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Thursday, July 05, 2012

Amanda Bonilla - The New Mythology


A few months ago, my teen son came home from school and began to talk about what had happened in his English class. They were reading the Odyssey and the teen was recounting a discussion he’d had with his teacher. Of course, since I can’t remember conversations I had a couple of days ago, let alone a month, I don’t remember the details of the conversation or what character/creature my son and his teacher were discussing. But I do remember that the teacher asked a question about the story that he answered correctly. Huzzah! The teen said to me, “You know where I learned that, Mom?” Uh, your English class? Nope. “God of War.” Well, color me proud. I knew God of War wasn’t just about Kryos’s vendetta against the 
gods. It’s educational! I wonder if his English teacher would agree…

But this sparked an interesting question in my writer’s brain: Are fantasy writers changing the landscape of mythology as we know it? Let’s face it. The kid got lucky. There’s plenty of stuff in that video game that doesn’t mesh with traditional mythology. As writers, sometimes we take off in a different direction, blaze a new trail, and start fresh. And now we have reference sources like Wikipedia, where anyone can log on, create an entry (or edit an existing one), and post it for the entire world to see. It’s one of the first sites listed in most Google searches, and I have to admit, I use the site more often than not. And what about video games? Like I said, the teen thinks he’s getting legit info from these story lines. Sometimes he is…but what about the times when he isn’t?

Did you ever play the “rumor game” in high school? You know, the one at the start of the year assembly where the staff is trying to teach the kids a lesson about spreading gossip? The story starts out innocently enough, but by the time it works its way through several hundred kids, it’s a completely different story. The same concept can be applied to mythology. A story is handed down through generations. There are re-tellings, details get lost in translation, and a hundred or so years later, it ends up on a wiki site completely different than the original story.

When I started writing Shaedes of Gray, I knew that I’d have to break from tradition. The Shaedes of my imagination didn’t conform to anything I could find in my research. So I wrote a creation myth and gave them mortal enemies of Greek tragedy proportions in their Lyhtan cousins. I found the word in some on-line ancient words dictionary. Lyhtan—a verb—literally means, “to make light.” What better word to name my creatures that were so different from my shadow-loving Shaedes. And since I couldn’t find a creature in mythology that fit my vision of the Lyhtan, I made them up from scratch.

Of course this is nothing new. Fantasy writers have been doing this since…well, forever. And with the video game industry booming with historical titles like Assassin’s Creed and big-time fantasy like World of Warcraft, there’s a lot of room to make an impression. The Assassin’s Creed franchise is based on historical events. The developers worked extensively with historians and religious scholars to lend authenticity to their game. And I bet most of the people you ask have at least heard of WOW, a game so vast and intricate in its world-building that there are entire wiki’s dedicated to the game.

But when does a story reach beyond mere fiction and become myth? Will the exploits of Odysseus fade into obscurity and become lost amongst hundreds of other tales lost in history? Now, I’m not saying that fantasy writers are affecting an instant change on the mythological landscape. But who’s to say, a couple hundred years from now, a Humanities teacher in some futuristic society won’t be reading the works of George R.R. Martin to her class and drilling the mythos into their young, malleable brains? Will our increasingly digital culture look to video games like Assassin’s Creed for a quick history lesson? And in the muddled age of wiki-sources, how will our teachers fact-check a student’s research paper when that child could easily submit or manipulate an entry on a research site?

What do you guys think? Are writers changing the landscape of mythology as we know it? Or will history and myths continue on the straight and narrow path, never to deviate from its original version?

18 comments:

Eli Yanti said...

i'm prefer to not change the true myths but just add a story by an author imagination and why dont change the true myths because reader will know and learn the myths and add story is just to give an extra feeling and raise reader excitement :)

*yadkny* said...

Hi Amanda!
I enjoy when authors brand out and "deviate from its original version":) For me, it keeps things fresh and unexpected. This is one of the reasons why when I read Shaedes of Gray I fell in love with it!

Barbara E. said...

Oh, I think myths will continue to evolve as time goes by, although with the written word we can go back to more "original" tellings to keep them from changing so much they're unrecognizable. I don't think writers are changing the landscape of mythology, I think they're putting their own spin on it with great results. :D

Chrisbails said...

It does not bother me if they change it. I figure it is their story and able to change whatever they want. I never usually don't rely on history unless it is a historical read. This is a new author for me. Have heard great things about her though. Thanks for the giveaway.
Christinebails@yahoo.com

Di said...

Myths came from verbal stories that were mostly subject to interpretation & variation. Once they were written down, they became more set, but new interpretations are fun.

Pat Cochran said...

As each author creates a new world, said
author designs that world to his/her own
ideals. Since each writer's designs are
different, there will be constant change
to offer to the readers. The changes and
new literary worlds offered, even most of
the authors writing now, had not been born
when I began reading adult books in the
early 1950s.

Mary Preston said...

I like the classic myths & legends that we all grow up with, but I also like it when writers take creative license with them.

Renee said...

I have had students tell me correct answers from mythology based on video games. I don't care how they learn it as long as they learn it. However, they don't understand that newer technology may change the story as needed. I then have to have the conversation about author license and integrity of story. Invariably, some are convinced that I don't know what I'm talking about and the students are correct. I think using the classic myths are great. Fortunately, students grow up and begin to realize that the videos are not always correct.

Amanda Bonilla said...

I definitely think some myths need to stay true to their roots!

Amanda Bonilla said...

Thank you! I've had to flex my imagination muscles, but it's been so much fun. :)

Amanda Bonilla said...

I agree, Barbara. I enjoy what authors are doing with mythology!

Amanda Bonilla said...

Thanks, for stopping by, Christine! :)

Amanda Bonilla said...

I agree, Di. I like to see new interpretations. :)

Amanda Bonilla said...

I think it's interesting to see how fantasy world building has changed over the years. Technology has certainly made a difference.

Amanda Bonilla said...

I think I'm the most picky with Greek mythology. I like the traditional versions. I've read some really great retellings, though.

Amanda Bonilla said...

So true, Renee. As long as they're learning! And teens are naturally stubborn, so of course they think they're always right. ;)

Na said...

Many times when paranormal authors use mythology in their stories it raises my interest in it. Sometimes the myths are new to me and other times they further intrigue me. I don't mind if authors build on the myths or change it up a bit because it's fiction. I'm more interested to see how it plays in the storylines.

Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

Amanda Bonilla said...

The only limit to world-building is the author's imagination! I love to see how authors interpret myths.