I just saw the movie Oblivion starring Tom Cruise and want to talk about it a little here. So
spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it yet. I was listening to a movie critic on the radio and he found it “incoherent and a head scratcher”. I did not find it incoherent and was immediately aware of what it was trying to convey, so much so I could even anticipate where the movie was heading. The themes it was drawing from can be found in the Gnostic literature, the Nag Hammadi. In fact if you read these texts first it will make the whole movie more enjoyable and rewarding. Oblivion is just the latest movie to caress these these myths. Other movies that do the same are:
The Island Ewan McGregor
Unleashed Jet Li
Code 46 Tim Robbins
THX 1138 Robert Duval
The Island is quite overt. The other movies it is not quite so obvious. Which leads me ask do the writers know the myths and are intentionally bringing them to life or does this wisdom just inspire them on a deep level. Proverbs Chapter 8. In the case of Unleashed the writer or director might very well be unaware the the source of these currents can be found in the Nag Hammadi. THX 1138 was made before Nag Hammadi was translated.
Most of the Nag Hammadi can be considered Gnostic Christian literature. Once orthodox Christianity got established Gnostic Christianity was all but purged and went underground. A central theme of the Gnostic texts is the Garden of Eden story found in Genesis. The Gnostics though, read that same story through a different lens than orthodox Christianity. What the Gnostics offer is counter-myth, a counter-intelligence to the orthodox version of the same myth. Oblivion, The Island and Unleashed bring these themes to life in spectacular fashion. Once isolate the literary devices and elements used by the Gnostics are isolated a writer can easily adapt them and present them whatever fashion appropriate, like updating them and depositing them in a modern setting with even a futuristic theme like Oblivion.
Common elements found here are:
Tom Cruise’s character Jack can be likened to Adam, a clone that has not awakened as is also found in the gnostic texts. The concern of the writers now and previously then becomes; How did Adam/Jack get there, why is he not awake how is he to be awakened what is the point of awakening him? As in the Garden of Eden Adam served the creator. In Oblivion Jack serves an alien and the “mission” with his partner Vicca. They do not know they are clones. They are not aware that the one they serve is alien. How this ignorance is maintained in the movie is done very well. But this device is what provides the tension, especially when the ignorance starts to crack once agitating influences are introduced. In Paradise it was a snake. In Oblivion it is a mysterious female character and Morgan Freeman’s character that nibble at the edges of Jack’s ignorance along with Jack’s dreams of a past he does not know and books he finds that echo that past.
Another common consideration, that the Gnostics pay a lot of attention to and try to account for in many varied ways through the use of a multitude of devices, is; How did the “spark” of the source end up being in a clone, product of the creator to begin with? The Morgan Freeman character plugs right into this in the movie and takes an interest in Jack for this reason. Another theme that is addressed in both texts and movie is; What went wrong? What is the error and how is the deficiency expressed and what to do about it?
Needless to say the creator does not want Jack learning the truth of his condition. Once awakened Jack could no longer be of service! So in Paradise where we find the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the creator issues the threat or warning not to partake of this knowledge under the penalty of death. In Oblivion there is a radiation Zone that is said to bring death swiftly.
Fear and hope are the controlling techniques. In the movie the Island everyone wanted to win the lottery so that they could leave the Island and and live a life of paradise. Periodically winners where chosen and left. However they were taken to their deaths, because they were merely clones being harvested for organ donation and those organs were now needed by their original counterparts in the real world. In Oblivion Jack and his partner Vica are nearing the end of their term of service. Just a few weeks more and they can join the rest of what they think is left of humanity on Titan a Saturn moon.
Which brings us to the actual awakening. But the awakening is not what we expect, even as it was in the Genesis myth. The awakening is an awakening to dangerous knowledge, the consequences of which immediately threaten the the well being of the one awakened and imperil him. The creator element is exposed by the awakening, the awakened one can no longer be of service and must be terminated or at least expelled from Paradise. The confrontation is inevitable. It is very difficult to awaken others because of the hope that has been ingrained in them as we see with Vica. Just too big a risk. Like asking a born again Christian to give up heaven.
Before anyone sees Oblivion I recommend reading the following:
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/hypostas.html Shorter version
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn.html Longer version
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhlalpha.html
