Eivind, Peter and Pelle in front of the Charles Bridge

I spent five days in Prague in the latter parts of August. Every three months, I meet up with my friends Peter Kessels and Pelle Billing somewhere in Europe. We support each other in going deeper with our own personal life processes,  actively build brotherhood, challenge each other to greater consciousness and generally have a good time.

None of us had been to Prague before and we all bloody loved the place. Amazing city. So much culture and history. It is a felt sense, quite unlike anything I can feel here in Oslo. The place was full of beautiful women too. I don’t know if they were tourists or Czech, but the ones we did go deeper with were natives. There was this lovely blonde in a slick book bar one night that I was very attracted to (and the feeling appeared to be deeply mutual), though I decided to stay committed to the brotherhood-building. I only half regret it… I really enjoyed feeling her open up with me and start playing with her hair as she looked into my eyes with increasing surrender. Women are a blessing..!

Two main challenges (these are the ones I’m currently present to at least) crystallized over these days for all three of us: Our relating with women and maintaining consciousness. I had some great experiences just pushing my edge on how I communicate with women and I feel very inspired about my future relations with women now. I’m only starting to realize what is possible. And I also realize how great it is to have Brothers around me when doing this sort of work. It’s easy to chicken out when I go it alone.

With regards to the consciousness…it was slipping at times. Here are these three deeply committed and resourceful guys and when not even we can maintain full consciousness, how can we expect your average Joe to do it? I realized that for me, when consciousness is dropping, I just start getting really frustrated. I feel it happening, but don’t always know how to course correct. I have realized lately that one way of addressing lapses in consciousness is to say something a bit “out there” to jolt myself back into it. My experience tells me it normally jolts people around me back into consciousness as well, provided they are reasonably mature human beings (guys who haven’t done the work can get defensive). One day we were walking along one of the main roads along the Vltava river and I felt incredibly frustrated. I expressed with some force “so guys, are we going to have fun tonight or are we going to keep having a shit time like we are now?”. That worked. From there on out, it was anything but shit.

We established a “War Room” in the flat where we did all the deep processing stuff. I also got to do a live presentation of the KWML archetypes there, further developing my platform for presenting them to you in the time to come. It was powerful to dedicate a room to inner work like that. It became our ritual space. And if it is true that men only grow in ritual space as Robert Moore suggests, it was a great boon to have that space so readily available.

I’m so grateful for the brotherhood I share with Peter and Pelle and realize that any kind of real progress would be almost impossible for me at this point in my life were I not to have these sorts of potent relationships with men. The difference between having committed and inspired friends and having distracted, apathetic and confused friends is like night and day.

If there is only one thing I could advice men who wish to grow to look at, it’s their relationships with their closest male friends. Without these potent friendships, we will never even come close to our potential.

I will tell you all about it when I come back. Prague, St. Francis etc.

And oh – don’t forget to check out Peter’s An Introduction to Gnosticism.

Working on a bitesized Robin Hood review while planning the bigger review for American Beauty. There’s a lot going on in my life right now so it’s a little challenging to get it all done. Would have loved to be quicker about it all, but alas I cannot given my limited time.

I’m a little disappointed that the Good Will Hunting review seems to have totally flopped. Granted, I finished it in a hurry before going on holiday, but I’m surprised no-one seems to read it. I guess it wasn’t my best writing so far.

Anyway, I’m glad to have you with me on this journey, guys. Brotherhood is the way ahead.

Time’s up. The bedbugs sing their siren songs. Good night.

PS! Check this link out if you want to rock your woman’s world. Yes, it’s about sex. And yes, you will support my work if you buy the product.

Six of the participants from MM LIVE #2

Masculinity Movies LIVE #2 became a slightly more humble affair than the first event. Some people were away for their summer breaks, others were busy presenting their work in other cities, yet others just didn’t show. Men living their lives, caring for their families and making an impact in the world. It’s a beautiful thing. Some integrity glitches were there for the no-shows, but that is workable.

