Hercules and the Americanization of an ancient culture

Andreia Silva Nº148815

School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon

Professor Margarida Vale de Gato

North-American Popular Culture

May 8

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Introduction

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker were distinguished directors in Walt

Disney Animation films for having directed The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin

(1992). These two movies turned out to be huge blockbusters, generating great profit

for Disney, so they were asked to present a pitch to another adaptation. Their original

plan was to make what later came to be Treasure’s Planet (2002) but the company

wanted another box office hit and Treasure’s Planet did not seem viable to be so. With

this is mind, directors Clements and Musker came up with the idea of adapting the

historical Greek tale of Heracles, commonly known as Hercules.

They wanted to appeal to as wide a demographic as possible. Hercules is an attempt

to relate an American audience to Greek culture. To do that, the movie is full of

American popular culture references. Upon a closer look, the movie consist of just

references and its core is not Greek at all.

In fact, all the adjustments made in Hercules were not well received by Greek

audiences. In a news article published by The Nation in 1997, it is stated that “[Disney’s]

new cartoon version of the ancient hero has angered the Greeks, who have accused the

American company of trivializing and distorting their history.” (Byrne and Smith 8)

Adsmevtos Typos, an Athens-based publication also spoke their mind, “This is another

case of foreigners distorting our history and culture just to suit their commercial

interests.”

The need to bring American popular cultural influences to enrich the Greek tale was

a measure to appeal to a wide demographic but it demeans Greek culture. In this essay

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I will deconstruct and analyze Hercules in order to understand how it represents

American culture.

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Hercules vs Heracles

The modern notion of hero is different from the ancient Greek one. “Heroes were

distinguished from gods and from the ordinary dead” (Ogden 100). They gained

recognition through their heroic deeds, things that no common man can achieve. They

desired glory and immortality, for their stories to be told for centuries to come. This falls

in line with the movie plot, since Hercules becomes a hero by performing heroic deeds,

but does not align with the hero’s motivation. Like Ward points out, “Messages about

belonging and self-discovery are routine to Disney’s formula” (80) and Hercules wants

to find out where he belongs. Zeus tells him that to rejoin him in Mount Olympus,

Hercules needs become a true hero, so the main character ventures into the unknown.

His motivation is to join Mount Olympus, not to become a hero.

Hercules gains recognition when he saves two little boys (who are actually Pain

and Panic in disguise) and quickly becomes famous. Believing he is a true hero now,

Hercules asks Zeus to come home but Zeus denies it. Ward explains that “Hercules may

do heroic acts, saving Thebes and ultimately saving Meg, but he acts out of self-interest

and not altruistically (83)”. This leads to the realization that fame alone does not make

a hero because a hero is measured by the strength of his heart.

By the end of the film, there is a clear message that a hero is morally a good

person. Greek heroes were important figures, but they were not inherently good. Most

of them were tragically flawed. The Greek heroes mentioned in the film by Philoctetes

– Odysseus, Theseus and Perseus – were not morally good heroes. “Heracles is a typical

Greek tragic hero” (Misra 33), and in his original tale, Heracles is overtaken by madness

and believing that his wife and children are enemies, he kills them (32). Perhaps this

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change was necessary. The studio had to adapt Heracles’s tale to be suitable to its

intended audience and make sense in the overall themes presented in Disney movies.

Heracles’ 12 labors are briefly mentioned, just like other Greek historical references and

private jokes in an attempt to turn the myth alive.

But there are also other subtle changes that touch more sensitive topics. One

example, like Lindsay Ellis points out on her video essay Hercules, Disney's Beautiful Hot

Mess, when Hercules travels to the temple to ask guidance from Zeus, the young boy

gets on his knees to pray like a Christian. This has nothing to do with ancient Greek

rituals, but it is represented because it is something the audience is familiar with. The

cultural accuracy lost its importance on the way of making Hercules a film the audience

can relate to.

According to Ward, “Disney rewrites the original tales for its particular version of

American values” (2). In this sense, even something as important as religion, specifically

relevant to Greek culture, can be altered. The directors removed the accuracy of ancient

Greek cult practices and replaced them with modern American ones. This decision not

only belittles Greek culture but also puts America in a position of power.

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What really shaped Hercules

Even though Hercules was based on the Greek myth of Heracles, it also relied on

other influences for its final product. The most pronounced one is of the comic book

character, Superman. Comic books and its characters are very representative of north

American popular culture, so it is only natural the directors choose them to be the

primary influence when writing the main character.

