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Gnostic Themes and Images in Pop Culture

Suddenly it seems that pop culture has fallen in love with all things Gnostic. Scholarly translations and commentaries of the Gnostic Gospels and other Gnostic texts are now published for a mainstream audience. Gnostic influences certainly have emerged in artistic creations belonging to other centuries; however, today Gnostic elements and themes are showing up in mass-market books, movies, television shows, comics, cartoons, and music. And while some observers of pop culture declare that it's only a fad, others say it's here to stay.

Gnosticism in Books

The Da Vinci Code is believed to be the eighth best-selling book ever, with more than 60.5 million copies in print and translations in forty-four languages. The book single-handedly sparked interest in the Catholic Church, Opus Dei, the Gnostics, Mary Magdalene, the Holy Grail, and the history of Christianity. That mystery novel builds upon the premise that a conspiracy spanning centuries has been perpetrated within the Catholic Church to cover up the truth about Jesus' story and, furthermore, that the Vatican knows the truth but hides it to stay in power. Author Dan Brown, according to the partial bibliography listed on his Web site, derived inspiration from many sources, including The Templar Revelation; Holy Blood, Holy Grail ; and books about Mary Magdalene and Jesus by Margaret Starbird. Brown has his characters noticing, interpreting, and debating various topics such as the Gnostic Gospels, the holy rite hieros gamos (sacred marriage), the symbolic presence of Mary Magdalene in Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper, a marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the Holy Grail as being not a cup or goblet but Mary Magdalene, and their child (the bloodline of Jesus) becoming ancestress to European royalty.

Among the esoteric references skillfully interwoven, the novel reveals that man requires woman to be complete or whole and also that it is possible to experience contact with the God through sacred sex in an instant during orgasm when the mind is quiet and thoughts are stilled. This “sacred sex” suggests the mysterious Gnostic ritual known as the Bridal Chamber or the sacred rite hieros gamos and is a topic mentioned in a number of books about the Gnostics and their religious beliefs that the novelist included in his bibliography.

Yale scholar and writer Harold Bloom is another author who has explored Gnostic elements and themes in his philosophical novel, The Flight to Lucifer: A Gnostic Fantasy . Bloom's work features an alien planet named Lucifer that was created by a Demiurge (whose mother is the “Dark Intention”). The story involves a veritable trove of Gnostic elements: pure being, a pleroma and transcendent fullness, archons, Aeons, a corrupt cosmos, an early Christian heresy, unpolluted Light, and a missing god. In Geniuses , a study of literary figures and their unique geniuses, Bloom claimed that Gnosticism is the “religion of literature.” He also wrote The Book of J, in which he suggested a woman was the author of the J-text (the oldest strand of narrative found in the Old Testament books of Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers). Bloom also wrote Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, and Resurrection .

Bloom's book Omens of Millennium was written, according to the author, from the ancient conviction that gnosis is what frees humans. The author claims that a belief in angels apart from God is pointless, regardless of whether the angels are administrators, messengers, or warriors in opposition to the Divine.

Author and philosopher Umberto Eco has a character in his novel Baudolino provide a detailed description of the Gnostic creation myth. Another Eco novel, Foucault's Pendulum , also deals with Gnostic aspects and esoteric elements, including the ten Sephirot (attributes of God) of the Kabbalah system of Jewish mysticism, alchemy, conspiracy theories, the Knights Templar, and an actual pendulum. But though those elements appear in the book, Eco's story actually appears to criticize metaphysical thinking as flawed, focusing on the search for power and the veneration of evil. Three main characters populate his story. One serves as the embodiment of the Gnostic Sophia, another is convinced that his people are the Jews, and the third holds a doctoral degree with a dissertation on the Knights Templar. Answering the archetype hero's call to action, the three become engaged in plot and counterplot in a battle of good against evil and the forces of light against darkness (a favorite theme of the Gnostics).

In his book The Last Temptation of Christ, Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek novelist, poet, and playwright, explored the possibility that Jesus, in his last moments, envisioned an ordinary life that included marriage and sex. The Jesus/Mary Magdalene coupling would find echoes in the Gnostic male/female or Christ/Sophia pairing. The movie of his book Zorba the Greek brought Kazantzakis the attention of the world, but The Last Temptation of Christ brought condemnation of him by those opposing the idea of Jesus as a married Jewish man with doubts. The Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ drew huge audiences and critical acclaim despite any opposition to the content.

