The Tree of Time
The Breakdown
The Use of the Myth
The utilization of mythology for an exploration of memory is an interesting creative decision. Here, we explore the use of the myth and its purpose.
Why a Myth?
Myths fundamentally serve as answers to essential questions. Often these questions answer existential questions. Other times, they answer questions about the human experience. The goal for The Tree of Time addresses the latter.
Memory Loss as an Experience
Forgetfulness seems to be a unifying human experience that impacts us daily. Sometimes it is as simple as forgetting our keys. Expanding on that, we forget more important things. Perhaps we lose memories of being with loved ones or joyous playdates we'd be smitten to recall. With age and time, we can even forget who we are ourselves and see only strangers in a mirror. With enough time even great historical events fail to register in the collective memory. This fundamental human trait seemed worthy of exploring in the form of a myth.
What kind of myth?
The Tree of Time harkens back to one of the more grandiose myths - that of the paternal creator myth. Memory loss does not derive from sociological factors but from innate traits, bestowed upon us by factors larger than ourselves. The Tree of Time aims to reflect this by casting a creator for its cause. Anything less would simply not suffice.
A Tragic Creator
Like many myths of this type, the paternal creator demands something from us in exchange for generosity. Loyalty, gifts, praise, all things demanded by Manus as well as most creators from myths worldwide. This notion of loss though is tragic, and thematically speaking, demands tragedy. Seeing as the paternal creator serves as a reflection of ourselves, it is no surprise then when this tragedy befalls the creator it must be passed down to us. In order to answer a question of such heavy tragedy something equivalent must be written, thus the myth of The Tree of Time.
