New-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new-new
Old Story
As
you know by now, I am “reading” Doctor Who through
two sets of lenses: English-teacher glasses, and Christian glasses.
I'm looking at them as I look at carefully-crafted works of
literature, searching for literature devices, structure, cultural
significance, mythical resonance, and theological implications.
That's how my mind works. Sci-fi is a perfect venue for communicating
the deeper truths about humanity, because it can use the wildest
physical metaphors imaginable, not being restricted by a particular
set of historical events or a narrow segment of current science.
Sci-fi also taps into the most profound traditions of fantasy and
mythology, which means it uses the collective human imagination's
most enduring archetypes to communicate emotionally and spiritually.
And
“Gridlock” employs what I believe is the most profound archetype
of all: the Christ-figure. The entirety of Doctor Who is
arguably “about” how the Doctor is a symbol of Christ, so I know
I will come back to this idea again and again. I would like to
deepen, clarify, and enrich my thoughts on this point, so I would
love it if somebody wanted to debate with me about this. In the
meanwhile, “Gridlock” makes its christological references
very obvious, so it's a good place to begin delving into this idea
more deeply.
Let's
go through a few of the background ideas first.
There
are only a few plots in the world—only a handful of narrative
shapes that stories can take.
Here
is a
list of “Master Plots,” and here are the
Seven Basic Plots. I'll talk about a few that came into my mind
before reading those lists.
There's
the Cinderella plot, in which someone goes from rags-to-riches either
literally or figuratively. I think that Hobbit-like
plots, in which a small person achieves great things, is a variation
on this theme. I think that the making-of-a-hero story (Batman
Begins, Man of Steel, etc.) is
another such variation.
There's
the Rake's progress story, the slow downward trajectory of a bad
person—or even an ordinary person—getting gradually worse.
There's
the Tragic Hero's demise, usually in a kind of
recognition-and-reversal arrangement, on the classical model of
Oedipus.
There's
the basic Marriage Plot, moving characters towards pairing off, often
involving mistaken identity, miscommunication, and disguises before
the resolution.
They
can be combined, such as the common union of the Cinderella plot with
the Marriage Plot.
There
are a few other patterns. Can you name some?
And
there is the ubiquitous Creation→
Fall→ Redemption story, which is also the Birth→
Death→Resurrection story.
It could be argued that this is the oldest, most wide-spread, and
most powerful plot arc. It might be the most common. I don't know
whether it occurs more frequently than the others, or in more
permutations. But I do know that when combined with a strong,
admirable main character, especially when that main character chooses
sacrifice, it is one of the most moving.
Now,
I'm a Christian. And Christianity is a narrative religion. We base
our faith on a Story. On a double-layered story, actually: it's
Creation → Fall → Redemption and Birth → Death →
Resurrection. It's historical, divine, and personal. It's linear and
cyclical, universal and individual.
The
ubiquity of the Creation→Fall→Redemption/
Birth→Death→Resurrection narrative could present a problem to
Christian belief, especially because it occurs in so very many other
religions, including ones that appear to have developed before or
independently of Christianity. In other words, if this is such a
common human story, what makes the Christian one any more likely to
be true?
Or
let me approach that question another way. How can the Christian
story and all these other stories be so similar, if there were no
obvious cultural or literary imitations from one to another?
There
are lots of possible answers.
1.
Somebody came up with a Birth→Death→Resurrection story way back
in the beginning of human history, and it got passed around by
word-of-mouth from culture to culture, so all the others are just
copying that one.
2.
There is something in the human imagination, perhaps something like
Jung's
“collective
unconscious,”
that makes us all love the same stories, regardless of our culture,
education, reading, or anything—so we all come up with the
Birth→Death→Resurrection story, independently.
3.
The early Christians and the writers of the Gospels were copying one
or more of the older stories.
4.
Jesus' Birth→Death→Resurrection really happened, and it's just a
coincidence that this pattern resembles so many earlier stories and
stories from other cultures.
5.
God planned all along that Jesus' life would follow that pattern, so
He planted the Birth→Death→Resurrection story into the human
imagination, intending for lots and lots of poets to tell the story
all over the world before Jesus came and acted it out for real, so
that then people would be primed and ready to accept it.
6.
