talking with @more-legit-gr8er-writing-tips earlier about this. Because I still get mad about the midichlorian thing in Star Wars. The Force was an awesome (if a little underdeveloped) religion. It was focused on the power that exists in all things rather than the idea of a god. Certain people could access the Force. All was good. Then they made the Force the result of little critters that live inside people.

No. No no no. Okay, I’ll stop. Just suffice it to say, whatever genre you’re writing in, don’t feel the need to explain everything. Even if magic exists, even if there’s science, just embrace the mystery and the wonder of the religion you’ve created.

Religious Institutions

I’ll keep this one short. But just remember that where there’s religion, there’s inevitably going to be some sort of religious institution. It may be that in your world every town has its own religious leader and group of scholars. Or you could have a vast system of temples. Or you could have the fantasy equivalent of the Catholic Church.

(Remember also - the bigger a religious institution is, and the more influence it has on the people, the more likely it is going to be a power in its own right in your world - a.k.a. the Catholic Church basically being a governing power in our own history.)

Religion in Science Fiction

Apart from some science fantasy, I’m hard pressed to find many science fiction stories that include religion. I think there’s a general assumption that people will move away from religion, especially as we learn more about the world we live in.

But... people are people. And I’m 100% sure that there will always be some people who believe in something. Your dystopian government may not like it, but somebody somewhere will discover the last unburned copy of the Torah and a brand new religion with elements of Judaism will spring up around it.

And that starship flying through space in the year 3277? Probably going to have Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and who knows what else on board. Though they may not practice religion the same way we do now. And who the crap knows what the aliens are going to believe in.

Common Themes in Religion

One of the final things I have to say is that, for as many differences there are in religions, there are a lot of commonalities. Things like prophets, and trickster gods, and miraculous births (such as children being found in rivers or born to virgins). I suggest you do some research on the commonalities in religions and use them if you need a bit of inspiration for crafting your own.

Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough. I just want you to consider some of these things. This is just one way to build a little more complexity into a world you’ve created, and it can do a lot for everything from plot to making the reader really believe that your world exists. So have at it! Enjoy playing god(s).

#writing #writing tips #world building #worldbuilding #religion

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circa-specturgia · 2 years ago

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Depends what sort of vibe you’d like in your WIP!

A:TLA and several other fantasy series go the route of “combination”, simply combining two animals into one, forming an all new animals, ie the turtleduck! It’s a neat way to get some unique creatures and you can always rename the combination! The integration of the two animals can be very fluid and make it look like a proper blend, or can be a bit more jarring and fun, like the platypus-bear or above mentioned turtleduck!

Another possibility is researching mythos, and I encourage you to look into some which are less often used in popular fiction! Everyone knows and uses Greek mythology, (though it’s not a bad source of inspiration don’t get me wrong!!!) and so giving Hindu, Shinto, or Native Peoples stories and culture a look among others might provide you with a few interesting ideas for creatures and beings!

Finally… Just look for random stuff! I’ve had lots of ideas for creatures and beings in my WIP by looking through Pinterest for the fact that they provide a HUGE amount of images with near to no text and have given me lots of cool designs and sparked ideas here and there!

Hope this helped and if you’d like to brainstorm together, I’m always down to do so!!! ✨

I really want to make unique creatures for the Melodiverse, I have no idea where to start though, any ideas?

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freebestsof · 6 years ago

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A Brief Summary On Cedar Lodge Retreat

