Orpheus world war 2 comparison - Lauren Collorone

 I first heard the story of Orpheus in high school while learning about greek mythology. When learning about gods and goddesses the typical picture that goes through the mind is men and women in togas and flower crowns hanging out in ancient greece. However this movie took a different approach. The biggest change obviously being the film is set in post occupational France meaning post world war two which works perfectly with the overall theme of life and death. What we have learned from our many history classes and textbooks over the course of high school and college is that world war two was not a fun time. When world war two comes to mind I immediately think of love, art and death. This time in history was like hell on earth for people. Which I think ties greatly into who and what orpheus is. Firstly he is symbolically a catabasis. A catabasis by definition is the descent or trip into the underworld however it can also mean just simply moving downhill. In this film Orpheus is already an established poet. I got the sense that since he feels he’s already achieved what he has set out to accomplish that he doesn't need to try any longer. Ultimately leading to the downward spiral which is his poetry. Not only is he symbolically a catabasis but he carries out the act of what is a catabasis by actually going to the underworld for his love. This ties back into world war two once again. I can't help but compare the commonality of the idea of a world war two soldier. A soldier will literally go to hell on earth to fight for either the country he loves or the people he loves (while having a strange relationship with death as most soldiers do) . Orpheus is in love with Eurydice but he also finds love and happiness in death represented by a woman. A soldier loves his country but sometimes when things get tough death can be a kindness. These themes are just intensely paralleling and I think Jean Cocteau did a fabulous job of not only capturing the tone of the film but also representing the time in which this film is set in properly.               


Comments

  1. Sarah DickersonFebruary 25, 2021 at 9:43 AM

    Hi Lauren! I really enjoyed reading your post because I didn't touch on the World War 2 aspects so it gave me a different perspective. I agree with your comparison on how there was so much love, art and death during that time and it was also portrayed well within this film. Your other comparison on how soldiers and Orpheus view death is also super interesting. It's as if both of these people will fight for what they love no matter what it takes, even if the result ends up in death.

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  2. Jon VitkaFebruary 25, 2021 at 12:46 PM

    Hey Lauren, I don't wanna be a copycat with Sarah's post above but, I really honestly had to write a comment about how it's related to World War II. I'm not gonna lie I totally didn't write about how WWII could be an important factor to this movie and how it took place in france. To be honest you're absolutely right about how it's a perfect time to take place since after World War II it was mainly all revolving about the number of casualties and deaths that happened throughout it, as well as, after it making this movie have a great placement for its theme. The part where you talked about how Orphee was like a WWII soldier was splendid! I wouldn't of seen him in any other way, because they do deal with the relationship with death lingering above them while they fight, even hearing fallen allies whisper and talk to them at night. Lucky for Orphee he doesn't hear that but instead has a weird relationship with death even though he's married? It very weird how this whole story came to be. Once again I love your post very very insightful! If you ever want to see how could homosexuality and queerness be found in this movie check my post out if you like. Once again thankyou for the insightful quote!

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