{"id":480,"date":"2023-07-13T04:29:28","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T04:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/?p=480"},"modified":"2023-07-13T04:29:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T04:29:48","slug":"its-not-easy-being-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/13\/its-not-easy-being-green\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not Easy Being Green"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lucifer, aka \u201cLucy\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no one size-fits-all influence on #Xena, & a lot of them overlap, but The Last Temptation of Christ is one of the big ones, imo. It\u2019s there from the very beginning of Xena\u2019s adventure, & its presence is felt to the end. This should come as no surprise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know from the dvd commentary that religious history played a big role in shaping #Xena\u2019s story, so it makes sense that landmark films like Last Temptation would be a factor. According to George Strayton, who helped craft season 5\u2019s arc, & wrote Seeds of Faith, Rob Tapert gave him a copy of the book to incorporate into the story. It\u2019s safe to assume R.J. Stewart got a copy at the beginning, as well, & it came in handy in season 6, no doubt. We see it in specific ways, but also as a general influence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole idea of what life would be like for #Xena had she chosen a different path is there from season 1 to season 6\u2019s When Fates Collide. The repeated motif of her crucifixion fits the story\u2019s pattern, as well. I loved the movie, & I\u2019ve read the book several times.  Its author, Nikos Kazantzakis, also wrote Zorba the Greek (the film starred Anthony Quinn, who also played Zeus in Tapert\u2019s original 5 Hercules movies. Last Temptation, book & movie, has attracted a lot of controversy, but the author didn\u2019t intend that. He wrote it as a devout Christian wishing to understand the choices Christ made in his time on earth. It\u2019s a meditation on how to regard God\u2019s creation, the world we live in, & the transcendent divine, which lies beyond it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He depicts Christ as being torn between the two, trying to envision his destiny in Heaven while blinded by the beauty & ugliness this world. Growing up, he feels the shame & sparseness of not knowing his true purpose, & once he glimpses it, finds the world all too beautiful, soon to be left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, #Xena is about the struggle to realize your true self, & that\u2019s the theme of this book. It\u2019s a big part of Eve\u2019s story, for me, since she has a very similar quandary, being torn between 2 very different roles & personalities. One of my favorite moments in book & movie is after Christ is baptized, & the fiery John the Baptist, who preaches the wrath of God, exhorts him to be a cleansing fire in the world. \u201cBut isn\u2019t love enough?\u201d Christ asks. \u201cNo,\u201d John replies. \u201cThe tree is rotten. Take the ax & strike!\u201d Christ, who represents a new way, can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says \u201cIf I were fire, I would burn; if I were a woodcutter, I would strike. But I\u2019m a heart. I love!\u201d We can hear this in #Xena, when Callisto visits Eli in Seeds of Faith, when he has his Gethsemane moment of doubt. She tells him: \u201cThe order of the gods must fall and you, Eli, are the hammer.\u201d The most notorious section of the book is the final 3 chapters, when Christ, on the cross, considers the devil\u2019s suggestion that he doesn\u2019t have to go through with crucifixion to the end. It\u2019s also significant for #Xena as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before this scene, Simon picks up the cross when Christ stumbles, & carries it for him. Simon is a tavern owner, & is known as the Cyrene. In #Xena\u2019s pilot ep, Xena faces judgment when she visits her mother, Cyrene, a tavern owner. At this same moment in the book, as Simon carries his cross, Christ sees a vision of his mother, filled with lifelong anguish for her son\u2019s inability to find his place, & addresses her: \u201cAll my life I toiled to turn the Curse into a blessing. I\u2019ve done it, & we are friends now. Farewell, Mother!\u201d This is analogous to #Xena\u2019s relationship to her mother in the pilot, willing to be pelted with rocks if that would satisfy her judgment against her. Another key moment is just after this, when Christ utters the famous phrase: \u201cMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book uses the Aramaic translation, & only the 1st several words, before the chapter ends, & Christ\u2019s alternate life as a mortal begins. He says \u201cEli\u2026Eli\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally, the character of Eli was supposed to be named Issa, after a pop theory that Christ went to India where he was known by that name. Rob Tapert realized that was too on the nose, & would create controversy, so he changed the name to Eli, & I\u2019m certain it\u2019s because of this passage. Right afterwards, Christ steps down from the cross, after being greeted by a kindly angel. In reality, he is Lucifer, & the only sign that something is off is that his wings are the color of green grass. During all 3 chapters of Christ\u2019s alt-dream, there is this eerie presence of green. Sort of like The Matrix, how it seems to signify a deceptive reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I wouldn\u2019t be surprise if The Matrix drew this concept from the same book). For the purposes of my story, there\u2019s a very interesting passage having to do with St. Paul. Mary Magdalene marries Jesus, & confronts Saul, the Pharisee. Because there are no Christians in this alt-reality, Saul follows his bloodthirsty ambitions, until he becomes as ruthless as Livia! He\u2019s on a mission to kill Jesus, but Mary tells him: \u201cI was just thinking what miracles you would perform if God suddenly flashed within you & you saw the truth! To conquer the world, my beloved needs disciples like you\u2014not fishermen, peddlers & shepherds, but flames like yourself, Saul!\u201d Saul says: \u201cWith love? I too want to conquer the world! In the meantime, I find relief by killing others!\u201d Later, as an older man, Jesus confronts Saul, now self-named Paul, preaching the word of the crucified Christ. Jesus calls him a liar, but Paul laughs in his face: \u2018I shall become your apostle whether you like it or not!\u201d This version of Paul is more like John the Baptist: Love is a cleansing fire, filled with judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus realizes the unique nature of his message, & how he was not merely an empty vessel for God\u2019s word, but had specifically shaped it with his gentle heart. It was to be his unique gift to the world, now denied its influence. It\u2019s clear in the context of #Xena that Livia\u2019s conversion by Eli was very similar to Paul\u2019s conversion on the road to Damascus. But seeing this specific depiction of Paul, we see that Livia is very much an alternate reality version of him. As Eli\u2019s word is spread, we see the presence of the color green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And just as Lucifer had green wings in Last Temptation, so does he on #Xena. So does Michael & Raphael! Are they deceivers as well? Hmm, maybe there\u2019s just more to them than we can see, but I feel the green color of the Elijians signifies, if nothing else, that we are seeing an alternate version of Christianity, one tailor-made to the themes of #Xena. Tomorrow, I\u2019ll talk more about the real Paul, also a very interesting fellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There\u2019s no one size-fits-all influence on #Xena, & a lot of them overlap, but The Last Temptation of Christ is one of the big ones, imo. It\u2019s there from the very beginning of Xena\u2019s adventure, & its presence is felt to the end. This should come as no surprise: We know from the dvd commentary that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-xena"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}