By Helen Thomas

The significance of a profound withdraw can be distinctive for various religious networks. Otherworldly Cedar lodge retreat Branson Missouri are an indispensable piece of numerous Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi or Islamic people group. In Hinduism plus Buddhism, thoughtful retreats are looked by some as a personal method for developing forces of focus and knowledge. Retreats are likewise prominent in Christian places of worship. In Sufi phrasing, khalwa is simply the demonstration of aggregate relinquishment in want for the Celestial Nearness. In entire detachment, the Sufi persistently rehashes the name of Lord as a most noteworthy type of dhikr or remembrance of God contemplation. In his book, Adventure to the Master of Intensity, Muhiyid Did Arabi ibn from 1165 to 1240 AD talked about the phases through that the Sufi goes in his khalwa. On the cellphone strolling house from the train conversing with your companion or darling or life partner about the amusement or beau or charges, time is taken. Every last bit of it. There are no spare time. Time on withdraw is unique, liquid. There is not any more surge. You discover a space where one can give himself an opportunity to interface with stream, virtuoso, motivation and standpoint. You can simply be you. At that point the privileged insights of creature world, the mixture of the universe of life constrain into lives, at that the surface sign this light of Awesome Names, as per Abdul Karim Jeelial, the books interpreter, at the degrees of theoretical sciences, at that point the universe of development and embellishment and magnificence, at that point the degrees of that qutb world. The spirit or rotate of world. We are all imaginative. Imagination and motivation happen when you remove the time from your normal everyday employment to recall your fantasy. You play about what rouses you, regardless of whether it is sew, composing, running, chiseling, cooking or a smidgen of everything. They had a Californian programming creator at our withdraw once who made an alternate sort of natural bread each day for 3 weeks. More often than not in petition, with God. Despite the fact that the act of abandoning ones regular daily existence to associate on a more profound dimension with God, be this in the desert similarly as with the Dessert Fathers, or at a cloister, is as old like Christianity itself, the act of investing an explicit energy away with Lord is a progressively current wonder, dating from that 1520s and Saint Ignatius of Loyolas arrangement of the Profound Activities. The shriek of the swallows cleaning. The breeze, however more critically, that calm inside your very own heart. Detoxify. Individuals please withdraw and they have a chilly, rest for quite a long time, or dream distinctively without precedent for years. It is bewildering to them, however it never shocks us. Everybody needs to empty, wipe out and void their psychological work area. People, rather than human doings. Regular areas for Christian retreats incorporate houses of worship and withdraw focuses. Withdraw focuses normally offer medium term facilities, for example, in a lodge or residence, suppers, exercises, meeting rooms, and house of prayer space. In the twentieth Century, three day withdraws were promoted by the Cursillo development, in view of Ignatian otherworldliness. The withdraw was advanced in Roman Catholicism. There are numerous reasons. They enable you to pull front, get propelled, wind up roomy, detox, and discover your kin. Withdraw originates from the Latin action word to pull back. Thus, withdraw, or a withdraw, is where you pull once more from the universe. Here are ten reasons we think withdraws are vital. They encourage you. Draw back. It is vital. You push back from your customary life.

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hasthcraft · 2 years ago

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renzanandsinghramananda · 7 years ago

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Kabbalistic Musings on "Life of Pi"

On the first page of the novel, Life of Pi, the main character, Pi Patel, states that one of his two academic majors was in religious studies, with his thesis focused on "certain aspects of the cosmogony theory of Isaac Luria, the great sixteenth-century Kabbalist from Safed." Luria, also known as the "holy Sri" (Lion), is still revered as one of the greatest of all Jewish mystics.

In the movie, Pi does not mention Luria by name, but he does say that he lectures on Kabbalah at the university. Given this reference (and a few others I will explain below), I feel justified in assuming that there are Jewish mystical themes encoded in the story, even though they are presented mostly in terms of Hinduism. As I am a visual-oriented person (one of my autistic gifts), I will focus primarily on the movie, while using the book for more background references as needed.

(Warning: If you read beyond this point, you will encounter spoilers, so if you have not read the book and/or seen the movie, stop here or proceed at your own risk!)

In both the book and the movie versions, Pi Patel's father owns a zoo, so he grows up with a lot of practical knowledge about animals. He is also very interested in religions. In addition to his mother's Hinduism, he also explores Christianity and Islam, finding truth in all three paths and combining their practices in his daily life. His brother ridicules him for this, while his father tries to convince him that "religion is darkness" and that rational thinking -- science -- is the way of "the new India." Pi replies with the words of Mahatma Gandhi: "All religions are true."

The book goes into considerable detail about the three theologies and the differences between them, while the movie relies more on visual scenes of worship to get this point across. The book has a poignant -- if hostile -- marketplace encounter, with Pi's three religious teachers each claiming him for their own faith. The movie leaves this scene out, perhaps because it might offend viewers, or else be over the heads of children in a PG audience. It is well worth reading if you haven't already.

Pi is especially puzzled by Christianity, because he cannot understand why God would allow his innocent son to suffer for the sins of the guilty. To him this makes no sense at all. The question of suffering recurs throughout the story. How can a God who loves us still allow us to suffer?

The shipwreck

Because of political changes in India (during the administration of Indira Gandhi), Pi's father decides to close the zoo, sell the animals, and move the family to Canada. They will travel with those animals headed for North America on a Japanese-owned freighter named the Tsimtsum. Which brings us to the second Kabbalistic reference in the story. Although Tsimtsum might look like a Japanese name, it is in fact Hebrew, and means "contraction" or "withdrawal." It refers to the teaching of Isaac Luria which says that, before the Creation, everything was infinite God-essence. In order for God to create the universe as we know it, God first had to create a vacant space -- a void -- for it to exist in. God did this by withdrawing -- contracting -- Him/herself. Within this void, God is hidden, allowing for free will and for independent creatures like us to exist.

