Tag Archives: satire

Modern Myths

Modern Myths

The cover of The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood

I have always been fascinated by mythology and, to a lesser extent, the religions surrounding it. Or that created the myths in the first place. Having been raised religious only to eschew that way of life as I get older, as many people in my generation have, I still remember the stories that are part of the mythos of Catholicism*1: God creating the world in seven days*2, Noah’s ark, David and Goliath, The Book of Revelation, and others. These are shared archetypical stories transcending cultures, even if details differ. The Creation Myth*3The Ark*4Divine Intervention*5, and The End of the World as We Know It*6 link with the stories mentioned. With these tales being archetypical, it’s only natural that they get repackaged and repurposed as time passes. Sometimes they’re brought into modern times but maintain the same message or ideas. Other times authors take them in a different direction or focus on characters that were sidelined in the original tale, which is particularly common with female characters. These rewrites can be serioussatiricalfeministdrive home An Aesop*7, or just stories that use mythology as a jumping-off point for something otherwise original.

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An Unattractive Vampire by Jim McDoniel

Jim McDonielVampires nowadays, attractive as they are and as much glitter as they disperse in the sunlight – let’s face it – don’t hold a torch to the good ol’ vampire of yore. They have become so diluted from, say, Dracula, that to compare the two might actually be a misstep altogether, like comparing apples to oranges. Just to drive my point home (through the heart, with a stake), here are the characteristics Bram Stoker bestows upon his Count in Dracula: he’s a “tall, old man” sporting a white moustache; he has a thin nose and domed forehead, bushy eyebrows and likewise bushy hair; topped off with ruddy lips, protruding sharp teeth, and a “broad and strong” chin. Suffice it to say he is decidedly not the stuff of most people’s dreams. This disparity is what McDoniel takes as his starting point before leaping off into the ether with it. Continue reading