Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief

To Phoenix Square Digital Film and Media Centre this afternoon with Harry and Grace, to see "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief". It's a milestone for Harry; first time he'll have seen a movie based on a novel he's read (he's already up to the third book in the Percy Jackson series).

I remember the thrill of hearing and reading the Greek myths when I was a kid and of seeing dramatisations of the stories of Perseus, Hercules and their like. I remember with affection movies like Jason and the Argonauts (1963), featuring the stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen. By the time of Clash of the Titans (1981) - the final film to which Harryhausen contributed his trademark animation - I'd rather outgrown this kind of thing (and I have no desire whatsoever to see the 2010 3D remake of Clash of the Titans, which features one of the worst straplines ever put on a movie poster: "Titans will clash!" Oh really? You don't say!)

It seems to me, however, that children discover and consume these stories in a different way now. Whereas in earlier years, children got these stories as something that had happened in a dim and almost-forgotten past, or in an alternate, mythologised world, today's children access them as part of an alternate reality that exists today. They see these gods and monsters of ancient Greece persist in our contemporary world - as if they've never been away, but have simply been biding their time before returning to assert their authority to rule - or wreck - our world.

In "Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief" we see Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, not only in their divine or demonic forms, but also in hoodies, leather jackets and trainers. We identify with their children, demigods born though their matings with mere mortals. There are also significant appearances by minor figures such as Medusa, Persephone, the Minotoaur, the Hydra and assorted centaurs, satyrs and furies. We visit the Underworld, Mount Olympus and the land of the lotus eaters, all of which have their modern counterparts, bringing a nicely ironic touch to the story (the entrance to the Underworld is below the Hollywood sign, Mount Olympus is accessed through an elevator in the Empire State Building and the lotus eaters lure and hold heir victims in a hotel and casino in Las Vegas). There's no recognition (no mention even) of innovations in religion since those times, no engagement with Judaism, Christianity or Islam. Other religions may as well not exist in Percy Jackson's fictional world.

Now, it could be said that it's not a new phenomenon; that such outlets as Marvel and DC comics retooled the ancient gods, heroes, villains and monsters from the 1960s onwards (for instance, with a particular favourite of mine, "The Mighty Thor", which depended on the old Norse myths and legends). But the marketing is more intense, penetrates deeper and into more layers of young lives, the CGI animation leaves less to the imagination.

Mind you, this production and consumption of ancient archetypes isn't just for children. Adults are willing participants too. For example, Neil Gaiman's Hugo and Nebula-Award winning novel, American Gods (2001) and Steven Sherrill's debut novel, The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break (2003). Even Doctor Who's Weeping Angels (recently voted the scariest monsters in the show's 46-year history - based on only one appearance at the time the poll was taken, Stephen Moffat's "Blink", which also won a Hugo) draw heavily on the archetype of Medusa and the Gorgons.

Find out more about the Percy Jackson books (by Rick Riordan):
http://www.percyjackson.co.uk/site/pj_main.php

Find out more about Neil Gaiman:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/