That's all very interesting, but why did author Jann Martel name the ship Tsimtsum?

In a blog article on this topic, David Sanders quotes Martel on this question: “I wanted a representative scoop of religions in the book – Hindu, Christian, Islam. I would have loved to have Pi be a Jew, too, but there are no synagogues in Pondicherry [where the family was from in India]. So I chose Tsimtsum as the name of the Japanese cargo boat because, although it sounds Japanese, it is a Hebrew word.”

So my intuition was correct: Martel wanted to include Jewish mysticism in the mix, but like God in the cosmic tsimtsum, it is hidden. However, I think the symbolism goes deeper than that. Genesis says that the world was "void and formless," with the spirit of God moving upon "the deep," often visualized as a vast ocean.The Zohar describes Creation as beginning with a primal point (singularity?) within the void, which then expanded. When the ship sinks, Pi's world is contracted into a single point -- the lifeboat -- on a vast formless ocean, reversing Creation to chaos, so to speak. The graphics in the movie show this in several scenes, with Pi's boat a mere speck upon the ocean.

"As above so below" -- the clouds reflecting in the water make it appear as if the boat is in the sky

The movie also uses another common kabbalistic theme: "As above, so below." This is the idea that the physical world "below" is a reflection of the higher spiritual world "above." In numerous scenes we see the sky reflected in the water to the point that there is no horizon, no differentiation between the two. In the contraction of Pi's world, everything blends into one.

In one scene, Pi looks into the ocean and sees the whole universe reflected -- reminiscent of a childhood story told earlier by his mother, about how the Hindu god Krishna opened his mouth and the universe was seen within it. (The CGI graphics of the two scenes are very similar.) Once again, we are reminded of the spirit of God moving upon the waters in Genesis.

The voyage

Pi makes it to the lifeboat, along with four animals: a wounded zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a tiger named Richard Parker, a name he got through a mix-up of paperwork. There is a lot of focus on names in this book. Pi's first name is Piscine, from the French. But the bullies in his school take to mispronouncing it as "Pissing," so he re-names himself Pi. The Tiger was supposed to be called "Thirsty," but ended up as Richard Parker instead. In both cases, a less dignified name was replaced by a better one. In the Bible, a number of characters are given new names to reflect a new status.

The zebra and orangutan are killed by the hyena, which in turn is killed by the tiger. This leaves Pi alone with a vicious, hungry predator. At first Pi is terrified, but he soon realizes that he and the tiger must co-exist. He therefore works to establish his dominance and define their territories, using the methods of a circus trainer. Various interpretations for this relationship have been put forth, most centering on some form of the tiger being his animal self. This also fits with Jewish thought, where we have both a good side (yetzer tov) and a bad side (yetzer ha-ra.) One cannot destroy the bad side, but one can learn to control it, as Pi does with the tiger. In the book he considers various ways to destroy the tiger, but comes to realize that they need each other to survive. "My fear of him keeps me alert, tending to his needs gives my life purpose," he explains.

The carnivorous Island

One of the strangest episodes in Pi's voyage is the floating island full of meetkats. Safe by day, the island becomes carnivorous at night. This is so weird that many readers see it as pure fantasy. I would like to suggest it is a combination of reality and imagination. No, there are no ecosystems like the one Pi describes. However, there are many small islands in the Pacific, and floating islands of volcanic pumice -- some with trees -- have been reported. (Read more...) Carnivorous plants also exist in some places. So these elements do have a ring of truth.

By the time Pi gets to this island, he and Richard Parker are so close to death as to be delirious. In the movie they have just gone through a terrible storm where Pi cries out to God, "I lost my family, I lost everything. I surrender. What more do you want?" He has reached the depths of despair, the deepest dark night of the soul. He fully expects to die. So why couldn't there be a real island with some sort of animals on it, that Pi mis-remembers in this state of confusion? If you compare the images of the island trees with the banyans he walked among back in India, they are very similar.

Screen shot of The Island, enhance by me to make the reclining Vishnu shape stand out more clearly.

Another aspect of the island is mystical. In the beginning of the movie, we are told that the Hindu god Vishnu "sleeps on the boundless ocean of consciousness" and the universe is his dream. After Pi learns about Christianity, he thanks Vishnu for leading him to find Christ, and touches a small statue of Vishnu reclining. When we see the island from afar, it had this same shape, formed by the outline of the trees. This suggests the possibility that the island may be some form of miracle, that God is watching over Pi and Richard Parker even if hidden.

