I get what you're saying about seduction and all that, but for me it was a bit... odd, that Beowulf goes to kill Grendel's mother, she says a couple things about being king, and he simply gives up and bones her instead. I 100% agree that power corrupts, but it just seemed like that whole thing came out of nowhere in terms of the character.
Jesse, while it seems like Beowulf was just like, "Oh, what the hell let's have sex," it may not be as cut and dry as one would think. On the subject of film "art," it would be appropriate to mention that the dialogue is not just words on a script; it is a dimension as important to a film as its visual aspect. Once spoken the words become as powerful as, say, Beowulf physically ripping Grendel's arm off. With this particular scene in mind, Grendel's mother doesn't just come out saying, "Hey Beowulf, forget about killing me let's have sex!" Instead, she slowly reveals herself in a voluptuous golden form - the gold symbolic of Beowulf's thirst for vanity (it's no surprise that his son via Grendel's mother is entirely a golden color). And of course, expecting to see a horrid beast, seeing instead this beautiful figure accost him would certainly confuse him and lower his guard. The way Grendel's mother speaks to him is also very calculated. She wears him down slowly with promises of legend and wealth, speaking slowly, sensually, seductively -- compounded with the physical beauty, it would be hard for any man to resist the offer of sex, even a man of Beowulf's might. And even if this all weren't true, Beowulf is still a man, and Grendel's mother a beast of great power - surely she could have some sort of power over him. So, while it may seem an abrupt change in character, it could be misconstrued without taking the entire scene's context into account. I'm sure if Zemeckis had more time, the scene would have gone on longer to really emphasize the wearing down of Beowulf's will.
Beowulf was pretty much an ass hole, so him taking the sex and riches route didn't suprise me at all. I don't really see any legit examples of good character from him during the story. He was killing the monsters for glory, not to save anyone. It was especially apparent near the beginning when he just non chalantly watched his men being butchered while Wiglaf was throwing his little hissy fit.
Womesiete, you're partly right. Early on in the movie (during the fighting with Grendel up until the beginning of Beowulf's reign), he seems like an arrogant ass. Which, by all accounts, he is. After all, like you mentioned, he says they came for gold or glory (depending on whether or not they live or die). But his good character comes in the form of his wisdom later on. He very candidly shows regret for his past actions, mostly through his disenchanted and unenthusiastic demeanor. Whatever you'd like to call it, he is clearly not the same vibrant warrior he once was - once he realize what he had done and how the burden of Grendel's mother's curse was his to bear, he quickly lost his valor and vibrance. This is very apparent when he asks the beaten soldier to kill him if he wants to be remembered in the song of Beowulf, but says he knows why the man is unable to kill him: because he [Beowulf] died very long ago (presumably when he 'sold his soul' to become king). Very poignantly, he admits to his wife that the entire predicament was his own fault. Before embarking on what would most likely be his last battle, he very vulnerably apologizes to Welthow, proclaims his love for her, and begs her to remember him, "not as a king or a hero, but as a man - flawed and fallible" (may not be the exact quote). He also tries to confide his relationship with Grendel's mother in Wiglaf, but he refuses to hear any of it. So you are right in many respects, but his character doesn't stay completely linear through the entire film, just a great portion of it.
And also, just a minor detail, I'm not sure if you're familiar with the actual Beowulf text, but in it, during Grendel's ambush it says that Beowulf did not attack immediately, but instead watched how Grendel fought against his men in order to 'study' him and appropriately engage the monster. So, while you may still be right, I think that was what the writers were aiming for, but it's kind of hard to depict the "study of the enemy's fighting style" without having the character just say it straight out (also, they probably needed time for more stuff to get broken so that random debris could cover Beowulf's junk).
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dalinian
14 years ago
Very good analysis, shadowchild98 – I agree wholeheartedly. And there’s one further anthropological aspect I’d add – this is a tale about the end of the Heroic Era and humanity’s descent into the Age of Corruption. Both the character Beowulf – and the writing/direction team of Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary, and Robert Zemeckis – are well aware of this, to the point where they have Beowulf declare it so explicitly:
Wiglaf: Your legend is known from the high seas and the snow barriers to the Great Island Kingdom – you ARE the Monster Slayer.
Beowulf: We men are the monsters now. The time of heroes is dead, Wiglaf – the Christ God has killed it, leaving humankind with nothing but weeping martyrs, fear, and shame.
In a pre-existing hierarchical society, the allure of getting to be the top dog and thereby monopolising claims to wealth, power and sexual conquest is more than our greatest Hero has powers to resist. That remains as true under the decadence of decomposing C21 global capitalism as it was under the absolute monarchies of C6 Europe. The solution for us all lies not through a wish-fulfilment ending such as the one kartoon-1 suggests (as amusing as I found it – but it still leaves monarchy and patriarchy in power), but rather through the mass transcendence of hierarchical society. Only by overthrowing the Rulers (be they patricians or kings, politburos or capitalists) and the collective restoration, at a higher level, of the assertively egalitarian society in which our fairness-demanding true human nature evolved, over the countless generations of our hunter/gatherer ancestors, can we ever hope to ensure that Grendel’s Mother will never again be able to corrupt the best of our Heroic Sons (or Daughters).
Unfortunately, such an ending is obviously beyond the scope of the tale of Beowulf. But the original anonymous poet, plus Neil, Roger, and Robert, have done a magnificent job of weaving a tale that opens many eyes to the Age of Corruption inherent in the perpetuation of hierarchical society – hats off to ’em all for that, sez I!
dalinian
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Abelian_groups
14 years ago
I enjoyed reading this take on the underlying meaning of Beowulf.
But do you really think that at the time the poem was written and propounded, that was its intention > to denounce hierarchy? The mass transcendence of hierarchy that you speak of is a revolutionary idea that did not occur in the general populace until much later. Maybe that was the modern writer's intention.
At any rate, I do agree with the philosophy behind it.
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"Life is too important to be taken seriously" - Oscar Wilde
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Aqqk
13 years ago
bravo shadowchild98 and dalinian! thats a fantastic analysis on the film. Its sad that many people can't see even a small part of the messages the story tries to tell.
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