Sean Demme
11.28.12
In class we watched a documentary of how Medusa came to be. We learned how she was a victim of rape and how SHE was punished for it. This is very strange because in our time rape is very sensitive and would never have been treated in such a way. Her punishment was to be turned into a gorgon.
Perseus was later born. He was the son of Zeus - so the god helped Perseus on his journey. His quest was to kill Medusa. Perseus was equipped with a shield and sword from the gods.
One thing I noticed was that punishment was very important to the time period. It was about being responsible for something and being punished for something. The strange thing is the way that values drive different things. I noticed that some of my classmates mentioned that the victim is usually the one being punished. The idea of the ways that values change means that we see punishment as it should be put on another person not who is being punished in the myth. Interesting really.
Lastly I like the way that Jim Henson mentions how the myth is told so many different ways that there is no one ending. Myths are myths and have been told for so long that there are so many "alternate endings" so to speak. He then says, "who has not been petrified by fear?" eluding to the fact that though it is just a myth it refers to real stories.
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