Differences Between Cyclops’
The comparison of Cyclops’ from historical contexts to new media In Greek mythology, the Cyclops was a member of the giant race, every one of them having one eye in the middle of their heads. The Cyclops’ were gigantic monsters who originated from Sicily which consumed human beings. Because of their horrific appearance there were banished to the underworld, but later set free from their prison by the Greek gods. In the X-Men series, the Cyclops is a character that is portrayed as a superhero. Published by Marvel comics, the Cyclops is a field agent leader who has a superpower from generated energy which is emitted through a laser beam.
This energy comes directly from his eyes. This one eyed appearance is why he is called “Cyclops” as it originally comes from the one eyed Greek mythological monster. Cyclops is a sign of natural strength and force. In the X-Men series Cyclops is considered as one the members of the powerful circle of heroes. This strength was innate, Cyclops knew about this power from a young age, so he joined with the other cluster of superheroes to train and develop this power into a way in which society could benefit. In a sense this power is man-made; Cyclops developed a laser over his eyes as he could not expose his eyes to sunlight.
This man-made creation therefore represents modern technology in society, as without societies’ innovative inventions, modern technology cannot expand. This in comparison to Cyclops in Greek mythology differs as the Cyclops’ forces and strengths are not man-made they are in fact raw and natural. The Cyclops from Greek mythology are said to be humongous and strong with natural force. The Cyclops’ appearance shows an insight to the promoted era. In the newly developed interpretation of the Cyclops, he is portrayed as a normal person with humanistic traits.
Cyclops wears clothes such as pants, shirts, and jackets thus looking like a human. Also, Cyclops is portrayed with muscles and handsome to give that modern day attraction factor for its audience. He is also shown wearing sunglasses to cover his eyes to make him look even more fashionable to relate to modern day society. We can link this too the society of today as universally, the world is judged by fashion. As the Cyclops from the X-Men series is shown as a fashionable character, the audience can relate to him and this takes away that actually he is a monster in disguise.
The Greek mythological representation of the Cyclops is comprised as a giant, ugly looking, one-eyed monster that has no teeth and no clothes. This is the total opposite to how the Cyclops is portrayed in modern day media through movies and comics. This shows the transformation of contemporary normalities from the before Christ era, to modern society. It is a social normality to be fashionable and to look good. So, by Cyclops adapting these qualities through his character in X-Men it derives a link between the character and social conformities.
The Cyclops represents a certain level of vulnerability. Cyclops from Greek mythology has one eye which we can indicate that the monster is somewhat exposed to the things around him. It is said that because Cyclops has only one eye, this therefore represents people who see through only one perspective. This narrow mind relates to susceptibility in actions as only having one eye limits the vision. The X-Men figure also has this exposure; in his case if his glasses or laser is removed he will be harmed by the light as it will burn his eyes.
This shows vulnerability. This relates to humanistic traits in modern day society as everyone is assailable to things in life and it just shows even a monster can be too. So for the monster to be portrayed in such a way, it suggests that we are no different from the monster, and the monster is inside of us. The way the Cyclops is presented in new media represents technological expansion. The Cyclops from Greek mythology is portrayed to have no weapons, no clothes or no powers. As this era of living was before Christ, technology of any sort was a myth.
On the other hand, Cyclops from X-Men is shown to have a laser as an eye, armour with his costume and other kinds of machinery. This relates to modern society as it shows how digital technology has enlarged over the generations. This also ties in to the monster having humanistic traits, as most of the innovative ideas of design and creative come from the human brain, all in which are presented with the Cyclops. Also, we can unravel that this represents the economic growth of the world. Without the funds, technology cannot expand and inventions cannot be made.
Back in time this couldn’t have been possible as the money was non-existent. After uncovering all of these concepts, it’s clear that the representation of the Cyclops has come a long way from Greek mythology to the way modern day society is exposed to this monster in contemporary media. The new and improved Cyclops represents how humans have adapted from generation to generation, from innovative design, wealth and appearance. The director does a great job in tying these traits of the Cyclops together and linking them with the surrounding audience.
The director uses all these humanistic views through the Cyclops very cleverly as the audience can relate to all of traits portrayed, from vulnerability to the cares of appearance, the urge to look good. Modern audiences are exposed to the Greek mythological representation of the Cyclops as a huge, ugly, raw character. So for them to be displayed to contemporary audiences through the X-Men version it gives them a better understanding of the origins of the Cyclops and how the visual adaptation has been altered to satisfy social normalities.
