Mythology has exerted great influence on the sphere of entertainment, where inspiration is drawn from the ancient tales of mythology and where many ideas are reused in different forms, or at their face value. These effects are evident in the two areas that we shall proceed to discuss. They are that of films and games.

Starting with films, many that carry heavy mythical baggage are influenced in the same way as literature, which is discussed separately. With the conversion of these works of literature into film, the effects are carried forth to a larger audience and enacted visually, reviving many themes of mythology that are best described in pictures. More importantly, however, are the films that in fact stage the very tales that are found in mythology. It would require little introduction to the myriad of tales have undergone this transformation. Movies such as "Jason and the Argonauts", which was based on a story from Greek Mythology, and the "Journey to the West" from Chinese mythology, are good examples.

"The Lord of the Rings" was discussed in the area of literature. The films based on the books are due out in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003, each under the title of the three books that form the entire story. Modern literature owes a lot to mythology, many films do too in similar fashions. Such films like Walt Disney's "Hercules" or "Atlantis" have been produced in recent times, representing the allure of mythology that has stayed on till modern times. Despite the differences in mythology over two thousand years, it still exerts a lasting influence, which serves to inspire so many people to re-enact it.

Apart from that, many films today manifest ideas that occur in mythology. The most prominent of these ideas that has been used in film is that of the concept of good and evil. In the famous series of movies, "Star Wars", the two opposites in the movie are known as the "The Light" and "The Dark Side". This is reminiscent of any mythology, which sees good and evil along the two lines of brightness and darkness.

Many films today such as "Dragonheart" and many Chinese tales have put Dragons in the middle of their plots. Dragons essentially have their origins in mythology, and to have dragons play such an important role in movies today surely proves the fact those movies, especially those to do with fantasy, have much to owe to the world's mythologies.

It is in the spirit of mythology that a whole array of fantasy games have evolved, and both mythical and non-mythical games alike share the inspiration that mythology has bequeathed upon the world. The game, Max Payne, is one of the latest games in the market as of the time of the writing of this article. It is a third person shooter, which boasts of the cutting edge in the latest 3D graphics technology. What is striking about the game, besides its stunning graphics, was its references to Norse mythology. A certain conspiracy in the game was named Project Valhalla, Valhalla being the hall of Odin, to those acquainted with the pantheon.

In fact, Max Payne is not the only recent game to be involved with mythology. The real time strategy game from Microsoft, which is scheduled for release soon, is named "Age of Mythology", which coincidentally shares the same name as this site. (I would like to repeat the fact that this site is in no way affiliated with that game, and in no way was the title of this site a result of some inspiration from the game.)

A large portion of games that are related to mythology, are role-playing games where players move figures across the board to play out the various scenarios and stories according to the imagination of the game master. Many of these characters included the fabled elves and dwarves out of Norse Mythology, or the mystical wizards who came out of Celtic mythology. They also sport the elemental creatures, the wyverns and many more, whom are all distinctly mythical creatures.

However, these type of games have given way to the advent of the internet, which now houses thousands of such games which are played on a text based format. These games attest to the huge influence of mythology on a sector as recent as internet gaming. However, the introduction of technology has not reduced the effect of mythology, but only proved to be a medium that has spawned a greater community for such games across the world, serving to increase the already large impact that mythology has on the gaming world.

One may wonder if, in fact, these really show conclusive effects of mythology on the various sectors mentioned in the article. It does not seem apparent at first, but by virtue that mythology has been widely utilized in the sections mentioned above, it points to something.

It points to the fact that the scriptwriters and the game producers chose to use mythology as the basis for their products over other possible alternatives. It is because of this fact that we realise that mythology has in fact made such an impact on our society, and has ingrained itself deep within our modern day culture. This small spark has embodied itself in society today, in the manifestations, such as of films and games in our society today.

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