Transformation in Modern Myth & Media

A few films have placed the notion of personal transformation into the public mind and thereby given the idea possibility and credibility. Perhaps the most famous of these is Dickens' "Scrooge". Shakespeare showed us painful transformation in the form of King Lear. It is interesting that in "King Lear", The Fool carries the higher awareness of self for the king.This is much like today's comedians who often carry the unrealized truths for those in power.

The 1950's produced an array of hero films that portrayed the voyages of personal courage and transformation in such stories as "Demetrius and the Gladiators" and the quintessential cowboy film, "Shane". The Film "Groundhog Day" carries a similar theme into the modern context. The lead character in that film is given the chance to try out many possibilities with the same series of repeated events until the final combination results in his transformation into a loving and wise individual. Perhaps the most unusual personal transformation comes to a dying Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" episodes. Here is a man almost completely given over to the 'darker' side of himself, and who is somehow able to summon the desire to make a 360° shift as his only son's life hangs in the balance.

"V for Vendetta" takes this a bit further and shows us a society corrupted by high level government deceit and mass murder. The notion of unimaginable state sponsored terror is both unmasked and abolished by uncommon courage and alliances. This disturbing story is the most recent and compelling entry for societal self discovery to hit the mass mind. Can it be preparing the public mind for something similar?

— John Parulis