This influence was stated by one of the directors, John Musker, who said in an

interview “We thought it would be our opportunity to do a “superhero” movie, Ron and

I being comic book fans”. The similarities between the two tales are striking:

The Disney version is pretty much a superman story – a person is born with extraordinary

talents that isolate him, and he spends his life trying to fit in, only to find that he has

done so accidentally. (Jacobs)

Both of their stories revolve around finding out where they belong and what it truly

means to be a hero. By adapting the figure of Heracles in a modern-day light and

combining it with the figure of Superman, the directors remove all the cultural

connotations associated with the notion of hero and with the historical figure of

Heracles itself. Therefore, the movie character has more in common with Superman

than with the historical figure that it is based on.

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Satire of modern society

It has been established that Hercules is laced with American undertones. Its

characters communicate with colloquial language, making them easy to understand and

reflecting the American society. There are several visual references of popular culture.

Thebes is a representation of New York City in the 90’s. Despite having Greek

infrastructures, the city clearly alludes to a modernized city. There is commotion, traffic,

street food and crime.

The animators also choose to include a representation of Marilyn Monroe, who

appears as a constellation in the sky. Michael Jordan is also embodied, in a shot of a

mosaic wall with Hercules on it, identical to a billboard, where Hercules imitates the

famous Jordan pose and publicizes the “Air-Herc” sandals, much like Jordan endorsed

Nike. Even the song titled “Go the distance” is based on a famous line in Rocky (1976).

Hercules’s training to become a hero is influenced by Rocky’s journey to win an

important match.

Hercules is treated like a celebrity and his journey brings all the rewards celebrities

obtain. He gives autographs to crying fans, he cements his hand on what resembles the

Hollywood walk of fame and there are “Hercules Stores” where you can buy action

figures of Hercules. There is a lot of visual representation of money, from raining gold

coins to credit cards with “Grecian express” on it. There is even an illusion of celebrity

endorsement through popular north American cultural artifacts – Hercules promotes

the “Herculade” beverage and the “Air-Herc” sandals, which is a direct influence of the

McDonald’s franchise and Nike shoes.

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 These brands, artifacts and popular traditions work as a critic, for Disney values

profit above all. As explained by Ward, “profit making through commercialization is still

Disney’s foremost value, and this film’s images reinforce that” (86). The mass production

of vases with Hercules’s face on them is a direct reference to the merchandising that

results of any Disney animation.

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Conclusion

Hercules was made with the sole intent of being another hit animation for Disney

and therefore generating a lot of profit. To do so, it had to appeal to the American

audience. There are several references easily recognizable and upon analyzing the film,

the western audience will identify with these representations of religion and culture

since it represents an American point of view and not a Greek one.

Between celebrity cult and famous brands’ endorsements, the message to

consume is clear. This creates a parallel with the main goal when adapting an old tale to

make a Disney movie – the aim is to generate revenue and not to maintain historical

accuracy. With all this in mind, we come to the conclusion that in Hercules, Disney

appropriates another culture as their own in order to make a profitable film.

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Works cited and consulted:

Hercules. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Walt Disney Pictures, 1997.

Ward, Annalee. Mouse Morality: the Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film. University of

Texas Press, 2003.

Ogden, Daniel. A Companion to Greek Religion. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Ellis, Lindsay. “Hercules, Disney's Beautiful Hot Mess: a Video Essay”. Youtube, 03 Oct.

2016, https://youtu.be/KznZcK7ksf4. Visited on 23 April 2019

PoC, Nerdy. “Disney's 1997 Hercules: Movie vs Mythology.” Medium, Medium, 29 Mar.

2017, medium.com/@nerdypoc/disneys-1997-hercules-movie-vs-mythology-

cdc96fb3c51f. Visited on 23 April 2019

Misra, Karuna Shanker. The Tragic Hero through Ages. Northern Book Centre, 1992.

Byrne, Ciaran, and Julia Llewelyn Smith. “Greeks Put Hercules on Trial.” Google News

Archive Search, Google, 9 Oct. 1997,

news.google.com/newspapers?id=cQkFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EjIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2055%2C30

65624. Visited on 25 April 2019

Gillespie, Sarah Ashman. “John Musker Question Countdown #3.” Howard Ashman,

Howard Ashman, 7 May 2012, www.howardashman.com/blog/john-musker-question-

countdown-3/. Visited on 25 April 2019

Jacobs, Jessica. “Hercules vs. Heracles.” Disneyfied, or Disney Tried?, 2 Nov. 2014,

dettoldisney.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/hercules-vs-heracles/. Visited on 1 May 2019

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