But although the island suggests sweet repose, it is a false peace. All that the island gives in the daytime, it takes away at night. And it is lonely. Pi could have stayed there forever, eating plants by day and sleeping with the meerkats in the trees by night, but it was an empty existence. When he finds a human tooth embedded in a fruit (which opens like a lotus in the movie) and realizes that some previous castaway had died there, he decides to leave and takes the tiger with him.

The two stories

Richard Parker walks off into the junge

After 227 days of survival on the high seas, Pi is washed ashore in Mexico. As he lies exhausted on the beach, Richard Parker walks off into jungle without even looking back The tiger is never seen again. This deeply saddens Pi, who even years later wishes there had been some sort of final look or growl in parting. In the book, during the first part about life in a zoo, Pi told the story of a black panther that escaped the Zurich zoo in winter and survived on its own for several months. Now we know this was to lay the groundwork for the possibility that Richard Parker also survives in the South American jungle. Still, Pi misses him.

Once back in civilization, parts of the voyage sound too strange to be true. The two Japanese insurance investigators don't believe him, and ask for an ordinary story to put in their report, one that their company will believe. So he obliges them and tells a more common lifeboat survival tale, one of treachery, murder and cannibalism, in which only he survives. In this second story, the zebra is a wounded sailor, the hyena is a barbarous cook, the orangutan is his mother, and he is the tiger. In its own way this tale is also hard to believe, because his mother and father can't swim, his brother refused to get up to investigate the loud noise, and all three were down below when the ship sank. Only Pi was on deck because he went up to see the storm.

So which story is true? In both stories the ship sinks, he loses his family, suffers for 227 days at sea and is the sole survivor. In the end, neither story explains why the ship sank. Neither explains Pi's suffering. Neither can be proven true or false.

Pi asks, "Which is the better story?" The writer who is interviewing him says that the one with the tiger is better. The Japanese insurance men apparently agree, because in the end, they include the tiger story in their report. As Rebbe Nachman of Breslov once said, "Not all the stories are true, but when the people tell them, they are holy." One cannot prove religion one way or another. Is rationalism really better than mysticism? What if life really is a random jumble of meaningless events? Can we live with that? It is the nature of human beings to seek meaning in life, to bring order out of chaos. Whether or not Richard Parker was real, without the tiger Pi would not have survived.

"Above all things, don't lose hope," said the survival manual in the lifeboat.

"Nver despair!" taught Rebbe Nachman.

The better story is the one with hope.

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nofomoartworld · 7 years ago

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Hyperallergic: Damien Hirst’s Shipwreck Fantasy Sinks in Venice

Damien Hirst, “The Fate of a Banished Man (Standing),” Carrara marble, 387 x 399 x 176 cm. The work stands at the entrance of the Punta Della Dogana (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic; works described as they appear in the exhibition guide, all are undated)

VENICE — Damien Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable is not an exhibition. It’s a showroom for oligarchs. Comprised of about 190 works, including gold, silver, bronze, and marble sculptures, the show is undoubtedly the most expensive artistic flop in living memory.

Treasures is founded on a compelling concept that has had the life strangled out of it. The exhibition guide details the fictional discovery of an ancient shipwreck off the coast of East Africa in 2008. We’re told that scuba divers spent ten years recovering incredible finds: coins, weapons, crystals, and monumental sculptures encrusted with corals and other marine organisms. The wreck is attributed to an equally fictional collector, a freed slave named Cif Amotan II, who having amassed a fortune, supposedly loaded a ship (the ‘Unbelievable’) with his treasured collection of “commissions, copies, fakes, purchases, and plunder.” “Yet the vessel floundered,” the guide continues, “consigning its hoard to the realm of myth, and spawning myriad permutations of this story of ambition and avarice, splendor and hubris.” The exhibition is built on the premise that Hirst personally financed the excavation and has brought the objects to Venice for the public to enjoy.

Damien Hirst, “Bust of the Collector,” bronze, 81 x 65 x 36.5 cm

It’s a brilliant lie, and one that could be enormously fun and engaging. Cif Amotan II is an anagram of “I am Fiction.” The works are by Hirst, and the enormous coral encrusted sculptures are actually meticulously painted bronze. These are displayed near pristine gold or marble editions of the exact same pieces, so-called “reproductions” of the scarred wreckage finds. The exhibition is split between the Punta Della Dogana and the Palazzo Grassi, private museums operated by French billionaire François Pinault, the owner of Christie’s auction house, a collector of Hirst’s work, and the co-financier of the exhibition. This is more than a little problematic.

