Dragons

Legendary, Mystical, and powerful are all words that have been used to describe the mythical creature we know as the dragon. With the ever increasing popularity of fictional themed movies, books, and video games, magical and mythical creatures, including the dragon have taken a much more prominent role in popular culture.

Dragons typically are portrayed as powerful, vicious, violent, and omnipotent. Some cultures view dragons as the mortal enemy of mankind, others see dragons as allies, friends, and possibly pets.  In film, two examples of these contradicting portrayals of dragons can be seen in the movies “Reign of Fire” and “How to train your dragon.”

      No matter how people view dragons, the features of dragons relatively stay the same. A dragon is a large reptilian creature, with razor sharp claws and the uncanny ability to breathe fire from its mouth to incinerate its foes.  However throughout different cultures, the physical outline of a dragon can be altered. Western civilizations seem to picture dragons that dwell in caves and have wings. Asian cultures see dragons as a creature from the sky or sea that fly mystically without the help of wings.

      Dragons are not held to a certain archetype or physical form, because they are a figment of imagination.  No matter which way you fantasize about dragons, or to what degree, the only constant is that you for some reason are still thinking and fantasizing about dragons. 

Yetis and All Giants in Between

Yetis have been portrayed as early as the 19th century, with a tie of religion aspects. Yetis are also commonly known as the "Abominable Snowman" and were portrayed in many movies in America. Yetis are used to depict fear in a winter region setting in movies and almost the only fear in that type of setting. In a sense, a more recent depiction of a Yeti was in Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. Yetis are giant, white, albino-looking, hairy creatures that can have very much similarities to giants or Big Foot. Big Foot can be known as a Yeti's cousin with similarities as in hairy bodies, giant size and a fearful attribute. Big Foot has been portrayed in many ways, actually more than movies. Faked sightings of Big Foot is common to be found online or newspapers. As there is no hardcore scientific evidence of both Yetis and Big Foots actually exist, that still classifies them as creatures, mythical creatures. Giants have been portrayed in many ways with different colors, sizes and intelligence levels. Just with the different perceptions of giants in many different movies, its clear that they are a mythical creature along with Yetis and Big Foot. 
But we all know that Yetis, Giants and Big Foot, are a GIANT portion of the mythical creatures...

Vampires' and Werewolves' History in Movies

In my opinion, vampires and werewolves, or lycans as they're sometimes called, are two of the most popular mythical creatures around.

   From Draccula to Twilight vampires have been seen in several different forms and hundreds of different perspectives for centries now. Who doesn't love the thrill of watching a human-like beast such the very life from another?
   While literature has been the backbone for vampires, film has made them what they are today. "John Polidori’s 1819 story, The Vampyre, started the modernization of the vampire we know today. But, it wasn’t until 1897 that the vampire lore came into full swing. It was in this year that Bram Stoker released his modern classic, Dracula, which stands as the basis for the majority of vampire films around today."
   It appears that as time progresses, vampires becomes more and more accepted in society. Looking back vampires were portrayed as evil creatures who had no reflection, were afraid of garlic, burned in the sun, and most of all, drank blood uncontrollably. And now there are films about how they live with humans and control themselves, sparkling instead of burning in the sun. Who knows what qualities the next generation of vampires will obtain?

   Another mythical creature, still, very popular in today's times would be vampires' enemies... Werewolves. Similar to vampires, werewolves star in a copious amount of horror films. The first werewolf movie was titled "The Werewolf" and was produced in 1913. When they were first distributed, werewolf movies did not reach the same popularity that vampire movies did. However, "the indisputable high point of werewolf movies was 1941's 'The Wolf Man', starring Lon Cheney, Jr. It arrived as a part of the cycle of Universal's monster movies, along with 'Dracula', 'Frankenstein,' and 'The Creature From the Black Lagoon.'"
   "Mainstream werewolf movies have not fared well in the 21st century", nonetheless several smaller movies achieved well deserved cult success.
    Exactly as vampires, views, opinions, and looks for werewolves have changed over years and will possibly change in years to come along with their immortal vampiric enemies.

 

Centaurs

    A centaur, according to Greek mythology, has the head, chest, and arms of a man, and the legs and lower half of a horse.  In myths they were used to symbolize dark forces of nature, chaos, masculinity, and loyalty.
    One of the first films to include centaurs was in 1921 called The Centaurs.  It was a romance about two centaurs falling in love.  The characters were not depicted as dark creatures at all, but very loving ones. Centaurs are also found in many modern science-fiction and fantasy movies.  In the Harry Potter series the centaur Firenze is very loyal and perhaps overly proud, seeing his race as superior to others.  In the Chronicles of Narnia the centaur is very wise and noble.  In Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief the centaur is very honorable, dedicated and defensive.  In all of these films the centaur is portrayed as a loyal and proud creature, although they initially appear dark and scary.

Cerberus

             According to Greek Mythology, Cerberus was the guard-dog of the Underworld and was owned by Hades. He kept the living out of the underworld and the dead from getting out. He's typically represented as a huge snarling dog with three heads with a serpent for a tail.
           The first movie that comes to mind when I think of a three-headed guard dog is the first installment of Harry Potter. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, there was a Cerberus creature, ironically named Fluffy. He was a huge three-headed dog, guarding an underground chamber. The only way to get past him is to play him a lullaby. In Greek Mythology,  this is how the singer Orpheus got past Cerberus and got into Hades. So clearly the parallels are apparent.

                                         (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Google Images)

First Day!

Hello, Mythical Creature Enthusiasts!  We're here to educate you about all things mythical, mystical, and magical.
And a special hello to Mr. Wilcox, our Composition II instructor!