In English class we read Edith Hamilton’s synopsis of the Trojan War, and after reading, we watched the Warner Brothers 2004 Production of Troy. The movie and the myth were both based on the Trojan War. They were both very interesting, and captivating. It was stimulating to see it in 2 different points of views. Both the movie and the myth of Troy were great. They had similarities, but there were also some very strong differences. In Edith Hamilton’s Synopsis of the Trojan War, it focused on many of the gods of Olympus.
For example, in the synopsis, conversations between the gods happen from time to time, while in the movie they don’t. Both the myth and the movie were of great quality. I liked the myth and the movie, but I personally liked the 2004 movie production version of the Trojan War, better than the myth, for a few reasons. Even though I liked the movie better, the movie also had some weaknesses. I thought that the war itself was cut a little too short compared to the actual time span in which the war took place. The movie concentrated on more of the less important details to entertain.
I thought that the original myth was altered a great amount for the convenience of the movie production. I also thought that because it was altered to entertain, it increased the amount of fictional scenes, while adding more romance and drama to the movie. These scenes were a negative when compared with the actual myth, but it was a positive for the entertainment perspective. It was positive to the entertainment side because those scenes were needed to boost the number of viewers. This was also the reason I liked the movie better than the myth.
I liked the myth better for one reason though. That reason was because it was more informative and you had to use your imagination and read in between the lines to understand the myth thoroughly. One thing that I did not like about the myth was that it was so complicated. With all the names and people to remember, it was hard to understand the story without going back, to prior pages refresh my memory. While on the other hand, the movie prioritized a few characters, which made it easier for me to remember and understand.
In the movie production of Troy, it did not focus on the gods at all. The movie Troy basically revolves around the Greeks and the Trojans points of views, concentrating on a few characters: Achilles and Hector. I also thought that the casting roles of the characters affected the movie dramatically. Although the characters believed and mentioned the gods, the gods were never pictured. Out of all the gods, only one goddess was shown very briefly. That goddess was Achilles’ mother the water nymph, Thetis. I preferred the movie and there were several more reasons why.
The most significant reason was because the movie made the myth easier to understand, and also made it more approachable for me. I thought that this was the main reason why Troy was made into a movie. It was so that ordinary people could just watch it as entertainment as opposed to historians who study and analyze the myths. The movie Troy also made the myth more approachable to a wider range of people, ranging from teenagers to seniors for entertainment. I also preferred the movie because it gave me a more visual viewpoint of the myth, while the myth was the opposite.
So with the visualization, I thought that it had a greater impact on me, making it easier for me to remember in my mind. As opposed to the myth where you read and you had to picture everything on your own. There were some major differences between the 2 pieces. All of these differences were pretty obvious after watching the movie. There were a lot of differences, but I will only be naming some of the major ones and a few minor ones too. In the myth, it starts out with a wedding that Eris has not been invited to.
Eris throws a golden apple that is marked, “for the fairest” and 3 goddesses end up being narrowed down for the golden apple. So they end up on agreeing that Paris the young Sheppard, who is actually Prince of Troy should judge who gets the golden apple. But instead of judging, the 3 goddesses bribe him and him choosing the best offer. He chooses Aphrodite’s offer, which is that the fairest woman of the world would be his. And this is the judgment of Paris that was the true reason why the Trojan War had begun. But in the movie, in order to not show the goddesses, they interpret it as Paris falls in love with Helen of Sparta.
He falls in love with her in a few days during the peace party and takes her back with him to Troy. As soon as Menelaus finds out about Helen and Paris he goes to the Greeks and asks them for help and that’s when they decide to invade Troy. This was a big difference, because in the myth Paris is offered the fairest woman in the world, not because they fall in love. While in the movie Paris falls in love with Helen in just a few days which is really ironic. Another difference was that in the myth, Menelaus fights Paris and he doesn’t die, but in the movie, Menelaus ends up dying because of Hector.
A major difference that I already mentioned was that the gods play a major role in the myth while in the movie, the gods play only a minor role. Another difference is that, Patroclus is Achilles beloved friend in the myth, while in the movie Patroclus is Achilles cousin; I think that the movie made it that way to explain the reaction of Achilles when Patroclus is declared dead. In conclusion, I preferred the movie storyline compared to the myth story, because it was easier for me to understand and it was more entertaining for me.
It was more entertaining because of the drama and romance, also because of the visualizations, and because of the actors that played the roles. I also liked the movie better because the movie laid it out for me and because it was straightforward. This shows me that I am easily entertained, a little bit lazy, and that I prefer more modern versions of things. It also tells me that I like things being laid out for me, which is a bad thing, but most sources of entertainment are like that. Also, because most sources are like that it also shows me that other people like it too, not only me.