So, we were eight men this time. The movie was Man on Wire and the topic of the evening fear. It seems that was a bit of a mismatch for some of the guys since they felt the movie was less about fear than the subject matter of walking a tightrope between the two WTC towers would indicate. In retrospect, I’m inclined to agree with them.

However, we did have a good discussion about whether Philippe Petit was just a really fearless man or whether he had narrowed down his focus to achieve the impossible to avoid fear in other aspects of his life. Many of us suspected there was truth to this. Nevertheless, we all admired his ability to achieve the unachievable – there is much masculine power in that. The rest is speculation.

The movie nevertheless served as a good segue into the highlight of the evening – when we all opened up about what scares us. To me, this became an extremely moving and powerful experience and I had tears in my eyes several times from the courage and openness of the guys who really opened up to men who they didn’t necessarily know that well. One guy remarked how courageous he found the guys present.

Sharing our fears as men is not a feminine exercise as some men seem to believe (which is their fear speaking). It is a courageous and noble thing. If you are going to build brotherhood, you want to know the strengths and weaknesses of your brothers. You want to know what scares them. True brothers don’t use their knowledge of the fear of the other to shame them. They use it to support them, to serve them. In such ways, strength in unity is forged.

A mature man owns his fears. And this night, the eight of us did just that.

Thank you.

PS! The next Masculinity Movies LIVE will take place in August. This marks the start of a bi-monthly cycle. Once a month is too much.

And one by one the brave men volunteer for the perilous task of absolving the forgotten lands from an ancient terror. The old King is dead, yet it is their new King Buliwyf who is the first of the men to volunteer. “The thirteenth warrior”, shrieks the oracle, “can not be one of us!” Good friend Eben freezes and realizes he has entered the wrong camp.

The next morning, the Vikings present him with a water bowl in which he is to wash himself, after they have all washed themselves with the same water. He is disgusted. He is a dainty man and does not appreciate the snot of his fellow brother. We discussed this scene in a film club I run on another community and I reminded them how important it is that a man gets to know his inner Wild Man. This man is not finicky about hygiene, but is more grounded in the earth and the getting it done. I remember in my previous relationship that I would often do things that were disgusting by her standards, though I felt that they empowered me. Men and women are different that way. Eben is a bit effeminate. Yet I too would refuse washing my face in water where another bloke just emptied his nostrils.

Eaters of the Dead

After having made a name for himself by riding his horse like a warrior and learning the North Men language, Eben is somewhat more accustomed to the company of the savage men by the time they arrive at their destination. Already, a bond has started forming between him and Buliwyf. The land which meets them is a gray and desolate place, bereft of most its men of fighting prowess. They are already dead, taken by the Eaters of the dead. We are reminded of the “women and children” first mantra. In times of war and danger, men always die first. It is part of our gender role – we are the expendable sex – something which is hardly acknowledged in today’s world, where women are always described as getting the worst end of the stick.

When the Eaters strike the first time, Eben is terrified. He is not a Warrior. “You will be soon!,” laughs Herger the joyous. He does survive, but a scratch on his face, and even gets one of them. But they return in force. The North Men suspect there is some supernatural force at play. The dead bodies of the Eaters disappeared after battle and when fire appears up on the hill from whence they came first time around, they shout “they have roused the fire serpent”. These truly are mythical lands.

The Eaters return in force and Eben enters a battle frenzy, loses himself and his old ways to bloodlust in the moment. He is not a Warrior and so does not remain grounded and focused in the moment of battle, though he is an able arm in battle already, especially after he got his Arabian scimitar cut at the smithy. Herger laughs at him “You got one? Don’t worry. There’s more!”.

Taking the battle to them

The brave king Buliwyf rouses his men – those who remain – to a counter-attack. Eben has turned into an important part of the group, for he is the man with talents of his own – as well as a big brain. There is a nice scene in which Eben rides out of the Viking village and the beautiful lass that he has bonded with strokes her arm against his leg as he rides out. We know from earlier that Eben is fond of beautiful women, and we see his temptation to turn around and spend time with the fair-haired beauty. But he has discovered something new and perhaps even more important now: Brotherhood. He knows he cannot let his brothers down, leave them to their fates while he is frolicking with a woman. It’s simply not the way of a mature man.

