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Guest blog post by Deborah Kelty
Recently I attempted to watch a little movie called Wolfwalkers, which came out last year and has been a popular mention among many top lists for animated films of 2020. And while there were some parts of it I kind of liked, there was something about it that put me off. That being, how it handled the religious elements and conflict they are a part of.
But the reasons as to why requires a lot of explaining. For a bit of background info on me, I am half Irish, and half English. I am also a Christian not technically raised in a denomination but rather different beliefs under the same branch, that being Protestantism. But most of all, I am a writer, something that I have been doing for as long as I can remember. However, balancing between stories and beliefs can be a great challenge. Of course, it depends on what you write, but with fiction, especially in the fantasy genre, it can be particularly challenging.
Now there are many, many, topics on the main subject of faith that I could tackle but that would require an entire series of essays like blog posts for me to cover.
So, to keep things short and sweet, I have pinned it down to three main points that would be easy to both explain and help you remember.
1. Religion influences government, culture and society.
This one is a very obvious point, but when looking back through history and many of the different events that occurred, a lot of is influenced by religious intent. Sometimes it’s normally one person usually in a place of power, and other times it’s a group of people brought together with a common cause connected to faith. But whatever the case, it can play a big part in what may drive those involved to bring in a new ideology, or status into a civilization’s origins, its current timeline, or even its destruction. Speaking of civilization, if a dominant religion has a particular place of importance in your fictional setting, consider the many details that make such a religion stand out rituals and practices it gives out. How do they play a role for individuals or communities that follow these practices to a tee?
What meaning or certain principles do they define, and how impactful can it be to a certain character? Questions like this would be especially important if you're writing a conflict involving such matters of faith. Another example can be with the setting itself. Is there iconography, religious text or particular imagery that have a frequent appearance in certain places like the religion’s temples? Does such symbols appear on clothing like a priest or priestess apparel, and could it even influence what commoner’s would wear or use? Such details can really make a difference to your fictional ideology, in making it more real to the setting your characters inhabit.
2. With different groups, common beliefs can be found.
Probably the most controversial point of the three, which I shall care to explain. Like with story archetypes and tropes from the past, certain moral principles may repeat themselves in particular religious systems, especially from ones that have branched out from older ones. Consider pondering on the oldest religion(s) in your fictional world and what may or may not have caused others to appear from it?
Do they have similarities that connect them in certain aspects, or differ from each other? And ultimately, how do such ideas bounce off each other in specific power dynamics? Especially in a political or communal manner? Of course, where these origins of conflict require a lot of consideration on how they connect with other aspects to your world, such as its magic systems or even geography.
But though their methods in sharing these core ideas can differ, many of the principles could be connected through such origins which make as long-lasting as they are...leading me to my final point:
3. The stronger its core tenets and symbols are, the longer it lasts.
Consider the likes of the largest world religions out there. What normally comes to mind when you think of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or even Taoism? And I don’t just mean specific details we mentioned before like priests, monks, nuns, beads, incense or rose water. I refer to the likes of symbols that you would see everywhere and is easily recognizable. For example, with Christianity it is a cross, something that you see in nearly all its denominations and branches.
For Judaism, it’s the four pointed Star of David. For Islam, the crescent moon and star. And with Hinduism or Buddhism, it’s normally a golden statue of their representing deities. While finally with Taoism, it’s the yin and yang circle. These are very unique symbols in our history, as not only can they be found throughout its different cultures, but also represents their tenets in a lot of ways through their simplistic design. The cross to Christians represents Jesus’s suffering as a reminder of what he did to pay the price of sin. The Star of David to Jews (also known as the Seal of Solomon) represents their history as well as naming one of their greatest renowned kings, in showing their endurance throughout their struggles. And with Taoism, it represents the cycle and balance between light and darkness.
Of course this isn’t exactly the case for all the religions I’ve mentioned here.
Such as with Islam, where its icon has been inspired from much older Mesopotamian religions who used astronomy and astrology as a reference for their beliefs.
Which also inspired other religions at the same time such in Mediterranean locations, Greece and Rome’s in particular. Namely the Moon and Venus, or the Morning and Evening Star, which both normally were seen together in the night sky. While with the likes of Hinduism or Buddhism, its more based off the deity's – or in Buddha’s case, a spiritual teacher’s - place of importance in their religion, depending on their significance in their texts. With these designs, they are able to convey a lot to a person in such a way, as well as their tenets themselves(although that can be a debatable one), that it can stay with a person for a long time, or even forever if it leads them to the path of believing.
Now what I will say next may somewhat surprise you, but it is a fact that I don’t think is as out there as it may sound. That being:
Storytelling & Religion Are One And The Same.
