American Mythology is cool.

Friday in class we discussed how the mythology of the Odyssey fit into the plot of O Brother, Where Art Thou. Everyone clearly knew how the guy with the eyepatch was supposed to be the cyclops, and how the sirens are, you know, sirens. However, we talked about something that has always been an interesting subject to me, but I only pick up on it in situations like these: watching movies or being in some class where we have to discuss. And that subject would be American Mythology.

American Mythology is a bit abstract. Since the country of America is not that old compared to other cultures, there isn't an expectation for a deep superstitious layer to American culture. However, as we saw in the movie, there are very clear themes that permeate a lot of American literature and folklore. Several myths are based on other cultures, since America is the world famous "mixing pot" of peoples. Some examples would be some of the African American myths that come from the south, sometimes similar to African myths, and even some native superstitions that have persisted from the Native Americans.

The biggest type of American myths are the ones based on Christianity. America is mostly built on the protestant ideology, and therefore a lot of the superstitions that people are more inclined to believe would be those relating to Christianity. As we said in class, there are numerous stories of people selling their souls to the devil at the crossroads. A lot of the "bad" myths have to do with the devil or devil-like creatures, while some of the better folktales have to do with the graces of God.

This is kinda a shorter blog post since as I said above I don't dip into this subject often. I can't distinctly remember a lot of the American folktales that I've been told throughout the years, but there has always been this supernatural layer to the early days of this country, making American culture still as mysterious and interesting as some of the older nations across the world. If anyone knows of any extra myths that are big that you remember you can explain those in the comments.

Comments

  1. Elizabeth TFebruary 23, 2019 at 11:54 AM

    I would say American mythology blends some actual mysticism (i.e. some of the elements we discussed in class) with just romanticizing the past - when I think of American "mythology" I think about settlers and cowboys advancing the frontier. Even though in the historical basis, there were lots of troublesome elements to the conquest of the West, I think we still see it as this mythological event about the triumph of the American spirit.

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  2. Nina GalvezMarch 4, 2019 at 5:34 PM

    I agree, when I think American folktales I think cowboys and the "West." But if I had to tell an actual American folktale, I wouldn't be able to. In Oh Brother Where Art Thou, we see an attempt at an American folktale and yet it is based on a Greek story. This just further highlights the fact that America is a mixing pot as you described above.

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