One of the main reasons authors and directors choose to retell ancient stories instead of telling a new story is because it allows them to create a different perspective on the story. Another reason people retell stories is so the audience can relate the old stories to modern day life, and what it would mean today.

Film

The film “Noah” directed by Darren Aronofsky retells the story of the flood in The Book of Genesis. Darren Aronofsky thought that while reading the text, there wasn’t enough information about Noah, and he thought directing this movie was a good place to start to try and understand what the story would mean in the present day. 

There are many differences between the film and The Book of Genesis. Aronofsky introduced the idea of a flood by giving Noah prophetic dreams where he ended up submerged in water, while in the text, God told Noah directly that he was planning to flood the area, and gave Noah the opportunity to save himself. Changing this part of the story makes the chances of Noah and the other people living a little more even. Aronofsky giving Noah less warning and making him gather his own resources puts a new perspective on the text with the morals of modern society. When The Book of Genesis was written there was obviously some sort of belief that Noah was above everyone else and the other people didn’t matter. The people were also seen as wicked in God’s eyes, and the readers are not sure why. But, as time went on the readers and viewers have developed more sympathy for the other people in the text. Today we tend to believe that people are not wicked unless they have done something to prove that they are. Aronofsky changing this detail in the movie changes the entire meaning of the text. The text puts a lot of emphasis on how everyone besides Noah is wicked and they don’t deserve to live. While the movie makes it more fair  in modern day times because no one is given the large advantage of knowing exactly what was going to happen. The movie shows how much our society has grown as a whole because while life is not fair, we have grown to give people the chance to show us who they really are before we deem them as wicked. 

In the text, Noah brought all the animals with him on the ark and somehow figured out a way to feed them all. In the film, during the flood, all the animals were put to sleep. The director chose to put the animals to sleep throughout the entire flood because it eliminates the question of what and how the animals ate. Aronofsky’s decision to put the animals to sleep throughout the whole flood was to make the plot make more sense in modern day times. Another reason Aronofsky could’ve put the animals to sleep is to introduce the idea of hibernation. While not all the animals on the ark hibernate, putting them all to sleep introduces the viewers to a new idea in life. Aronofsky also sort of introduces the idea of migration. Allowing the animals to be put to sleep and go along for the ride brings in the idea of migration because they are moving from one region to another for a better life.

By Elizabeth Nitka

Colgate University 2024