What is the Foucault pendulum theory?

Jean Bernard Léon Foucault, who studied sciences such as astronomy and physics, showed that a pendulum suspended by a wire or string swung in exactly the same arc and direction regardless of the position of its point of suspension. The idea, put to the test, provided visual proof of the earth's rotation.

Contemporary authors writing about the Gnostics and their beliefs and practices include writers working in both nonfiction and fiction, the latter in genres ranging from science fiction and fantasy to historical fiction. The nonfiction work of Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy titled The Jesus Mysteries deals with Gnosticism and explores the subject of Jesus as a mythical creation. The late novelist Philip K. Dick borrowed from the Gnostic tradition ideas for two novels, The Divine Invasion and Valis . Novelist Ki Longfellow presented a Gnostic Mary Magdalene in her historical novel titled The Secret Magdalene . Science fiction/fantasy writer John Crowley drew inspiration and elements from Gnosticism for his four-novel series Aegypt . Anatole France wrote a satirical work, The Revolt of the Angels , that features the Demiurge Yaldabaoth's doctrine and a guardian angel. And English-born writer Philip Pullman's fantasy novels Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass , and His Dark Materials all show Gnostic influence.

The preceding authors only partially represent the number of writers today whose works show some Gnostic influences. Gnostic belief systems provide a rich reservoir of themes, characters (especially in their cosmologies), and myths from which moderns can draw inspiration and detail for their narratives, even those of a futuristic nature requiring alternative worlds.

Gnostic Elements in Film and Television

With the worldwide success of The Da Vinci Code novel, a movie had to follow. But other Hollywood movies have shown Gnostic influence — for example, The Matrix trilogy with its religious/philosophical view of the world at some future time. The theme of The Matrix and The Matrix: Reloaded dealt with human perception of reality that is illusory because it is based on the habitual choices people continue to make due to their human nature. In many ways it was an allegory for some Gnosticism belief systems. The movies seem to say that humanity necessarily had to break free of the day-to-day world we live in to embrace the real world, to make new choices. The second film's references to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Origen of Alexandria, the early Christian orthodox father, may be missed by those unfamiliar with the scrolls or the historical figure. But the movie has resonance with modern viewers because it is about the ancient myth of the hero's journey. There is even an Oracle who beckons the hero to undertake his mission. Other elements include the Architect, the One, and Neo (as in new).

Stigmata , a film released years before the Da Vinci Code , dealt with a Roman Catholic Church cover-up over a lost gospel (as it turns out, the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas). The gospel's teachings, especially about God's eminence, were of concern to the church, supposedly posing a threat to the existing hierarchy.

In the movie Pleasantville , it is difficult to miss the pointed Gnostic-type references to an alternative world. The characters, a sister and a brother, become transported to the old TV world of Pleasantville, a joyless place where “black and white” people are ensnared in traditional morality. There is even a scene where a female plucks an apple from the tree to eat it, suggesting that when one eats of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, one becomes mature or evolves into enlightened being. In that movie, people began to be “colorized” only when they abandoned the rigid morality of the old world in order to live freer and more joyfully in awareness of their true natures.

Pleasantville and other movies like The Truman Show, Vanilla Sky, Dark City, The Thirteenth Floor , and Twelve Monkeys put forth in various ways the Gnostic idea that an illusory cosmology has been created to enslave or restrict humanity, and only through enlightenment or self-knowledge that illuminates the truth can humans break free of the illusion. The Da Vinci Code and Stigmata portray the Roman Catholic Church, or factions within it, as villains.

The Roman Catholic Church defines stigmata as marks of the torturing and suffering of the Christ. An invisible stigmata is where an individual experiences the suffering but not the visible signs of Christ's Passion. Saints and mystics, including Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Sienna, Catherine of Genoa, John of God, and others showed visible signs of the stigmata.

Tommy Gnosis is the name of a character in the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch . The movie follows a transsexual punk rocker from East Berlin who desires to take on his mother's identity and undergoes a sex change operation. The procedure is botched and he remains with only “an angry inch.” The protagonist flees to America, forms a rock band, and searches for a soul mate. The movie revolves around a pseudo-Gnostic myth and explores the Gnostic belief in the superiority of the androgynous state to symbolize spiritual maturity and higher realities.