They successfully raid the encampment of the enemy– who are a spooky and primitive sort of group – and Buliwyf slays their female spiritual leader. But he is poisoned by her before he gets her head. As his last hours are upon him, Buliwyf calls on Eben to write down the stories of his life, that it might be remembered. Eben is moved and recognizes, once and for all, the greatness of these fearless warriors. He agrees that such would be a worthy thing.

The final battle comes to pass – the male leader of the enemy must also be crushed for the enemy to be broken, and in the dark moments before battle, Eben kneels on the ground to pray: “God, Merciful Father, I have squandered my days with plans of many things . . . this was not among them . . . but at this moment, I beg only to live the next few minutes well”. Beautiful. He is asking his God for help in staying grounded and present in the moment. Male spirituality at its finest.

And so, with the calling on the forefathers and a homage to the Halls of Valhalla (which Eben beautifully partakes in), Buliwyf kills the general of the enemy with what remains of his waning life force. And so, more or less, it ends.

Conclusion

13th Warrior is a pretty light-hearted movie, but what strikes me about it is that it’s a good story for studying the Wild Man archetype, but perhaps more importantly the integration of the Lover and the Warrior archetypes in the KWML system.

Ahmad Ibn Fadlan was exiled because he lusted for the woman of another man. He is also a poet. Ergo, he is a Lover archetype. And then he teams up with a tribe of savage Warriors, who turn out to be noble at their core. What happens in Eben through this adventure is an integration of the Lover and the Warrior, particularly demonstrated through the relationship he shares with Buliwyf (a character who is a king, but whose archetypal function in the movie is of a Warrior King). It is a noteworthy theme and makes the movie a worthy watch.

Your assignment, young Danny, is American History X

After serving three years in prison for killing two black gang members who were busy breaking into his car, Derek Vinyard is let back out on the street. On the same day, Danny is called into the headmaster’s office at Venice Beach High. With Derek behind bars, Danny has been lost for direction and has in his brother’s absence become heavily engaged in the White Power movement that Derek helped build. It is, he believes, what his brother – his only living role model – would have wished.

His essay “Mein Kampf” has now landed his ass in Bob Sweeney’s office. Mr Sweeney is a strong man, directed, compassionate, and with a powerful presence. He is also black, worried, and very unimpressed with the direction this young man is taking. “What’ll it be, Danny?,” he bellows. “What is this crap you’re trying to sell us?” Bob is unwilling to give up on the lost Danny; he sees in him not only the same brilliant mind as in his brother, but also the same dangerous inclinations towards hateful racial stereotypes.

Bob sets up a new history class for the lost boy, a class where Danny is the only attending student. This class is really in ritual space and Bob is his mentor. “We will name the class American History X”. The first assignment in the new class is a paper in which Danny must document and analyze his brother’s actions and the effects they have had on himself and his family. This is the context of the movie, a story on the brilliant Derek’s descent into hatred and murder, and Danny is the voice who tells it.

The shadow king and his red knight

Venice Beach is overrun by black and latino gangs who spread fear among the white population. Cameron Alexander is a hateful, old man who has set up base in his home to coordinate an Aryan crusade against all who aren’t white protestants. Together with Derek, he runs the DOC, a White Power group whose aim is to take back Venice Beach from gangs, “border jumpers”, and foreign business owners. He stays in shadows, “has to be careful”, and lets Derek do the dirty work of recruitment and vandalism. Cameron has positioned himself as the elder, the person who confused and insecure young white boys – kids who are afraid of the world they live in – look up to for guidance and the feeling of belonging. Cameron’s influence reminds us of an important fact; where the harbringers of hate gain power, fathers have strayed from the path of serving with presence, authority, discernment and love. Or they are simply not there.

Derek and Danny’s father disappeared when he was shot by a black drug dealer while fighting a fire in a black neighborhood. The movie shows him as being a loving father in his own way, but we also understand that he was a fearful man who quietly carried a burden of bitterness and anger over the ways he felt white people were suffering at the hands of liberal politics and affirmative black action. His death at the hands of a black man is what cemented Derek’s path into racial hatred and white power ideology. It is also what started his search for another father figure from whom he could receive the essential transmission of knowledge any younger man so desperately wants.

