The Sadness of Immortal Life: The Film Images of the Myth of Immortality
Abstract
A desire for immortality is the oldest human myth and invariably unites with divine element. Zwierzchowski cites exemplary myths of Gilgamesh and Demophon, which tell the story of immortality man cannot attain. The gift of immortality has also another and ominous side; eternal loneliness, monotony, lack of a sense of change and no chance of development. This is what the article is about. Zwierzchowski sees in films and pop culture the contemporary form of mythology in which concerns and fears of the present manifest themselves. The issue is touched upon in his analysis of such films as the series Highlander by Russell Mulcahy or vampire horrors, including Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre and Neil Jordan’s Interview with the Vampire. Zwierzchowski writes that lack of the awareness of death and offinal solace turns out to be a bigger challenge and suffering than the awe of its arrival. (...) Isn’t it surprising that man finds it easier to find sense in death than in immortality?
Keywords:
immortality, Russell Mulcahy, Werner HerzogReferences
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Authors
Piotr Zwierzchowskikwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Kazimierz Wielki Academy of Bydgoszcz Poland
Adiunkt w Katedrze Teorii Wychowania i Deontologii Nauczycielskiej w Akademii Bydgoska im. Kazimierza Wielkiego. Opublikował m.in. Myślenie mityczne w pedagogice (w świetle koncepcji mitu Ernsta Cassirera) (1997) oraz Zapomniani bohaterowie. O bohaterach filmowych polskiego socrealizmu (2000).
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