Modern Mythology

[Dangerious P. Cats]

Myth reflect the societies in which they occure. Viking myths reflected Viking values and life styles, as did pretty much every other society. This leads me to wonder what sort of myths, gods, monsters and heros would arrise in modern society, or even the society of higher tech levels, reflecting how people in those societies lived. Any Ideas?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Dangerious P. Cats

Myth reflect the societies in which they occure. Viking myths reflected Viking values and life styles, as did pretty much every other society. This leads me to wonder what sort of myths, gods, monsters and heros would arrise in modern society, or even the society of higher tech levels, reflecting how people in those societies lived. Any Ideas?

Well the peripheral details are perhaps grounded in the societies they take place in, I'm not so sure the cores of the myths are, the heroic epic seems fairly cross cultural. I'd suggest there are four major modern variations - the rags to riches story of industrial success (any Horatio Alger story), the rather similar down on her luck lone woman who finds romance with a handsome and wealthy fellow who loves her for herself (any Contemporary Romance novel), the prophet^x scientist who discovers the secret(s) of the universe in a revelatory dream (Kekule and the benzene ring is perhaps the classic here, though there is a minor countertrend in Edisoniads that actually involve hard work), and the rise to stardom, decent into the pits of addiction and return to the light with divine power (any Entertainment Weekly country music celebrity bio should do for that).

[gjc8]

Originally Posted by Dangerious P. Cats

Myth reflect the societies in which they occure. Viking myths reflected Viking values and life styles, as did pretty much every other society. This leads me to wonder what sort of myths, gods, monsters and heros would arrise in modern society, or even the society of higher tech levels, reflecting how people in those societies lived. Any Ideas?

You don't have to wonder, you just have to look. Fiction is somewhat harder to sustain in world of cell-phone cameras and 24-hour news, but look at any urban legend or conspiracy theory.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Dangerious P. Cats

Myth reflect the societies in which they occure. Viking myths reflected Viking values and life styles, as did pretty much every other society. This leads me to wonder what sort of myths, gods, monsters and heros would arrise in modern society, or even the society of higher tech levels, reflecting how people in those societies lived. Any Ideas?

Why not look at the actual myths of modern (western) society. I add "western" because there are other modern societies with their own myths.

I'd say one notable one is UFO mythology. The little gray guys who abduct people and subject them to invasive study are very much reflections of Western scientific culture. The lizards who disguise themselves as humans are modern day demons a cross breed between UFO mythology and the Black Helicopter mythology.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Dangerious P. Cats

Myth reflect the societies in which they occure. Viking myths reflected Viking values and life styles, as did pretty much every other society. This leads me to wonder what sort of myths, gods, monsters and heros would arrise in modern society, or even the society of higher tech levels, reflecting how people in those societies lived. Any Ideas?

Transhumanism seems to me to qualify as a mythology.

Bill Stoddard

[lexington]

I'd say that modern popular culture changes much to quickly to have a common mythology. Personally I would suggest a deity representing each subculture: sci-fi, political parties, law enforcement, goth, furry, new age, musical styles, gamer culture and on and on ad infinitum.

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by Dangerious P. Cats

Myth reflect the societies in which they occure. Viking myths reflected Viking values and life styles, as did pretty much every other society. This leads me to wonder what sort of myths, gods, monsters and heros would arrise in modern society, or even the society of higher tech levels, reflecting how people in those societies lived. Any Ideas?

I recommend the Grant Morrison-written series in DC comics' "Doom Patrol" .

[sir_pudding]

Long running complex shared universe fiction has much of the same properties as classical mythologies. It's not hard to call the big sprawling Comic Book universes, Star Trek or Star Wars, mythic, IMO.

[Luke Bunyip]

The concept of Gaia, as a form of anthropomorphised evolution and ecology.

[Luke Bunyip]

My flat mate had a former girlfriend that apparantly once said that she was happy that she did not live during the time that the Lord of The Ring movies were set. So, by default, the Tolkien universe could be considered by some as mythic.