Outside the Punta della Dogana is “The Fate of a Banished Man (Standing),” a monumental sculpture of a horse and rider entangled in the vice of a snarling serpent. The scene resembles a Hellenistic sculpture on steroids. For a work carved out of Carrara marble it looks extraordinarily cheap. The tree stump and rocks that make up the base of the sculpture are crudely carved, even cartoonish. It’s a portent of the excessive kitsch that follows inside.

Damien Hirst, “Two Figures with a Drum Discovered by Two Divers,” powder-coated aluminum, printed polyester and acrylic lightbox, 535 x 356.7 x 10 cm

A television monitor near the ticket office displays underwater footage of the excavation. This is easily the best feature of the exhibition. The imagery is beguiling: plumes of silt drifting off half-buried treasure, giant sculptures foregrounded by schools of fish, and raised objects shimmering in the shallows. The film is bolstered by a number of large light-box photographs scattered throughout the show, which purport to document where each artifact was found. They establish an aura of mystery that the objects fail to exploit.

The first room contains three of Hirst’s monumental, coral-encrusted bronzes, “Calendar Stone,” “The Diver,” and “The Warrior and the Bear” — each successively worse than the other. At a glance the sculptures make for impressive selfie-fodder, but up close the painted coral looks unconvincing. Some, but not all of the works, are accompanied by explanatory labels. We’re told that “Calendar Stone” is similar to the Piedra del Sol housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico, but that “the presence of objects of presumed pre-Hispanic, South and Central American Origin within a Roman-era wreckage is currently unexplained.”

Damien Hirst”Calendar Stone,” bronze, 422.5 x 475.8 x 172.3 cm

“The Warrior and the Bear,” a sculpture of a sword-wielding woman on a bear’s shoulders, is attributed to a maturation ritual for Athenian girls. However, the work doesn’t remotely resemble an ancient Greek sculpture. Thus, the show’s false conceit is immediately exposed. Other works include a Greek goddess with the head of a fly, a figure of Optimus Prime, multiple Disney characters, a sword emblazoned with the SeaWorld logo, and a silver bust of a figure wearing a gimp mask. A number of celebrities also make an appearance. Rihanna and Kate Moss are transformed into Egyptian deities, Pharrell Williams appears as a pharaoh, and Yolandi Visser (of Die Antwoord) stands in as the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar.

“Metamorphosis,” bronze, 211.6 x 88.2 x 88.7 cm

A generous reading is that Hirst is commenting on our true cultural values. Perhaps the ancient gods were simply the contemporary equivalents of Mickey Mouse or Rihanna? Is it absurd to revere objects whose history and meaning we can barely access or comprehend? I could almost subscribe to this idea were it not for the fact that the show is littered with iconographic retreads: unicorns, a flayed horse, and so on. Hirst retreats into familiar territory instead of exploiting the thematic potential of his myth. The flagrant kitsch of the work also sits uneasily with the show’s conceit. The work announces its fakery immediately.

Elena Geuna, the show’s curator, has propagated the show’s fiction in interviews — maintaining that it truly is an exhibition of recovered artifacts — whereas Hirst can’t be bothered. It all feels a bit half-arsed. What if Hirst had produced works that looked real, leaving the viewer to second-guess themselves? Perhaps he could have inserted real artifacts among his own creations? Such a course would have required a great deal of effort and subtlety. By comparison, Hirst’s kitsch is simply an easier means to sell juvenile trinkets to idle and unengaged one-percenters — an audience for whom a Mickey Mouse covered in coral or a minotaur raping a buxom woman apparently constitutes some sort of genuine art-historical engagement.

“As an artist you always make work from what’s around you,” Hirst told the BBC in 2010, “and you know, money was around me.” Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable could have been the Blair Witch Project or Nat Tate of fake archeological excavations. Hirst is one of the very few artists with the means to achieve such ends.

(Left_ “Gold Scorpion,” gold, 5.7 x 10 x 7.2 cm and (Right) “The Jewelled Scorpion,” gold, green and pink tourmaline, pearls, rubies. sapphires, and topaz, 10.9 x 16.2 x 11.5 cm

There has been an elaborate effort to give the exhibit a museological feel, as evinced by the numerous sleek display cases and explanatory labels. The Palazzo Grassi includes a scale model of the Apistos (the ‘Unbelievable’) and a suite of aged pencil drawings of the artifacts. The latter are accompanied by various archival stamps, the sort you might see on drawings that have long been housed at the British Museum or the Victoria and Albert Museum. It’s an elaborate touch, and one that is undermined by the lazy and haphazard approach to maintaining the overall illusion of the show. For instance, if the wreck was discovered in 2008, then who made these drawings? Hirst could have positioned himself in a lineage of artists who have actively interrogated the function and history of museums and collections (Fred Wilson, Andrea Fraser, and Marcel Broodthaers for instance). Instead, Hirst’s starting point was presumably, “how many works will we produce, and how should we edition them?”