There are a number of anime (Japanese-style animated TV series/cartoons) and manga (Japanese-style printed comics) that show Gnostic symbols, elements, influences, and themes. Seen on the Cartoon Network and elsewhere, some include Revolutionary Girl Utena, Fullmetal Alchemist , and Big O .

Revolutionary Girl Utena , a manga launched in 1996 and the anime in 1997, was inspired by a number of sources, among them Hermann Hesse's Demian for its Gnostic themes. The series features an androgynous teenage girl protagonist Utena who must confront conflict with different powers or rivals in each segment. There are many obscurities of motive and many mixed metaphors that are best understood on a metaphysical level. Viz Communications publishes the manga or comic book series for Revolutionary Girl Utena .

Hermann Hesse wrote many works, including Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, and Narcissus and Goldmund, among others. Hesse often drew upon aspects of his own personality for his characters. In Narcissus and Goldmund, the characters are a man of the cloth and a man of the world. Hesse explores the Gnostic idea of opposites as competing forces within each human being and both being equally necessary for wholeness.

Fullmetal Alchemist , another manga and anime with a movie spin-off as well as novelizations and video games, deals with an alternate Earth, a world called Amestris that relies on the science of alchemy to change matter into different material using transmutation circles. The protagonist is young Edward, who has lost his left leg and his right arm as a result of alchemical errors. He and his brother were trying to bring their mother back from the dead but the attempt failed. Edward lost his leg and Alphonse lost his body. To save his brother's soul, Edward gave up his arm to affix his brother's soul to a piece of armor. Edward continued his quest once his limbs were replaced with pieces of Automail. The boys become State Alchemists, learn of the Philosopher's Stone, and embark on a quest to find it. The series contains considerable Gnostic aspects throughout and are attributable to the Gnostic influences on certain real-world medieval alchemists.

Big O has been called a Gnostic drama of the modern world because it is loaded with elements entrenched in ancient Gnosticism. The plot of Big O revolves around its protagonist Roger Smith, a negotiator, and his attempts at conflict resolution between individuals within the doomed Paradigm City and others, including criminals. He also secretly pilots Megadeus, a giant robot (called “the Big O”) left over from the world that existed prior to “The Event.” It is the job of Smith to discover the truth about that event, the world (both past and present), and Paradigm City while also trying to ward off attacks on the city by various factions, internal and external.

The notion of ascension to higher states of existence and a race of ascended beings with the power and will to oppress humanity in order to steal its energy has prompted some to assert that Stargate SGI , the science fiction TV series, has Gnostic elements of false gods. Human energy serves as the fuel that the race of people known as the Ori used to reach higher levels of ascension.

What is alchemy?

Alchemy is a pseudoscience in which base metals, or so it was thought, could be turned into gold; it also has associations with magic. The vocabulary of alchemy consists of metaphors that suggest spiritual initiation, a concept that psychologist Carl Jung explored in the world of analytical psychology. Others believe alchemy is a metaphor for sex magic.

In the world of comics, it is worth mentioning the X-Men series for its use of Gnosticism's philosophy of pessimism with the human world. The pessimism had resonance in Gnostic thinking and actually extended further back to Platonic ideas about social organization and the advantages of the stronger, in positions of power, to impose their will and decree what was thus right or wrong. In X-Men , the mutants, or homo superiors, represented evolutionary successors of humankind. Gnostic beliefs, too, included a superior spiritual elite. The Gnostic Valentinian sect embraced the tripartite division of humans as espoused by an earlier philosopher, Plato. The Manichaeans, or followers of Mani, called their spiritual elite “the Elect.” The medieval Cathars referred to theirs as Perfecti or Parfaits .

