Myth of redemptive violence

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The myth of Redemptive Violence is an archetypal plot in literature, especially in imperial cultures. One of the oldest versions of this story is the Creation myth of Babylon (the Enûma Elish) from around 1250 B.C. Walter Wink coined the term as part of an analysis of its impact on modern culture and its role in maintaining oppressive power structures in his book The Powers That Be.

1 Narrative and effect
2 Opposing views
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Narrative and effect

While contrasting the Enûma Elish with the Hebrew creation story found in Genesis, Wink examines the psychological effects of each phase of the story. He asserts that every phase of the narrative serves to reinforce the ideology of the status quo and convince us to perpetuate the ruling power structure:

[edit] Primal chaos

The primacy of Tiamat suggests that chaos and evil are the original and natural state of the universe. This can be used to convince us to fear and oppose any threat to the current order, under the assumption that things can only get worse. Superheroes especially have dark origins (for example, the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents and the toxic environment of planet Krypton), and the pervasiveness of evil is depicted by the resurrection of villains in horror movies and cartoons, the exaggerated presence of violent crime in news coverage, and the overwhelming number and variety of bad creatures in The Lord of the Rings.

[edit] Tammuz

Tiamat and her allies oppress the other gods, who, at first, seem powerless to resist. This acknowledges the effectiveness of alternative systems, and gives us the guilty pleasure of vicariously harming our "betters" and breaking their rules. However, all this is constrained by the exaggerated flaws of the antagonists, which foreshadow their failure and make us ashamed to identify with them. Horror films tend to emphasize this part of the narrative to the extreme, whereas superhero stories often marginalize it.

[edit] Heroism

Marduk offers to defeat Tiamat in exchange for absolute rule over the remaining gods, and they all agree. This elevates "might makes right" to a contract made at the beginning of the universe. People are inclined to identify with the hero because of his privileges and his good attributes, and to sympathize with any subsequent oppression. Modern examples include James Bond's license to kill, the gold mine given to Doc Savage's father, Friday's loyalty to Robinson Crusoe, the brazen dishonesty of Jedi knights, the extremes of Jack Bauer, etc.

[edit] Triumph

Marduk slays his enemies in creative, gory, and intricate ways, then goes on to enslave their underlings. This shows that good prevails and evil suffers; the corollary to this is that those who prevail are good. This gives us the catharsis of vengeance and indignation. Once again we can sadistically enjoy a character's suffering, but this time in a sanctioned, acceptable context. The spectacular downfall and glorious victory prompt us to reject the antagonist and reaffirm our commitment to the winning party, respectively. Action movies and video games tend to have a decisive final battle. An opposition leader's death scene often includes ridiculously thorough destruction of his or her body, property, and/or organization, such as Dr. No drowning in the core of his nuclear reactor, which then melts down.

[edit] Redemption

Marduk makes the world from Tiamat's corpse and humanity from the blood of Kingu. This leaves us with the message that our prosperity and even our very existence required past violence and destruction; as Wink puts it, "We are the outcome of deicide." This helps justify recent and ongoing violence by appealing to our self-interest. The death or defeat of the antagonist tends to be immediately followed by an idyllic happy ending in simple, violent plots of all stripes. Current examples include the Ewok percussion instrument made from Storm Trooper and other Imperial helmets (or heads) at the end of Return of the Jedi, and the brain surgery Doc Savage uses to turn criminals into productive citizens.

[edit] Opposing views

Traditionally, anthropologists have noted that myths transmit elements of culture and shape the listener's worldview without making value judgments as to the merit of a given culture or the validity of its worldview. Wink's analysis is predicated on the notion that Babylonian society and pagan religion, as well as Western society and popular culture, are intrinsically less valid than his notion of first century Christian society and "pure" monotheism.

It has also been postulated that the creation story of genesis was developed from earlier stories, including the Enûma Elish, since the stories share common elements that other creation beliefs lack. Adherents of meme theory see the similarity as more fundamental: each story advocates a certain power structure, which has led people in power to support the story that favors them, often oppressively and often using violence. Whether or not a myth directly advocates violence and oppression, it may still foster misery and destruction.