Modern movies and pop culture play a significant role in defining society’s perception of the heroic journey and the image of the hero. Moreover, apart from the apparent connection with the heroic qualities of characters in superhero movies, the influence of classical perceptions of heroic journeys can be traced to other movies in the adventure and action genre. Mythological references are common in literature as mythology offers a wide range of stories that focus on different aspects of life and provide valuable moral conclusions. In modern pop culture, movies utilize similar elements of epic heroic journeys defined significantly earlier in ancient legends and mythology. This paper will examine the application of indirect mythological references in The Hunger Games and compare them with direct referencing to Polynesian mythology in Moana.
Firstly, while the Hunger Games franchise explores many themes through the prism of a dystopian society, such as power and democracy, the first movie falls under the battle royale genre. In modern pop culture, the battle royale genre is referenced to the Japanese film of the same name based on a novel by Koushun Takami (Mooney). However, in defining the central work of the genre, people overlook the initial work that provided the main plot and story elements for the battle royale genre.
The legend about Theseus and the Minotaur introduces the story of fourteen young girls and boys sent from Athens to Crete to be thrown into the Minotaur’s labyrinth by order of King Minos. Theseus volunteered to replace one of the young men with the plan to kill the Minotaur and end the human sacrifices. Similarly, in The Hunger Games, the main character Katniss Everdeen also volunteered to replace one of the contestants. In Katniss’ case, volunteering presented an act of self-sacrifice and will to protect her younger sister. However, in Theseus’ legend, the human sacrifice was sourced from the political feud between Crete and Athens. On the other hand, in The Hunger Games, the battle presented a source of entertainment for the wealthy population of the Capitol. Thus, The Hunger Games utilized the plot of the legend about Theseus and the Minotaur as a subplot.
Furthermore, considering the main character’s archetype, Katniss is predominantly a rebel type. Heroes with rebel archetypes were common in ancient Greek mythology, as the confrontation with gods who were dramatically superior in strength to ordinary people required significant commitment to the idea of freedom and equality. The most prominent example of a rebel archetype character in Greek mythology is Prometheus, the Titan God of fire. Prometheus rebelled against the gods and stole fire from them to give it to people. The fire in Prometheus’s legend represented knowledge, technology, and civilization. After surviving the Hunger Games, Katniss rebels against the political regimen to give freedom to people. Moreover, a more direct connection with fire is found throughout the series in Katniss’s outfits and her persona of a “Girl on Fire” (The Hunger Games). Lastly, another distinct element of Katniss’ character is her bow and good archery skills. In Greek mythology, the bow is the signature weapon of Artemis, the goddess of nature and protector of women and children. Katniss volunteered to participate in Hunger Games to protect her younger sister, which makes her the bearer of the qualities inherent in Artemis.
Thus, The Hunger Games drew most of the plot from Greek mythology. According to her interview with the New York Times, The Hunger Games novels’ author Suzanne Collins was interested in Greek mythology from a young age (Levithan). In the interview, she affirms that in her interpretation of the legend, the labyrinth is represented by the main character’s agony over moral choices. In addition, the author’s decision to dispense Minotaur from the story was sourced from her admiration of gladiator fights (Levithan). However, adding a mythological creature could also reduce the sense of realism and shift the story’s focus from the power and political dictatorship aspects. Thus, The Hunger Games series was vastly influenced by Greek mythology in both the plot and the main character’s nature, but the author changed several details to add more realism to the story.
In modern movies, both direct and indirect references to mythology require additional changes to the plot and characters to ensure that the public enjoys the film and finds it relevant. Compared to The Hunger Games series, which features relatively popular Greek mythology elements, Disney’s Moana centers on Polynesian mythology. Disney initially wanted to focus on the story of Maui, the shape-shifting demigod, but eventually decided to focus on Moana, the daughter of the Motunui chief, going on a heroic quest to save her nation (Potier). In addition to being rarely mentioned in pop culture, Polynesian mythology varies in different Polynesian cultures, which offered a space for Disney’s creative reimagination of Maui.
Next, compared to Katniss, who suits the rebel archetype more than a hero, Moana fits the ruler hero archetype. In preparing to take over the leadership role of her father in the future, Moana forces Maui to assist her in the heroic journey despite her father’s disapproval. Compared to other Disney princesses, Moana prioritizes her duties instead of love interests and often demonstrates her independence and physical power. On the other hand, Maui represents the orphan archetype, who was rejected by humanity when he unintentionally awakened the forces of evil that slowly destroyed the lands of Polynesia. The story in Moana refers to the original myth in which Maui failed to win the battle for humankind’s immortality. However, in Moana, through Maui’s commitment to fighting for the people, he acquires people’s forgiveness and, in the end, fulfills the goal of the search for a new family in Moana and her people.
Thus, changing the original myth allowed Disney to illustrate the moral that people can change and correct their mistakes with proper support and to emphasize the importance of a sense of belonging for people. To bring the myth about Maui to life and make him more relatable to a modern audience, the directors Ron Clements and John Musker used the voice-over production technique to add personality and charisma to the character. Therefore, while The Hunger Games utilized a realistic indirect approach to Greek mythology, in Moana, Disney changed the details of Polynesian mythology to provide character development and include valuable morals for the younger audience.
In conclusion, this essay examined the use of plot details and archetypes from mythology in modern popular movies. The essay defined that mythological sources can be changed in favor of realism or to convey valuable moral ideas to the audience. Comparing references to Ancient Greek mythology in The Hunger Games franchise and Disney’s Moana, which focuses on retelling the story from Polynesian mythology, determined that the modern concept of a hero has a broad spectrum. Modern society focuses more on the process of becoming a hero than his initial qualities or birth origins. The hero is someone who makes significant efforts to get to the goal of improving the lives of humankind. However, in modern society, heroic acts can also be perceived negatively. For example, Edward Snowden revealed that the American government conducts surveillance of the population, which started the discussion about the protection of personal privacy. Snowden is more often perceived as a traitor than a hero, even though his heroic act significantly improved humankind’s life.
Works Cited
Levithan, David. “Suzanne Collins Talks About ‘The Hunger Games,’ the Books and the Movies.” New York Times, Web.
Mooney, Darren. “Twenty Years Later, Battle Royale Has Been Oft-Copied, Never Equaled.” The Escapist Magazine, Web.
Potier, Laura. “Moana: The Polynesian Origins & Real Life Inspirations Explained.” ScreenRant, Web.
The Hunger Games. Directed by Gary Ross, performance by Jennifer Lawrence, Lionsgate, 2012.