Cameron Alexander, like most shadow kings, feeds on fear and hatred, and Derek is willing prey for his serpentine tongue and toxic mentorship. He is a willing crown prince – a red knight* with kingly qualities and great power, yet his every action takes him further away from the inner freedom which he seeks. That is the nature of shadow initiators: they pretend to have answers, but their initiation only takes people one step closer to hell. And as their desperate students find themselves left with ever fewer things worth living for, all that remains is the glimmer of hope that their mentor will one day come through with the soul food for which he/she hungers for. But shadow initiators never deliver; they are unable to. For they are themselves unfathered and know not their inner truth and goodness.

Nevertheless, Derek feels good that he has found something worth fighting for, and he spreads the gospel of hate with religious enthusiasm and conviction. Cameron is a shadow king who has found his red knight.

The war against white boys

In Spiral Dynamics, we learn that there is a stage (Green) of development that is associated with a watering down of truth as well as structures of power, control and – yes – growth. On this level, we find movements, philosophies and ideologies such as post-modernism, relativism and feminism. This is a stage where feminine values flood society, men are discriminated against in covert ways, and boys suffer terribly. It is a stage where the victim is celebrated and integrity, responsibility, loyalty and service are discarded in favor of emotionality. This mindset is largely what people are referring to when they speak of liberals. What we see in the SD model is that the political ideology that grows out of this mindset is a significantly more evolved state of mind than the one we know as conservativism, but it comes with huge problems.

One of the biggest shadows of Green (where liberalism has its home base) is the huge shame that comes with it. White people on the Green level of development feel shame that their forefathers are responsible for colonialism, the enslavement of the people of Africa, the destruction of the planet. They basically feel guilty for everything that is wrong in the world. And the main bulk of the blame – if not all of it – goes towards white men (men are perpetrators, women victims). Because of this, it is seen as most pressing to eliminate most masculine values from society. Not in a declared and outspoken way, but in the emotionality of the people.

The conservatives, although at a lower level of moral development, are completely right to be wary of this way of thinking. Take a moment to view this clip from the movie:

In this clip, Derek is really arguing that masculine values (such as responsibility, loyalty and integrity) are important and shouldn’t be ignored. He is saying, just because you have an emotion doesn’t mean you must act on it in the spirit of victimhood. The recognition of being shafted by liberal politicians is exactly what pushes him into neo-nazism and it is seemingly also what got his father to harbor thoughts of racism. When people at the Green stage of development are in power, the people who would otherwise prosper if the Masculine were viewed more positively, are polarized into bitterness, fear and racism. For in such a society, people DO take advantage of social welfare, people DO claim victimhood instead of standing responsible for their own life and actions. Not only that, but when society is structured along this line of thinking, women and ethnic minorities are privy to some unfair advantages that have nothing to do with equality. How can we let this happen? Because of the mentioned strong belief that everything that is wrong with the world is because of white men (you can make that “Christian white men”). These initiatives are merely logical extensions of such beliefs. And such beliefs make it a moral imperative to punish white men. Unfortunately, boys are the main victims.

Get this: Liberal politicians are pushing normal people into conservativism, extremism, even neonazism in numbers counting in the millions, because they are not dealing with the problem in a way that is aligned with truth. They claim that they want everyone to be treated equally, but white men are not part of that equality, and they don’t even consider it a problem. AND – they are pissing all over fathers. This is wrong! And it is creating havoc in the world. For white males are still the dominant force of power in the world, and when you willingly sabotage their ways to maturity and manhood, you are short-circuiting the very system that could create real change. Before we restore some sense of rightness about this picture, boys will keep running countries and corporations (just look at Silvio Berlusconi). They are not meant to.

