Jason and the Argonauts: A Criticism
"Jason and the Argonauts", a 2000 film series directed by British director Nick Willing, narrates the voyage of Jason and Greece’s unsung heroes as they try to retrieve the long-lost Golden Fleece. After watching the film for the second time, I realized that greater realities and truths are lying behind its perceived simplicity and normality, which can only be unlocked by applying the principles of some literary theories. The mimetic and reader-response theories are dominantly present throughout the film as they depict the ancient Greek society, evoke humanistic nature, magnify the human animal’s hunger and struggle for power, and manifest objectification of women.
In my perspective, the film itself succeeded in imitating the ancient Greek society, its culture, politics, and even science, which made the mimetic theory the most suitable school of ideas and thoughts to be applied in understanding the piece’s purpose. The Hellenistic nation’s form of government, religious beliefs, and astronomy are highlighted in the film.
The early government systems, specifically monarchy and tyranny, in Greece are shown in the film. According to Mark Cartwright (2018), a monarchy is "the form of government ruled by an individual who had inherited his role" and it was the reigning political structure in the story from the start as Aeson is the established king of Iolcus in accordance to their constitution to be followed by his son, the protagonist, Jason.
On the other hand, Cartwright (2018) stated that tyranny is a government system ruled by an individual who seized his/her power by unconstitutional means. In the film, tyranny ruled the kingdom after Pelias took the throne by killing Aeson, his half-brother, in the first sequence of scenes which is unconstitutional at the very first place. As a result, the monarchial system was halted for the following years as he claimed the leadership.
Also, the film recognized the most significant and prominent part of Greek history — their polytheistic point-of-view. According to historical accounts, the Hellenes believed in many gods and goddesses whom they worship in temples. More particularly, humans should please these deities as they can help in different ways and provide relief as well as influence their lives and the universe. Indeed, throughout the narration, I witnessed how Zeus, Hera, and other gods intervened in the lives of the characters; affecting their decisions and actions.
Zeus blew a fog that Jason and his crew went through, only to disturb the sleeping Poseidon whom they thought was an island. Consequently, the god of the sea showed wrath against them for interfering with his sleep. Besides, the lightning god then created a water spout that left damages in their ship and eventually, brought them to the island of Lemnos.
Moreover, he also teased Hera as Pelias chose Poseidon as his patron god than her; igniting the latter’s urge of guiding Jason to succeed. Zeus' most daring act is when he tried to seduce Colchis princess Medea, which the latter refuses.
In contrast, Hera also played a big role in the life of Jason as she helped him throughout his dangerous journey as a way of returning the favor as Polymele, Jason’s mother, never stopped worshipping her since the beginning of the film and before committing suicide.
The Greeks' goddess of marriage, women, the sky, and the stars of heaven directed the young man to Idas, the mapmaker, who handed him a map that will lead them to the Tabletop island as a charity for his kindness. Also, Hera ordered Eros to shoot a love arrow at Medea so she will fall in love with Jason and grant him aid in overcoming the risky challenges his father King Aertes posed.
The third ancient Greek aspect I observed in the film is its inclusion of the nation’s astronomy for sea navigation endeavors. In the past, the Hellas voyagers used the stars in the night sky as their guide in wandering the vast blue sea. Specifically, the illustrations found in the map handed by Idas to Jason are in reality, constellations, that will lead them in finding the Tabletop Island where Phineus resides. When the crew lost the map in the ensuing storm, Zetes, the gifted son of Idas, successfully recreated it by looking up in the day sky to look for the connections between the stars then sketching it the ship’s plank.
In addition, a constellation depicting Hercules was seen by Jason when he felt lost because of the death of his mother and some Argonauts. He followed it and found Polymele’s worshipping place. Thus, fortifying the relevance of stars and constellations in the lives of Greek people in the past as it guides them.
Besides imitating the Greek society in the past, the film also presented a multitude of humanistic nature. The film exposed humanity’s act of betrayal as Pelias mercilessly killed his brother Aeson and son Argustus to attain and maintain power. Moreover, Argustus proved to be a resemblance of his father as he betrayed Jason and the rest of the Argonauts by stealing the Golden Fleece. Thus, his treacherous act unveiled the real intention he had since joining the voyage.
Additionally, the film pinpointed the fact that betrayal attracts revenge as what Jason did to reinstitute monarchy and be the new king of Iolcus. In the sensational sequence of scenes in the latter part of the storyline, he killed his uncle Pelias in the same fashion, drama, and tension as to how the latter slain his father from the beginning. Hence, these scenes are a horrific deja vu for Pelias.
Sentimentality has also found its place in the film. Thesaurus defined sentimentality as "the state or quality of having an excess of tender feelings (as of love, nostalgia, or compassion)". After arriving in Iolcus and knowing his mother’s death, around a bonfire in the night, emotions and feelings rose with Jason melancholically uttering the names of every Argonaut who sailed, fought, and died for the journey to go beyond the unthinkable.
While watching the film, I jotted down scenes that I found as an allegory based on my perception. As I applied the principles of the reader-response theory, the film exploited the hunger and struggle for power of humanity as represented by the mindset and actions of some characters as well as the voyage itself.
Nonetheless, Pelias had intense greed for power as he has slain some of his family ties just to brought tyranny in the kingdom of Iolcus that suffered poverty in his ruling. Also, King Aertes believed that the Golden Fleece brought him glories in battles and there is no reason for him to give it away to Jason despite the latter toppling all of his challenges. In literary studies conducted by scholars, the mythological artifact is a symbol of power and authority.
Overall, the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts is an allegory of man’s struggle to conquer power. All the challenges that the main character and his crew had to go through in the film such as the gods’ interventions, mystical interactions, and bloody conflict are symbolisms of barriers that humans must overcome to reach the peak of the societal hierarchy.
Hence, I believed that politics is the unseen force that moved the film as, without it, the story itself will never develop as Jason might not sail, to look for the Golden Fleece because he was the destined king of the kingdom in the very first place.
Furthermore, I also realized that the objectification of women was already present in ancient times and mythology. Zeus tried to seduce the sleeping Medea but failed to convince the lady. The words said by the Colchis princess fortified my claim as she stated that the god only wanted her body and beauty whom the latter never refuted.
In another scene, Hera also vented out her feelings against Zeus as he kept chasing mortal women despite having her as his legitimate wife.
The Argonauts also displayed this stereotype by satisfying themselves with the women on the isle of Lemnos. Atalanta, the only woman in the crew, said that the men “lost their senses” while talking with Orpheus, indicating the patriarchs’ blinded rationality because of sexual tendencies.
Indeed, through the mimetic theory, we can clearly understand how the Greeks live, think, and act in ancient times and experience real-life emotions, feelings, and thoughts that encompasses our very humanity. On the other hand, the reader-response theory allowed us to realize what things a man can do to attain and maintain power as well as recognized the existence of women objectification even in mythology. In conclusion, Jason and the Argonauts had a lot to offer for audiences as it depicts and narrates universal truths and meanings that we deserve and need to know and contemplate with to have a broader perspective on how life vary and differ from one another’s cultural standpoint.
