Torn in two

Have the occasionally dry readings required for Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization taken the air out of your creative wings? Does the excessively formal material and its focus on the structure of functional, upright societies sometimes make you want to shout and beat your chest in a primal outburst? These are urges that have filled the minds of Columbia undergrads for almost a full century (the Core was instated in 1919), but have only recently been quenched by the American movie industry. In the past decade, films based on such works as the “Iliad” by Homer and the “Histories” by Herodotus have taken very liberal interpretations of these classics—swapping in action and intrigue for narrative integrity—and reaped box office rewards. However, for the quintessential Columbia student, there exists an intellectual dilemma: Should one honor the literature presented in one’s classes, or submit to desires for violence and excitement and attend these gruesome interpretations?

To simply claim that these movies are deviations from their classical roots is to do an injustice to both. The trend was started in 2004 with the release of both “Troy” and “Alexander,” which were devoted more to showing Brad Pitt’s and Colin Farrell’s chiseled bodies than to accurately representing the stories of the Greeks and the Macedonians, respectively. Historians cried foul, especially when Troy reeled in almost $500 million worldwide, aware that for many, these films had become the preeminent references for ancient works. Little did they know that only a few years later, filmmakers would further shift the focus from history towards histrionics. In 2007, Warner Brothers came out with “300,” which allegedly recapped the defeat of the Spartans to the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. The movie focuses almost entirely on precisely choreographed battle sequences, featuring, at times, superhuman mutants in lieu of much historical substance. The script is barely 6,000 words long—a length hardly out of reach for a verbose Columbia student, and it took the actors twice as long to train for their roles by lifting weights (four months) than it did to actually shoot the movie (two).

“300” opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for directors seeking to exploit ancient history, as it became obvious that audience members would gladly trade any sort of historical or mythical accuracy for prolonged battle scenes and state-of-the-art CGI. The “Clash of the Titans” came out in 2010, purporting to be based on the mythological conquests of Perseus. To get a sense of how diligently the movie follows the original myth, one should simply consider the fact that no actual Titans, the original Greek gods, were included in the plot, while the Kraken, an epic sea-monster from Norse mythology, was. A Titan does, however, appear in “Immortals,” which was released this past weekend. The film is based on placing King Midas into the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Unfortunately, such a crossover is also utterly fabricated, as are several other key plot points, making “Immortals” no more accurate than its predecessors. To get a sense of how egregious these divergences are, simply imagine current inconsistencies like Woody dying in “Toy Story,” or Mufasa defeating Simba in the “Lion King,” or Columbia being in The Big East instead of the Ivy League. It seems that even given the relatively entertaining opportunities provided by myth as opposed to reality, filmmakers continue to disregard the classics. Maybe such a plan is prudent: The “Clash of the Titans” also neared the $500 million benchmark worldwide, and “Immortals” made $32 million in its opening weekend alone, easily claiming the top spot for box office totals.

For the average college student, these movies can be consumed or ignored without consequence. But for the Columbian who has taken Lit Hum and CC, the films stand in direct contrast to the books we have (supposedly) read. Support for movies like “300” or “Immortals” spells an undermining of the legends of Homer, Herodotus, and Thucydides, which have for years been a key part of the Columbia academic sphere. In this crisis of literature, perhaps then we should turn to the literature itself for a solution. Socrates, who is quoted in the opening scene of “Immortals,” tells us to seek truth over all else in Plato’s “Republic,” as only such diligence will lead to a just existence. By that logic, virtuous students should avoid these silly, albeit undeniably awesome, movies, as they are but mere delusions. Then again, in the same book, the character Glaucon argues that humans are naturally evil, and that subsequently hedonism is the most sensible path one can take. Thus, to the box office we go, to absorb all the bone-crunching, computer-animated action we can, even if it means somewhere in the underworld Homer is weeping.

Walker Harrison is a Columbia College sophomore majoring in mathematics. He plays for the baseball team and writes for The Fed. Tough Guise runs alternate Wednesdays.