MovieChat Forums > Hercules (1997) Discussion > A religious Disney movie?

A religious Disney movie?


I've noticed that many people here are speaking of Greek mythology, when this movie is actually about an ancient religion that is very much alive today. There are many Graeco-Roman religious recronstructionist movements, such as Dodekatheism, Olympianism, Hellenism, Hellenic Neopaganism, or the Hellenic Ethnic Religion. These people believe in Zeus and Hercules in the same way that Christians believe in Yahweh and Jesus, and it's a bit strange that Disney would use their faith as a basis for an animated movie (let alone one that edits Mary, I mean Alcmene, out of the story).

Anyway, I'm not here to discuss the plot of this movie. My point is that I have received a lot of flak in the past for referring to the most popular Western religion as "Judeo-Christian mythology". Eventually, I've come to accept that people feel very strongly about their faith, and that we godless heathens should probably respect their feelings by not calling their beliefs out as a collection of myths. But then we have to extend the same courtesy to other religions.

Especially people who are themselves religious cannot speak of Greek mythology -- or Germanic, Egyptian, Mayan etc. mythology -- without being rather hypocritical. I mean, if you want others to respect your religious beliefs, you have to respect theirs as well. We may have to get rid of the terms myth and mythology altogether, seeing as they are born from a mindset that can only be described as Christian supremacism. We can either stop using these words or admit the truth about religion as a whole. In either case, we should treat all religious beliefs in the same way and not make an exception for the most popular ones.

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You mean to tell me that there are people who call Zeus a myth while simultaneously believing that Yahweh impregnated a virgin with himself to sacrifice himself to himself?? Wow...

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My favorite part is zombie Jesus. But I see what the OP is saying - either all religion or no religion should be fair game.

Dancing. Even if one's partner is barely tolerable.

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Hey!! Dont You Dare Disrespect The Blessed Virgin Mary Or Jesus Christ!!!

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Haha religious bickering on a Disney board.

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I don't see how this movie is religious.

Yeah, it is based on greek mythology, and is about gods who people worship, but that doesn't make it religious in my opinion.

If you want a very religious Disney animated movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is far more religious.

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They are saying that Greek "mythology" is a religion, and a movie based on Greek "myth" is by definition a religious movie. Just as a non-Judeo-Christian religion could accurately refer to the story of Jesus's life and death as myths.

Hercules is therefore a religious movie.... just not your religion.

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I guess that the people at Disney didn't know about the neo-pagan movements, but they just saw this religion as a thing of the past. It seems like this movie never was popular in Greece though. 

Intelligence and purity.

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Well if there really are people out there who still follow these religions they are too few in number for most people to notice or care.

Can you quack like a duck when you suck?

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