Understand that the reason gangs are born – be they black, latino or neonazi – is the weakening of the father figures of society. Young men cannot initiate each other. In gangs, they desperately try. They want it badly. But they cannot. It is Law. And when we understand that “liberal politicians” are in the business of shaming men and disempowering fathers, we may – if given space to take this thought to its conclusion – see that the shadow side of Green is one of our modern world’s greatest problems. Indeed, the popular idea that the ideologies of Green are at the apex of human development may very well kill us all if we don’t wake up in time. Take your time with this message, for it may be uncomfortably strong. We must free ourselves from this delusion if we are to restore men’s dignity and self worth.

Derek’s redemption

To move ahead in our society, to leave Green behind and to enter 2^nd tier consciousness (the paradigm shift where individuals come to recognize that all levels of development prior to theirs are important and necessary), we must re-embody our appreciation of masculine values. We must resurrect the initiators from the tombs of our forefathers and give young boys a new chance. In American History X, Bob Sweeney embodies this hope (while the teacher Murray is a Green liberal). He is the mentor, the man whose wounds of life finally broke through his ramparts and reached the soft, tender flesh of his beating, loving heart. His is wisdom, power and compassion.

He seeks Derek out after he has been raped by members of a White Power gang in prison. Derek turns his back on them when they turn out to not live up to his high ideals (“They didn’t believe in shit”) and he is in trouble. Having been profoundly humiliated by those he considered kin, his ramparts are starting to come down too. “You gotta start asking the right questions,” Bob tells Derek. (We are pretty much in ritual space here). “What questions?,” Derek replies. “Such as, has anything you have ever done made your life better?” Tears roll down Derek’s cheek. The “strong bull” has been wrestled to the ground.  “You gotta help me,” Derek pleads. Sweeney confirms that he will, but that his help is not unconditional. Bob understands that Derek must confront the karma (effects) of his actions to find true freedom in his heart.

Important though Sweeney’s help may be, it is thanks to his black friend from the laundry room that he gets through Chino in one piece. He is a good guy and opens up in Derek the understanding that being black in the US is not easy. For although the people of Green discriminate against white men, there are plenty of other people on lower levels of development who are doing exactly the opposite. Derek’s eyes are opened to a world that he did not know existed. There is now space around his heart.

Conclusion

Danny’s schoolpaper for headmaster Sweeney is finished with a quote by Abraham Lincoln in the wee hours of the morning. And we could here go on and speak about the confrontation Derek has with Cameron Alexander, his break from the neo-nazi community, the destiny of his family and his brother. But you should watch the movie yourself. What matters is to remind ourselves of the lessons about fathers, initiation and the complexities of racial issues that this film describes. What could the message of this movie mean for you in your life? I suggest it could be to find out where you stand with your father, living or dead. Do you love him? What are his gifts to you? Which burdens of his have you unconsciously adopted? Get to know him. And then find yourself a mentor who can heal you and open in you the final recognition of your true, inherent goodness, so that those adopted beliefs of your father’s can be shed once and for all.

And do remember that boys cannot initiate each other. That means you must be mindful of how you design your social life and network. Look for brotherhood and elders.

*the red knight is a figure from old myths and legends that describe a macho and power driven, yet immature man

Beowulf is the computer animated heroic epic based on the famous and lengthy thousand-year-old Anglo-Saxon poem by the same name. It is a classic story, set in Sweden and Denmark, of heroes and kings, brave warriors, terrible monsters, and beautiful women.

I have not read this poem, but while preparing this piece, I have read about it. The poem dates from between the 8th and the 11th century. It is penned by two scribes, probably from a Christian scriptorium, and it is therefore thought that it may have been adapted for decency in the transcribation process. It is clear that the story is part fact, part fiction: Hrothgar, the king of the Danes whom Beowulf comes in aid of, really lived in the region of current-day Denmark in the early 6th century and the mead hall Heorot which is attacked by the terrible monster Grendel has been found in an archeological dig. Indeed the poem has been very helpful for historians in understanding the world from whence it originates.

So it is with Beowulf as it is with most myths and legends, the boundaries between fact and fiction are fluid, and create a field of uncertainty that entice us to start speculation about the lore of this ancient world, the age of heroes and monsters.