Think about it. Both have stories that usually follow one or more characters, either recurring or not, that go on grand quests or pilgrimage usually under the orders of an all mighty deity, or several deities, (and in some occasions just out of personal motivations and desires), and in turn likely ending by our hero/heroine conquering a fearsome monster and gain a prize, or worse, dying tragically while in their arms on their loved ones. And most of all, weave in themes and lessons that are allegorical and express meanings that are meant to be greater than what we are used to knowing.
The only biggest difference is that one expects you to take it as hard facts, while the other usually leaves it up to one’s own interpretation. That in turn, effects the mindsets of its followers on both sides – one being religious masses and the other being ecstatic fandoms. And sadly, it has also led to division and arguments between these two different communities for a variety of different reasons.
Because while creation can be a beautiful, meaningful act, it can also be capable of being flawed, ugly or dangerous. I bring this up because over the years, from not only the far past but also even more since the last century, many famous artists and creatives like famous authors – have not always looked back on religion too kindly, either due to troubled upbringings with religious influences or experiences later on that effected their look on it. But at the same time, this has led to biased outlooks in the majority of artistic communities, which in turn impacted their work that has any reference to religion. Although this isn’t always the case, it has become more prominent in recent years.
Which leads me back to my earlier mention of Wolfwalkers. In there, it portrayed the conflict of man vs nature while also combining with the larger subliminal conflict of religion vs paganism. However, in doing so, there was little subtlety and adding nuance with its villain in question, the Lord Protector, whose true history under the name of Oliver Cromwell was a lot more complex and interesting than how the film makes it out to be. Which in turn led to the main conflict of Christianity vs Irish mythology being too simplistic and one note. And I know what you’re thinking, it’s a kids movie, so subtlety wouldn’t exactly be up its sleeve with the storytelling, right? Except that, before this movie, the studio Cartoon Saloon’s previous works, such as The Breadwinner and Secret of Kells, did imply with showing a little of both the good and bad religion can have, as well as some nuance.
Which really frustrated me as someone who’s knows this divide and its history far too well, and on top of that, a historical time period that hasn’t had much representation in such a way, let alone correctly. I won’t go further with this example (as it’ll take up most of this blog post and it kind of already has), but my point is that, like with stories, the perspectives we give on any subject matter, like religion, politics, or something else, can impact others in more ways than we realize.
And that there is a responsibility there in giving care when interweaving into our narratives, whether it be for younger audiences or not.
As for the general idea of faith, and how that can work for a character’s arc – particularly if it is a part of that character – is ultimately up to you.
If it has a major play with the story’s themes and conflict, consider the many questions one of faith would go through. After all, nobody, if even one, is a truly faithful, pure and good of heart follower in their minds. There can be doubt, shame, anger and fear over whether not what he or she believe in is real, and whether what they hold to as real is truly worth it in the end, when it means that such actions cause certain separation from society, friends, or sometimes even family. Either because of those newly found beliefs one’s just discovered or looking at beliefs he or she has known all their life from a different perspective that could be viewed as heretical.
They may even “sin”, or break rules that they’ve been taught to, which could even effect them in their journey. Or perhaps, in the fantastical sense, encounter the deities they’ve believed for a short or long period of time, causing them to have an interesting conflict or dynamic. Or even just a simple conversation involving matters of faith. All in all, believers are human, and flawed, but with just a more set moral standard they try to uphold for the most of the time (depending on what they follow).
But when it can come to deities, if they do appear in your story in the flesh, so to speak, think about their place in your fictional world and how they impact it.
How would they react and feel in such surroundings and the creations they made?
Are there some weird looking creature with strange powers that only a few understand and makes them alienated from others? Or are they more familiar in a human appearance that they connect with emotions or similar attributes, rather than just being distantly stoic or cold? It’s something that has been explored and experimented on many times, usually to represent literal allegory or as a symbolic similarity: like Iluvatar from the Lord of The Rings representing God with Morgoth and Sauron being the Devil and his servant, or Aslan being akin to Jesus with doing the sacrifice and resurrection storyline, along with the White Witch being her own Satan counterpart.
And other times with more of a human perspective in mind with more vulnerability by being in the control of the word it inhabits, as stated earlier (although there are fewer examples). I could go on, but in the end, if you do have one does have a role to play in what you’re writing, make it important and make it matter.
Which isn’t easy to do, just like with all the other previous points combined together.
I know so, as one who’s also developing a fantasy series that has religious inspiration, among other related ideas I hope to potential add in too.
It can be challenging, and it can be tough to convey right, but if you are clever enough, and imaginative enough, something enlightening may come out of what you want to write. And above all, have fun while doing so, as it can make a difference!