06-05-2007, 01:46 AM
Ashok Guroo, While I agree this is a great development there is a slight doubt that I have - not sure how to express it. Below is a feeble attempt.
The problem is this -> suppose the company that makes "Roundup" (the weed killer) makes herbal shampoo and call it "Roundup Shampoo" will people buy it ? Comics somehow seem to be in that domain. The brand that becomes popular in the comics world is mentally assigned a corner where spiderman/superman/batman live. Animation movies perhaps do not have that effect - ofcourse this is all a personal opinion. And ofcourse it all depends on the audience we are talking about. An animation movie on Hanuman will have a different effect on me then on someone who has never heard of Hanuman before and even more different on an indologist.
At a different level IMO there is already a certain level of mythologizing of hindu characters. Wendy and her bachchaa-log do the same thing. These comics are doing it from a more sympathetic POV perhaps. JC OTOH is not mythologized. JC is God (uppercase) and Son of God (uppercase again). Bible becomes fact and Mbh becomes mythology, ok a GREAT mythology along with Lord of the Rings. Rama becomes a cool character but JC becomes factual character.
What is the way out ? I dont know. Perhaps there is a need to mythologize JC ? Perhaps MSU students have shown the way ? I really dont know.
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BTW has anybody seen an animation movie "Veggie Tales". It had all vegetable characters and a central Jonah (?) character who resembles JC in lots of aspects. This is an old movie (perhaps 3-4 yrs old). I found the tactic very interesting there. Kids see an animation movie with the theme very-very close to bible. But the character aint JC. Veggie tales is ofcourse in the realm of fertile imagination (cool story but...) while JC is the real thing as in bible.
Saap bhee mar jaye aur lathee bhee nahin tute.
The problem is this -> suppose the company that makes "Roundup" (the weed killer) makes herbal shampoo and call it "Roundup Shampoo" will people buy it ? Comics somehow seem to be in that domain. The brand that becomes popular in the comics world is mentally assigned a corner where spiderman/superman/batman live. Animation movies perhaps do not have that effect - ofcourse this is all a personal opinion. And ofcourse it all depends on the audience we are talking about. An animation movie on Hanuman will have a different effect on me then on someone who has never heard of Hanuman before and even more different on an indologist.
At a different level IMO there is already a certain level of mythologizing of hindu characters. Wendy and her bachchaa-log do the same thing. These comics are doing it from a more sympathetic POV perhaps. JC OTOH is not mythologized. JC is God (uppercase) and Son of God (uppercase again). Bible becomes fact and Mbh becomes mythology, ok a GREAT mythology along with Lord of the Rings. Rama becomes a cool character but JC becomes factual character.
What is the way out ? I dont know. Perhaps there is a need to mythologize JC ? Perhaps MSU students have shown the way ? I really dont know.
---------------------
BTW has anybody seen an animation movie "Veggie Tales". It had all vegetable characters and a central Jonah (?) character who resembles JC in lots of aspects. This is an old movie (perhaps 3-4 yrs old). I found the tactic very interesting there. Kids see an animation movie with the theme very-very close to bible. But the character aint JC. Veggie tales is ofcourse in the realm of fertile imagination (cool story but...) while JC is the real thing as in bible.
Saap bhee mar jaye aur lathee bhee nahin tute.