An ancient classic is adapted for modern audiences

If you haven’t previous encounters with the story, it is the heroic saga of Beowulf’s liberation of the Danes from the terrible grip of the monster Grendel and his demon mother. Script writers Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary have with director Robert Zemeckis taken liberties in their adaptation of the poem, tightening and adapting the plot for the big screen. It is this adaptation I will deal with from here on out.

The film portrays Beowulf as a mighty and fearless warrior, with a group of loyal men at his command, the thanes, who are prepared to follow him to the gates of hell. Beowulf is a powerful warrior, and an inspiring leader, but he has a weakness – he hungers for glory. Now, this is a theme we will recognize from a movie previously featured on Masculinity Movies, namely Patton. We recognized then that one of General Patton’s main downfalls was exactly this hunger for glory, and that movie ended on the note that “all glory is fleeting”. We also remember that the hunger for glory is a feature of the hero archetype, which is the last rung on the ladder of boyhood in the KWML system.

While Beowulf is clearly a man’s man, he is according to the KWML archetypes still a boy. When the mighty Beowulf lands on the shores of Denmark and is approached by a Dane who foresees no less than their death in their pursuit of Grendel and the gold which Hrothgar has put on Grendel’s head, Beowulf pompously states “If we die, it will be for glory and not for gold.” Boys die for glory (which is nothing other than the desire to be loved and admired by many people), while men die (if they must) in service of those they love. I think this is something that should be contemplated, as we so often do things to manipulate others to like us, which is exactly what we shouldn’t do if we seek true happiness and power. We make others truly love us by loyally serving them.

The spell of the dark Feminine

While Beowulf’s lust for glory is dangerous, it is his weakness in relation to the Feminine that is his downfall. We see the first signs of the spell the Feminine weaves on Beowulf when he first encounters the beautiful Wealthow, Hrothgar’s enthralling wife. Wealthow, as the movie portrays her, is a deep and mature woman, way ahead of the rest of the Danes in her own personal evolution. We see this in the sorrow and resignation she feels as she witnesses the hedonistic debauchery in Herodot in the movie’s opening scene.

This is a deep woman who wants to be seen and felt for her depth, not for her surface beauty. Imagine how painful it is that not a single person in her life can provide her with that recognition of her deep feminine core. Then imagine what it would feel like for a deep woman in today’s world to always encounter shallow men who desire her only for surface appearance, and imagine her infinite suffering. Would you not like to offer her more?

Wealthow is a fascinating woman at the light end of the spectrum of the Feminine. Beowulf is enthralled, on his knees in worship when she sings her song of heroes:

Just wait though wide he may roam
Always a hero comes home
He goes where no one has gone
But always a hero comes home

Wealthow communicates through the song that she will be at home waiting patiently for the man who deserves her. There is no weakness in her words, just love and a desire to serve the Masculine. She is just the woman Beowulf desires, but does he deserve her? Is he, in a sense, man enough? King Hrothgar wasn’t, evidenced through his seduction by Grendel’s mother. Grendel, we will find, is Hrothgar’s son.

Now Wealthow cannot live with the fact that this female demon creature, which can be seen as representative of the dark side of the Feminine, has such power over her husband. Hrothgar “entered” a demon, so how can he enter her? Will that put her on the same standing as a creature of hell? As I read the film, I think there is more to her refusal to grant Hrothgar a human heir than his infidelity, there is also the fact the Wealthow is uncomfortable with the dark side of her Feminine. This is the case with most women – they are more comfortable on one end of the spectrum than the other.

But it is also the case with men, and both Hrothgar and Beowulf are more comfortable with the light side of the Feminine. That side they can handle, because it is fair, loving, beautiful and radiant, whereas the dark Feminine is unpredictable and dangerous and leaves them helpless. This, I believe, is what Wealthow recognizes in Hrothgar, and eventually also Beowulf – faced with the dark Feminine, they become unreliable and untrustworthy, completely spellbound and seduced beyond their mind, into the murky waters of their subconscious.