Am I taking the show’s premise too seriously? Isn’t it just a peg for Hirst to hang his new body of work on? Sure — but the resulting work is insipid. The exhibition lays waste to a brilliant and engaging concept. It is also unbelievably repetitive, with variations of the same sculptures in bronze, gold, silver, and crystal. The sheer avarice of the show is jaw-dropping. The combined space of both museums is 54,000 square feet. For context, the Whitney Museum has 50,000 square feet of interior exhibition space.

Damien Hirst, “The Collector with Friend,” bronze, 185.5 x 123.5 x 73 cm

There are some works, which by sheer force of spectacle, manage to briefly seize your languishing interest. A prime example is “Demon with Bowl (Exhibition Enlargement),” an 18-meter resin figure built in situ at the heart of the Palazzo Grassi. It would probably be the most Instagrammed work of the show where not for the fact that it is impossible to capture in a single shot. Other behemoths include coral and non-coral variations of “Hydra and Kali,” in which the multi-limbed Hindu goddess (naked, of course) prepares to battle the renowned water monster of Greek and Roman mythology. There’s also a bright blue bronze depicting Andromeda screaming before a great white shark, a tentacled sea creature, and two piranha-like fish. These larger sculptures resemble pornographic re-imaginings of a Ray Harryhausen film.

Pinault financed the show with Hirst, though neither have stated its exact cost. When asked by New York Times reporter Carol Vogel whether he was effectively exploiting his museums for commercial gain, the collector gave a prickly response. “What can I say? I cannot avoid those comments. But this is not commercial. It’s about showing the art that I love.” In the same interview, Pinault all but admitted that he had acquired some of Hirst’s new work. “Perhaps. Probably,” he told Vogel, “but I am not going to tell you which ones!” Put simply, Pinault is promoting the art — and by extension, the market value — of an artist whose work he already owns. Assuming the show is a sell-out success, Pinault stands to enjoy a considerable appreciation to his collection’s value. To be clear, this is not illegal, but it does beg the question of what financial incentives or tax breaks, if any, Pinault’s foundation has enjoyed for housing his private collection in “the floating city.”

Installation view of “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” (2017), Punta della Dogana, Venice

Various multi-million dollar production costs have been bandied around by a cabal of press officers, dealers, and Hirst collectors who stand to benefit from the ambiguity. Hirst is especially keen to perpetuate the mystery, as evinced in this absurd (and frankly, offensive) exchange with the BBC’s arts editor Will Gompertz:

WG: What did it cost?

DH: Er, what did we say? More than twenty, less than… [pauses] less than a hundred.

WG: [laughs] We can do better than that Damien. More than fifty or less than fifty million?

DH: Erm, I’m not sure. Oh, probably more. A lot of money. WG: Yours?

DH: Yeah, mine.

Articles regarding Hirst and the art market are ten a penny, but an understanding of the exhibition’s economics is essential to understanding the reasons for its artistic failure. Treasures is supposed to be Hirst’s major come-back, a rebuke to his diminished popularity and slumping market value. The principal reason for this decline is saturation, both literal and conceptual. Hirst’s studio pumped out works recycling the same tired motifs: skulls, flies, butterflies, spots, and expensive pharmaceuticals. It got old and it got boring. Hirst’s 2009 exhibition at the Wallace Collection, a series of new paintings riffing off Francis Bacon — backfired spectacularly, with the late Brian Sewell memorably describing the show as “detestable” and “fucking dreadful.”

“Skull of a Unicorn,” bronze

According to Vogel’s report, the works in Treasures range from $500,000 to $5 million, and a number of collectors have already professed to purchasing pieces in advance. Each work apparently comes in an edition of three with two artist proofs. These have been branded into three aesthetic types. A collector can buy a “Coral” edition (i.e. one of the encrusted artifacts recovered from the supposed wreck), a “Treasure” (a restored artifact) or a “Copy” (a reproduction of a wreckage find). That’s around 950 works in total. You do the math. There are also three separate publications for sale, priced at £75, £150, and £250. Visitor entry to both museums is €15. The exhibit has been strategically designed to make as much money as possible. After about ten minutes into the show, it becomes glaringly obvious that Hirst has abdicated his aesthetic and conceptual ambitions to economic priorities.