There is something so inevitable about the Birth→Death→Resurrection
pattern that the universe just has to follow it. That is the way
things are, on the personal level, in history, and on the divine
scale. Even if Jesus' life had not happened yet, it would eventually
have to happen just that way, because Birth→Death→Resurrection is
the only way things can possibly unfold.
So
there are some possible answers. Can you suggest some others?
Numbers
1, 2, and 3 are the most commonly believed in American culture just
now, I would say.
#5
is C.S. Lewis'.
#6
is Charles Williams'.
I
suggest that #2 is Doctor Who's.
Now,
let's finally talk about “Gridlock.” In every episode, the Doctor
does something self-sacrificial to save someone else, frequently to
save everyone else. He is willing to die, over and over and over,
that others may live. Obviously that's based on the Christ-pattern,
whichever of those interpretations you accept. Usually the Doctor's
selfless love goes un-interpreted. But in “Gridlock,” the
association becomes as clear as it can be without a character yelling
out, “He's like Jesus!”
It's
made clear by the music. As everyone's driving along, year after
year, stuck on the motorway, they get a musical interlude on the
radio, and they all stop to listen to hymns. Specifically, they
listen to “The Old Rugged Cross,” whose lyrics are just about a
clear a statement of the Gospel as you will find. When the song first
started playing, I cringed, thinking that of course this was going to
be parody, mockery. I was certain the screenwriters would be making
fun of the characters for their archaic, meaningless faith. While
that potential was there, however, Martha's and the Doctor's
reactions led to a much different reading.
They
take the hymn seriously. Martha starts to cry. She even sings along.
And
then later, Martha made the statement that created an explicit
analogy between Jesus and the Doctor. She shouted to the residents of
New New York: “You have your hymns and your fiath. I have the
Doctor!” In other words, they have the same thing (literarily
speaking).
I
hope to continue digging into this idea as we proceed, and to point
out some of the important differences between the Doctor and
Jesus in my next post. Please stay tuned.
8 comments:
I am a bit disappointed that you didn't include the classic, "Dreams of Charles Williams, then rain, then the perfume of skunk" plot. It is less formulaic than Twilight!
Great post. I will look up this book!
Dear Sorina,
V. well said. And thanks for the links to "the" master plots; somewhere Leland Ryken claims that there are twelve "basic" plots into which all literature fits.
I've found CSL's explanation of this most convincing, but perhaps that is because I too am a Christian, and so think of humanity as united in being bearers of imago Dei.
Thanks again--I look forward to the next!
Fred
Well, be fair: We didn't discover that was one of the Master Plots until after I had written and scheduled this post! :)
(For other readers who wonder what the heck we're talking about -- follow @IambicAdmonit, @BrentonDana, and @DoctorHurd).
Wow, Sorina, how do you find the time!
This was a fascinating post - thanks for all the insights...
A few comments.
1 - This episode has always stuck out for me because of the "Old Rugged Cross" hymn, and as you say the sincere way it is treated. Check out the different reactions of Martha and the Doctor, though! Really emphasizes that the Doctor isn't human. It's like this shared faith phenomenon is a thing he can't participate in....
2 – I have always had this paradigm for the Christian “cycle” – creation, fall, redemption, renewal
So, in my mind, we live in the “redemption” part of the cycle – waiting for the renewal (the new heavens and the new earth)
3 – I think your point no. 5 is the closest to what I believe is going on! One thing that has always fascinated me is that the Christian story, with birth, death and resurrection has resonated with all cultures BUT, with more people becoming followers of Christ in the 20th century than any other preceeding it, it’s like many have recognized the basic pattern but also seen its definitive resolution in the coming of Christ. I mean for people from China, Korea, Nicaragua, Brazil, Nigeria etc.etc. A vast array of very different cultures….
Nice work!
Dominic
Well said, Dominic! Thanks very much for these thoughts. I like that you think #5 is operative in this episode. Do you think that's intentional on the part of the writer (Russell T. Davies), or do think it's providence working behind the scenes?
The idea of birth -> death -> resurrection comes from looking at nature. new life in spring leads to growth and thriving in summer then decline in fall and death (or seeming death) in winter, only to be reborn again in spring. This idea is as old as humanity's ability to look at the natural world.
The idea of birth -> death -> resurrection comes from looking at nature. new life in spring leads to growth and thriving in summer then decline in fall and death (or seeming death) in winter, only to be reborn again in spring. This idea is as old as humanity's ability to look at the natural world.
Post a Comment