Sunday, January 31, 2010
Moral Implications of the Sheep and the Wolf
I saw this video yesterday, and decided, after watching it about a dozen times, to briefly examine the moral ambiguities present in the video.
At first, it seems to be more or less black and white (chuckle chuckle) -- the wolf and sheep, classic tropes in fairy tales, the wolf, in this case, seducing the sheep. The wolf sharpens his teeth, the clerk glares at the couple as they head to their room. Towards the end, the wolf licks his lips as he looks at the babies he made with the sheep (odd that they're mostly sheep if the wolf is the father, but I won't go in to that here), and even in the picture on the dresser, the wolf is looking at other women.
But it is not as simple as that. The sheep also apparently slept with the donkey, and at the end, she smiles at the wolf even as he aims a shotgun at her. The wolf is unable to fire.
It brings up many questions. Was the wolf really evil, or was he simply being himself? Was his miscast as the seducer and cheater, or was it his own love that was pure and finds him unable to shoot the sheep who had hurt him so? Was the sheep merely an innocent victim, or a cruel seductress who took advantage of the wolf's feelings, feelings only she saw? I cannot say for sure. What do you think?
Who is the villian: the sheep, or the wolf? Or can we even make that distinction?
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I think that perhaps you hit most home with the term "miscast" though perhaps truly it was "miscaste"
ReplyDeleteThe wolf has a dharma he's forced to follow. Seduce the sheep, lull it in, eat it. In the circle of life and that of karma, there is little room for the wolf to screw up, but also there is little room for improvement. The wolf, though, in stead of acting out a revenge fantasy, chose self sacrifice over murder. Far above and beyond the call of karma.
The sheep though also has a simple dharma, one also violated, but in the opposite direction. Infidelity in the face of true compassion will prove her downfall.
Sheep is the villain, but do not believe me. Next life the wolf will be born a prince, and the sheep a cockroach.
Jacob, your lack of sleep combined with speed reading the Bhagavad Gita is creating for some strange conversation.
ReplyDeleteI think we need to consider degrees of villany. That the need to declare one character a villian is a literary trap.