If we knew how much Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable cost to produce, it would probably set a benchmark for how much money can be sunk into something so visually brash and un-compelling. Though the show may be in couched in history and myth, it propagates the prevailing orthodoxy of our time — one in which our cultural heritage is increasingly molded and determined by the whims and fancies of a wealthy elite. Boredom has never come at so high a price.

“Demon with Bowl (Exhibition Enlargement),” painted resin, 1822 x 789 x 1144 cm

“Hydra and Kali,” bronze, 526.5 x 611.1 x 341 cm

Damien Hirst “Aten”

“Hydra and Kali,” silver, paint, 93.5 x 122.2 x 57.5 cm

“Mickey,” bronze, 91 x 71 x 61 cm

“The Severed Head of Medusa,” gold, silver, 32 x 39.7 x 39.7 cm

“Hydra and Kali,” bronze, 539 x 612 x 244 cm

“The Minotaur,” black granite, 120.7 x 173.4 x 111.1 cm

“Pair of Masks” (detail), Carrara marble

“Huehueteotl and Olmec Dragon,” silver, paint, 53 x 44 x 40 cm

“The Skull Beneath the Skin,” red marble and white agate, 73.5 x 44.6 x 26.7 cm

“Metamorfosi (donna mosca),” charcoal and ink on paper, 52.5 x 32 cm

“Pair of Slaves Bound for Execution,” painted bronze, 179.4 x 139.2 x 85.6 cm

“Andromeda and the Sea Monster,” bronze, 391 x 593.1 x 369.7 cm

Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable continues at the Punta della Dogana and the Palazzo Grassi (Venice, Italy) through December 3, 2017.

The post Damien Hirst’s Shipwreck Fantasy Sinks in Venice appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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scottymcgeesterwrites · 7 years ago

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The Great Flood Myth

I wrote the first version of this article after watching the movie Noah by Darron Aronofsky. Everybody was confused by the rock people, which I immediately knew as having some basis in Jewish mythology.

The Great Flood Myth always intrigued me. As a freshman in college, whenever I had time to myself, I searched the school library for more information on why it appears that every major culture across the world has a Great Flood myth. It predates all ancient Hebrew scriptures. We’re talking way back to the time of the Babylonians. (The former being circa 1,000 BCE and the latter being circa 2,300 BCE)

The Genesis version of Noah’s Ark that we all are familiar with from the Old Testament is an adaptation of nearly the same story found in The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Not that Gilgamesh.

Yes, that one.

Gilgamesh has nothing to do with the flood directly, but rather he consults an old man, Utnapishtim, who goes on a long tangent about how he and and his family were warned by the god Ea of the destruction of humans. The reason for the gods’ hatred of man was because they were too loud.

Literally - that was it.

Imagine your neighbor trying to flood your house because you played the guitar too loud or fucked too loud.

In Babylonian mythology, man was created to serve the gods. The gods created us “in their image and likeness” to do their work. This is the source of many alien conspiracy theories which state that we were actually genetically engineered to serve our predecessors but, like Utnapishtim, I digress. Ea told him, “Yo, the gods hate you all, but I like you. You’re a cool dude. Go build a giant boat and like, I dunno, cross your fingers.” Essentially, Utnapishtim does the same exact thing as Noah, even with the animals. This and many other ancient Mesopotamian myths seem to have influenced Genesis, which makes us conclude that the Hebrews most likely came from ancient Mesopotamia. The Epic of Gilgamesh isn’t the first time the flood myth appears. Things can get confusing here with the mention of Babylonia and Sumerian and Akkadian, mostly because all these cultures lived together in the great region that was known as Mesopotamia.

The first real tale of the flood myth that was adapted into the Epic of Gilgamesh was seen in the tale of Ziusudra, a Sumerian myth. This follows the exact same story except with different names. Ea is replaced by Enki and Utnapishtim by Ziusudra. A notable difference is that Ziusudra was the ruler of the great city Shuruppak. In the end, there are three ancient tablets that still survive telling the same sort of flood myth:

The Tale of Ziusudra (Sumerian) The Tale of Atra-Hasis (Akkadian) and lastly Utnapishtim’s tale in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Babylonian) But we also see similar stories, if not exact, in almost every fucking culture ever.

In Hindu mythology, a Vishnu avatar warns the first man, Manu, of the flood and tells him to build a boat.

In African tribes, we see a variety of a flood myth.

