Mythology Theory — The Dark Crystal

Written by David S. McMahan
Bachelor of Creative Arts,
San Jose State University
American Studies

“Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives” — Professor Marcel Danesi cites the French semiotician, Roland Barthes, in an attempt to explain Mythology Theory. According to Barthes, he attributes the significance of popular culture spectacles to a number of rudimentary semiotics that have become formulaic and typical of all forms of media. One such concept is the persistence of ancient mythological themes operating to underscore our fascination with media productions. These themes deal with core humanistic antagonism, such as the hero and the villain; strength and weakness; conflict and resolve, and have continually been reinterpreted and reimagined in creative ways so as to enact new methods of articulating mythological symbolism and meaning through media.

A marvelous adaptation of mythological concepts can be seen in the 1982 film “The Dark Crystal”, written and directed by Jim Henson, of Muppets fame, in partnership with Frank Oz, famously known for his masterful puppetry of the character Yoda, from the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Introduced in the opening moments as “another world, in another time — in the Age of Wonder”, viewers are immediately plunged into a mythic experience filled with otherworldly landscapes, sounds, and creatures. Now darkened and twisted, this world, given the name “Thra”, is shown to be deteriorating, as a dreadful collective, known as the “Skeksis”, have come to establish their rule over its remnants. This species is but a subdivision of a higher, more ethereal entity, known as the “UrSkeks”. The premise behind their existence is derived from an ancient division of the UrSkek species into two counterparts: The “cruel” Skeksis, and the “gentle” “UrRu”. The main story of the film follows a peculiar character, a “Gelfling” named Jen, who, amongst the many strange beasts of Thra, appears to resemble that of a human the most. In the dying whispers of his UrRu caretaker, he sends Jen on a baffling journey, where he must seek and recover a lost crystal shard, so that he may revitalize the “Dark Crystal”, and unlock its dormant power to reunite the two divided species and restore harmony to all the land.

Jim Henson utilizes mythology as a world-building mechanism, wherein his strange world of Thra becomes comprehensible through his characters and their motives, be they pure or malicious. Fundamental themes of unity and division, serenity and madness, heroism and tyranny, all operate together as semiotic functions that help the viewer create meaningful connections between his world and that of our own. Making these types of connections is at the heart of why we are drawn to specific forms of media. These connections, according to Marcel Danesi, are also ancient and rooted in mythology. Even with Henson’s otherworldly fantasy, we seek traces of human elements in its design. These underlying themes are what speak to our subconscious values, and are made especially compelling when explored in unconventional ways. “The Dark Crystal” is one such work. It is a spectacle that taps directly into our human primacies — by removing them completely, only to guide us back to rediscover them through a singular mythological production.