Gnostic Influence on Music

Musician Tori Amos's book Piece by Piece , written with journalist Ann Powers, devoted two chapters to exploring the Gnostic belief that Mary Magdalene wrote the canonical Gospel of John. Amos's book emphasizes how all the experiences and influences of her life so far have contributed to her musical compositions. A hallmark of her music is haunting and beautiful lyrics that mix elements of the personal with religion and mythical archetypes, including the sacred feminine. In a series of conversations with Powers detailed in the book, Amos ruminated on the challenges of reconciling the sexual and the sacred in women's lives and also discussed the roots of femininity and creativity. She revealed the inspirations for some of her songs. As she prepared for her ninth album, The Beekeeper , Amos noted that she began to research the roots of early Christianity and read The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels as well as the translated Gnostic Gospels themselves from the Nag Hammadi library. Amos's research into the life of Mary Magdalene and Gnostic beliefs influenced The Beekeeper . She sounds a call to get ready for an allegorical “coming storm” in that album.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedgeds word. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. — Proverbs 5:3–6

Bill Nelson, from Yorkshire, England, is not only a guitarist but also a songwriter and painter who has found the Gnostic world fecund ground for inspiration. Nelson has been pursuing Gnostic interests for over twenty years. His album Chance Encounters in the Garden of Lights features Gnostic elements and titles that suggest Gnostic influences. In the album's dedication, he wrote that he offered the creation to his fellow initiates as testament to “the gnosis and a confirmation of the world within.”

David Bowie, in his music, song lyrics, and stage personas, expresses an esoteric fragmentation of the world through his art. Some of his song lyrics sound an appeal for a salvation from the evil world while others explore dichotomies, polarities, and alienation (Gnostic ideas). Bowie entertains as much through his various “emanations” on stage as through his Herculean endeavors to reinvent and express himself through his music.

The title of “Spirits in a Material World” clearly reflects an ages-old Gnostic concept. The song by the pop rock group The Police was a hit in the 1980s.

Gnostic Imagery in Art

The nineteenth-century artist and poet William Blake expressed a distrust of the material world in his prolific writing and works of art. Blake, a mystic, created many images that resonate with those found in the ancient world of the Gnostics. Most scholars hesitate to call Blake a Gnostic, yet many of his mythological images suggest parallels in Gnostic cosmological angels, demons, and even the Gnostic Demiurge. Blake's series of line engravings for illustrations in the Book of Job combines images from his own personal mythology along with quotes from the Bible. Job's spiritual awakening, in Blake's view, had a parallel with the spiritual awareness and vision of the poet and artist. In his watercolor renderings for Dante's Divine Comedy, Blake painted Dante attired in a red color throughout the series to represent the carnal world of experience, and he depicted Virgil in blue to convey the world of spirit. These two worlds remain in conflict in Gnostic belief.

The painting of Sophia by artist Alex Grey is part of a series he calls “Sacred Mirrors.” The visionary artist has rendered many ancient mythological and Gnostic ideas into images of the archetypal beings who must struggle toward cosmic understanding and unity. Grey's paintings are as anatomically detailed as could be found in an atlas of human anatomy. His artistic vision is for a humanity that is flawed but that can become perfected. Grey's own personal journey into the world of transcendence through his own spiritual search enabled him to create twenty-one paintings, the Sacred Mirrors, that allow viewers to embark upon a journey into their own divinity. Recognition of an individual's divine nature and journey toward selfknowledge echo ancient Gnostic concepts.

Gnostic Games

Gnostic elements in popular culture are also found in popular games (including video and computer games), especially those that are interactive and involve role-playing. Dungeons & Dragons has been around for many years, but continues to excite players. Complementing the game now are companion books replete with Gnostic ideas. One, for example — The Book of Exalted Deeds — reveals details about a figure that appears to be Pistis Sophia, the archon of the game's monks (who are experts in martial arts).

The Book of Exalted Deeds serves as a sourcebook for the interactive game of Dungeons & Dragons. It reveals a magical artifact considered extremely powerful for the game. The book helps players who wish to wage campaigns utilizing good forces and good alignment. Other supplement books include Complete Arcane and Book of Vile Darkness .

Final Fantasy VII and X feature Gnostic elements, themes, and references, as does Kult and Aeon Flux (the latter is an MTV animated science-fiction TV series). Elder God is a character of Defiance , the most recent of the games in the series called the Legacy of Kain . Defiance contains numerous Gnostic elements and references. Finally, one other game worth mentioning that is replete with Gnostic ideas and images is a game called Tales of Symphonia . It features two worlds, one declining and one emerging. Angels are not the divine beings traditionally portrayed. The quest, the central element of any game, is based on an untruth perpetrated by the church and necessitates the overcoming of the powers of Lord Yggdrasil, who is unquestionably a demiurgical character and the game's main villain.