Jeannina Perez
WST 3015 Sec. 0002
4/14/10
The Native American Saves Gaia, Er, I Mean Atreyu Saves The Empress
One common theme that has always been present in children's media is the means to temporarily escape from school, homework, bullies, parents, and other such "nuisances". Everytime a child reads a book, or watches a movie they are transformed into a different world than their own. Most of the time these stories are filled with fantasy and wildly fictional characters. "The NeverEnding Story" is one of the many movies that came out in the 80s that dealt with a child escaping their lives and mystically traveling to some fantasy land. While this story was made to be a fun, entertaining movie for kids, it holds some stereotypes as well as undertones of ecofeminism.
In "The NeverEnding Story" there is a story within a story. In the story that Bastien is reading there is a terrible "nothing" that is sweeping over the land of Fantasia and erasing every one and thing. In order to save this land the people call on Atreyu. While the one person that comes to save the land is a boy, not a girl, the boy is made to look very similar to a Native American. As discussed in class on Wednesday, April 7th, stereotypically all Native Americans are connected to the earth and care deeply about their environment (Perez 4/5/10). While his nationality isn't discussed, Atreyu is a medium-skinned boy with shoulder-length black hair who wears pants and a vest made from what appears to be an animal skin of some sorts. He is also only mentioned to the people of Fantasia as "a powerful warrior who hunts the purple buffalo".
The main quest that Atreyu is sent on is to find a cure for the empress's illness. It is said that if she dies Fantasia dies too. It is because of this claim that it can be said that The Empress is the "Gaia" of the land. Whenever the "nothing" takes over another part of Fantasia, the empress becomes more ill. While The Empress plays a big part of the story (in a way) she is never seen until the last 20 minutes of the film. The Empress is a young girl who is fraile in figure, fair-skinned, has blonde hair, and blue eyes. The media views a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes as being the most pure and good person there is. The Empress is also shown as being a weak figure in the story. Even though she has all of this power and is so connected to the land she is of no help to Atreyu, and later Bastian, when Fantasia is hanging on by a thread. She is never once standing or moving about. The only time you ever see the empress is when she is sitting on her bed-like throne atop the Ivory Tower.
"The NeverEnding Story" unknowingly mixes a bit of the Gaia Theory with the Madea Theory. The one half of Fantasia is The Empress who's life depends on the state of Fantasia. Atreyu is sent off for a cure so that The Empress can save herself/Fantasia. The other half of Fantasia is the "nothing", created by those who lack an imagination. Since this world is based upon imagination it is, in a way, killing itself. Those who don't believe in Fantasia can be tied to humans on earth today with regards to their carbon footprint. Like in "Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth" those who lack the imagination to believe in Fantasia don't think of what their lack of imagination has done to this fantasy world. They are the 5th cell on their little toe that's going a little crazy (Welles 68). Luckily there was one boy who believed in Fantasia and saved The Empress and her land.
Works Cited
"The NeverEnding Story". Dir. Wolfgang Petersen. Netflix.com. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.
Welles, Lee. Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Company, 2006. Print.
I thought it was interesting how you contrasted the Gaia Theory with the Medea Hypothesis. When I analyzed the film I thought of how we discussed Captain Planet in class. He was the male figure that saves the environment by being empowered by a female figure. I thought this film subverted that trope. The way I understood it, Atreyu was to save the Childlike Empress who would then save Fantasia, while what actually happened was Bastian saved the day. Do you think this is a subversion of the pattern we discussed in class, or is it just a slightly different reiteration?
ReplyDeleteI do think this is the subversion. In class we discussed how women are the sole responsible beings for saving the environment. In this film though the main female character was helpless until the boys in the story gave her the power that she needed. While she was said to be powerful she was powerless without the help of her warrior and young human boy reader. While I love the 80s and culture tied to the 80s their media didn't do much to help break stereotypes or challenge traditional roles.
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