American Gods, here in Alabama?
Last night, I started watching a show on A&E about the skinheads, because we have been studying them some in our terrorism class as part of homegrown domestic terror. Anyway, I really was shocked to see their ideas and everything. They were focused in Alabama. Additionally, one of the main men began to pray. However, it was not to an expected god (then again maybe it was and I just didn't know). He was praying to Odin, and it explained that it was the ancient Nordic god of war (as we learned). All I could think of was our discussion on American Gods and their power shrinking and growing as people begin to believe in them again. Moreover, it reminds me of our talk about how some gods are real to some people. Just thought it was something to think about, the show really made me uncomfortable.
posted by Anonymous at 10:16 AM
3 Comments:
I think I've seen that same documentary...I'm in a doc class (TCF) and we've been watching all sorts...and we watch that one (or one similar to it) last week and I thought the same thing...here this guy is praying to Odin, likening himself and his movement to Christianity, and there was another pantheon thrown in there too. Strange stuff but these kids are believing it all just because they need something to believe in.
I'm thinking about that for my topic...my favorite quote that I posted earlier about belief makes things happen. Here these kids beleive that the world would be better with Hitler because this guy is feeding these kids this crap and they are hungry for anything.
I watched it too, apparently they see Hitler as a type of Messiah figure who will one day return. I missed the Odin reference, but they seem to have combined Christian and Germanic mythology to justify their seperatist ideology. Some of their assertions, such as being peaceful but violent if neccessary, reminded me of Islamic jihadist rhetoric. It was sobering to realize that the impoverished and disillusioned youth we see becoming fanatics in the Middle East are also present in our own country. It seems in every religion the unifying theme is a lack of individual reasoning.
Certainly Hitler and his propaganda czar, Speer, consciously used Germanic mythology in advancing their ideology, so it's not surprising that contemporary neo-Nazis are doing the same thing. Of course, fundamentalist Christians are consciously using Judeo-Christian mythology to advance their political aims, too.
In the Gaiman universe, what would a god such as Odin (or Jehovah) think about being misused in such a way -- or would he consider "misuse" even possible? Maybe the goal is simply to be invoked and remembered and prayed to, for whatever reason.
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