MYTHS IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

“Oedipus the King” as a Central Myth in Contemporary Culture

“Oedipus the King” as a Central Myth in Contemporary Culture

Introduction

This essay aims to identify a selected story that functions as a prominent mythology in the contemporary culture. The essay further elaborates upon the literary sources of the myth while discussing prominent adaptations that revolve around the myth as films. The chosen story for this purpose is Sophocles' “Oedipus the King”, a famous Greek mythology that is tragic in nature, and very visibly highlights how a person's own faults land him into irreparable loss and trouble. The mythology originates from being an Athenian tragedy that makes the reader realize that fate is not always the cause behind the troubles that human face. It is quite contrary one's own faults and “the fault lies in men, not is stars” as sages aptly said.

Discussion

In “Adaptation or Cinema as Digest”, Bazin argues that the central element that needs the most attention is an adapted version of a text or story is not an adherence to the original form of the text, but rather “equivalence to the forms” (Bazin, 1967, pp. 20). While Bazin tends to recommend a certain degree of liberty in creating each adaptation, it is quite often the most essential factor that all adaptations must have certain elements that bear resemblance to the source materials (the original play). However, on the other hand, it is also necessary that the unique features of each adaptation must and their relationships with the genetic source is duly considered and not discarded at any cost. This means that while the “forms” of each adaptation might differ in some shape or strategy, their adherence to the original meaning must not be lost (Bazin, 1967). The subsequent section of our discussion firstly introduces the Greek play as a “myth in popular culture”, while later, they tend to analyze how the “equivalence of meaning” as raised by Bazin, was preserved in two of the chosen adaptations of the play: Edipo re (Oedipus Rex) and Edipo Alcalde (Oedipus Mayor).

One of the most intriguing aspects of ancient myths is that they are still popular in contemporary cultures. If anyone is not abreast of these texts or stories, that forms one of the most prominent aspects of our valued past, then it is almost impossible to recollect those stories as cultural references in the modern-day literary systems. The Greek play “Oedipus the King” is a very known and promising example that emphasizes upon the fact that often times, it is a person's own mistakes that lands him into trouble (Ahl, 1991). The fate does not always have to be blamed for the misfortunes that we face. “Oedipus the King” was a Greek play by Sophocles that was based on the story of a man who was compelled to kill his father and marry his own mother. Over the years, the play emerged as a tragic story that attracted great readership while being acclaimed as one of the most ...