In Greek mythology, humans angered Zeus, so he decided to flood the world. Prometheus warns Deucalion and tells him to build an ark. (The Greeks seemed to hypothesized that there was a flood based on fossils found inland and in mountain areas.)

We even see flood myths in Native American mythology, which really brings up the question - Is this based on a true event?

During those ancient times, the Ice Age was receding. (Technically we are still in an Ice Age - an Ice Age is defined by a period of time when there are polar ice caps) Water levels rose in the Persian Gulf, and on a global scale, the water level rose gradually for thousands of years from 18,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE. There are dozens of other explanations for this universal mythological phenomena, which include:

a meteor crashed in the Indian Ocean around 3000-2800 BCE, creating the Burckle Crater and generating a massive tsunami.

the Thera eruption (about 1630-1600 BCE), also would have created a tsunami.

the rapid draining of Lake Agassiz (specifically to explain Native American flood myths)

and aliens, becuase why the fuck not? You gotta have aliens.

Noah in the Old Testament vs. Darron Aronofsky’s film Noah

In the Old Testament, the story of Noah is really about 2 pages long. You’d think that’s hardly enough to make a 2 hour long movie from, but there’s a lot a writer can conjure up from the surrounding mythology. Before the flood story in Genesis, there’s a tidbit of verses people usually gloss over because it references blatant, weird mythology that nobody cares about except fantasy and sci-fi writers (so me). Genesis 6:1-4 talks about beings called the “nephilim”. Little is written about them in those verses aside from the fact that they’re implied to be a hybrid of angels and humans. The angels looked down at the humans, got a little horny, and made angel-human freak babies. They were also known as giants.

Nephilim is derived from the Hebrew word for “fall”, which gave rise to the idea of “fallen angels.”

Fallen angels are virtually never mentioned in the Bible by those names, but actually by the word for “watcher”. Darron Aronofsky’s fallen angels are actually called Watchers in his film. Watchers are referenced once as angels in the canonical Bible in Daniel 4.

Watchers are greatly expanded upon in the apocryphal (non-canonical) Book of Enoch, with Azazel being the most famous. He and other watchers taught the humans how to create weapons and jewelry and other cool stuff. Of course, this book was not accepted into the final canon for Christianity, neither in mainstream Judaism. Even the rock creatures are based on something. They were molded after the Jewish mythology of golems, and though the word in Psalms 139:16 was meant to figuratively describe a human’s unshaped form, Jewish folklore has them as actual beings that one could create to do one’s bidding. So in short, all this isn’t 100% pulled out of Darron Aronofsky’s ass. He was molding canonical and non-canonical references into a reimagined story. Here are some other differences between the movie Noah and the real mythology:

Tabul-cain is briefly mentioned in the Old Testament but he isn’t associated with the flood myth. Tabul-cain is briefly noted as the world’s first smithy. Darron uses him as the main antagonist in the film, which is actually quite fitting. There is a scene of him forming swords, which is a reference to his Biblical personae.

All of Noah’s three sons each have a wife to take to the ark in the Bible. Of course, for character conflict to drive a more dramatic story, Ham is denied a wife in the film.

Emma Watson’s character is completely made up

(Seriously, if the Bible had hot bitches like that, a lot of us would still be reading it)

Methuselah actually died 7 days before the flood began in the Old Testament

In both versions, Noah gets drunk after the flood. In the Old Testament, he does so because he creates the first vineyard and essentially becomes the world’s first drunkard. In the film, it was out of depression.

More about Noah is actually elaborated in the Qur'an, the Islamic equivalent to the Bible.

While in the Bible, Noah just does what he’s told without a word, the Qur'an has him as a prophet. He goes out and warns people about the flood. They don’t believe him and shun him. Some of this is played out in the film, although I cannot say if Darron also looked at the Qur'an (but I bet he did).

Sources: The Flood Myth by Alan Dundes

Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt

The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Herbert Mason, Mariner Books

St. Joseph’s Edition of the New American Bible On a sidenote, I highly suggest reading the Epic of Gilgamesh for leisure. It’s a great epic. Make sure you find a complete version of it though. The real epic is somewhat fragmented, and we only publish what we found. But some versions, like the one I unfortunately nabbed, cut out what’s fragmented.

BONUS ROUND: Gustave Dore (French, 1832-1883) was notable for illustrating scenes from the Bible, including The Deluge (Great Flood). He’s also famous for illustrating Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Darron references some of Dore’s illustrations during the great flood scene.

#mythology #flood #religion #myths #myth #noah #noah's ark #genesis #final fantasy v #gilgamesh #onreligion

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