¶ … mythology and ancient beliefs. Specifically it will compare the myths of heroism in the myth of Achilles to the modern film "Troy." The film "Troy," from 2004, is a remake of the Homer classic "The Iliad," which recounts the legend of the Greek warrior Achilles. In the film, actor Brad Pitt plays Achilles, giving him a larger than life, heroic quality. Achilles is the child of a mortal and a nymph, and his parents attempt to give him immortality by dipping him in the River Styx, but they miss a tiny spot on his heel, and this leads to his downfall. Both of these myths center around the idea of the hero in mythology, and in fact, they show the importance of heroes in the Greek society 3500 years ago. The translator of the Iliad writes, "Heroes are born into positions of prominence, which they also reaffirm by their public actions and especially by courageous performance in combat" (Homer xxii). Society reveres these heroes and treats them like gods, and they receive better treatment in society, with better food, better homes, and more power and prestige, as well. The translator continues, "Part of what makes heroic combat so breathtaking is this head-on response to mortality. Instead of evading death, heroes make it their own, inflicting it on others and courting it for themselves" (Homer xxiii). That is what makes them heroic in the eyes of others, and what counted in society at the type. Both of these works portray Achilles as a larger-than-life hero who courageously leads his men into battle, helping win the Trojan War that had lasted...
In both the book and the film, Achilles does not always act like a hero. In fact, because of disagreements with Agamemnon, the Greek forces leader, Achilles sits out much of the war, along with his men. In the film, there were only a few key battles, but in the book, the war lasted ten long years, and stubborn Achilles sat out most of it. He only joined in the fighting after his good friend was killed, and he killed Hector, the murderer, in revenge for his friend's death, and this ultimately ended the war. These events are portrayed in the film as a one-on-one fight between Hector and Achilles (which did not happen in the book. In fact, Achilles killed Hector with a spear as he was running toward him, and Hector was wearing Achilles own armor that he had take from Patroclus after he killed him. This does not seem like a very heroic way to act, especially when the victorious heroes are so revered in Greek society. Achilles was a hero, but not in the way we might think of modern day heroes. In this book, he was heroic because he avenged his friend's death and helped win the war, but he certainly was not heroic in the way he disagreed with him commander and then sat out a large portion of the war.
West Side Story Like all musical films, the West Side Story relates to a production where the characters sing songs and sometimes dance too, all with the view of developing the characters and advancing the plot of the film However, the movie brings to the fore various special features, which notably set it out as a historical document. The era in which the film was produced is also of massive importance considering
West Side Story is a film about two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets are American and the Sharks are of Puerto Rican descent. The movie has a Romeo and Juliet storyline -- however, in West Side Story the two lovers, Tony and Maria, are from two different ethnic groups as opposed to two sparring families in Romeo and Juliet. It is ethnocentrism that stands in the
West Side Story Social Tension and Doomed Romances in West Side Story Hundreds of years after Shakespeare's penning of Romeo and Juliet, the notion of warring families and star-crossed lovers has not waned in popularity. This is evident in the Academy Award-winning 1961 film West Side Story, which, stripped of its musical interludes and numerous dance numbers, becomes the adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy in its barest bones. Of course, West Side
We see how their membership in the class and racial group has power over their attitudes and actions. At the time of this film, they were contemporary, but the film was true to the times, so they are now historically correct also. The social mores and customs are well depicted in the forms of dances and music and in the morality of the time. Maria's dress for the dance
West Side Story, filmed in 1961, was one of the most ground-breaking works not only in terms of subject and genre, but also in terms of the boundaries it broke with its musical scores and choreography. Indeed, the film's dance sequences often form part of its plot. Its musical scores depict the deep distrust and underlying violence in the uneasy truces between the street gangs whose members form the basic
West There are three major religions that have established themselves in China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism; and of the three, only Buddhism is not indigenous to China. Buddhism found its way to China along the Silk Road, brought by missionaries from India. For centuries, the three religions have co-existed with many Chinese adopting elements of each in their daily lives. Whatever similarities, or symbiotic elements each contains, the three religions
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