If they were men enough, they would come to recognize the positive side of the dark side of the Feminine in Wealthow, and coax it out of here with love, so as to release much of her inner pain. Understand that most women who are more comfortable on the light end of the spectrum often internalizes a lot of hurt (the darkness projects inwards as opposed to outwards), and it is a man’s job to help her externalize it through taking her lovingly into the dark side of the spectrum. This is scary and challenging, and requires a man to be in integrity with himself, lest the chaos of the dark feminine capture him and convince him that he has done wrong. After his seducation, Hrothgar has lost integrity – that is part of his curse – and there is the understated sadness on the part of Wealthow at discovering that even her dragonslaying husband loses himself completely when faced with the dark Feminine. It’s even more challenging because this darkness is something Wealthow herself doesn’t possess to a large extent, which is her curse, and it cannot be lifted due to her man’s lack of integrity.

Grendel and his mother

Beowulf, of course, kills Grendel in a display a macho manliness and with typical immodesty. The monster Grendel, a scared and pathetic creature, is a mama’s boy who seems to carry resentment at not having had a father in his life. As the monster tries to flee, Beowulf traps it and screams in bloodlust, as the monster inquires about his identity:

I’m ripper, tearer, slasher, gouger. I’m the teeth in the darkness, the talons in the night. Mine is strength and lust and power. I am Beowulf!!

In David Deida terms, this is clearly a display of 1st stage machoism, and in KWML terms, it is closely aligned with displays of heroism. If you’re not familiar with these terms yet, know that they mean there is immaturity here. Now, it is possible that Beowulf “becomes the devil of Heorot” to serve his men in a mature way, like Remington became the “devil of Tsavo” in the Ghost and the Darkness, but it seems unlikely. So it seems here that Beowulf yet again shows vulnerability to desires for glory and excessive displays of power, even bloodlust. The primal aggression that we see Beowulf channel on occasion is, however, mandatory in the life of any mature man that wishes to serve the world fully. There is great power here, power necessary for escaping the grasp of the Feminine, which is the spell that captures the boy. For the man who has moved on from heroism into the realms of the mature man, this aggression exists as a dormant but ever-present potential, and makes him shine with natural authority, for he can back up his values with power in the unlikely even that he must. It is what we call “connecting with our balls”, and brings solidity to a man who is otherwise like a leaf on the wind, changing direction to whatever captures his attention in the moment.

Grendel’s mother responds with grief and anger at her son’s death by killing off all of Beowulf’s brave thanes in the dark of night. Wiglaf is spared, because he is away checking on their ship. Now, Hrothgar must face up to his stain of shame from many years ago, when he conceived Grendel with the demon mother, and Beowulf must go a-monster hunting yet again.

He fails. Grendel’s mother is a shapeshifter and can take human form. Beowulf arrives at her lair only to find a deeply sexy and seductive creature, given life by Angelina Jolie, and she knows how to get a hero to his knees: Tempt him with ideas of grandeur, with royal aspirations, power and glory, and then feminine sexuality, the greatest threat against any Hero. She is striking at all of the weak points of the Hero archetype, and Beowulf loses himself, just as he did with the dark mermaid that appeared after he slaid several sea monsters in a flashback scene earlier. The Feminine is not a problem to be solved or a monster to be killed, so the tools of the Hero fail him, and the unexplored parts of his psyche envelop him and pull him down into dark and unchartered waters.

The sins of the fathers

Beowulf returns to Heorot and Hrothgar realizes what fate has befallen him. He presses Beowulf for the truth, yet doesn’t get it – Beowulf is still too shocked from what has happened and the way in which he responded to it. Beowulf has lost his honor to his main weakness – the dark Feminine – and now the curse of Hrothgar has been passed to him. Hrothgar throws himself from the battlements and Beowulf is crowned king, and gets his Wealthow. His wish of royal aspirations and a lovely queen have come true, but at a tremendous price.

Many years later, Beowulf is an old an broken king. He is one who, he says with despair, “died many years ago, when I was young”. The mature Masculine lives to serve. The hero, on the other hand, lives to serve himself. This reality has caught up with Beowulf, and there is great mourning in him for his past ways. Still, he has not found a way to lift the curse, and not anyone with whom he can confide. Not Wiglaf (who won’t listen to the truth) and not his wife (because their relationship is built on secrets).

But any curse that goes unconfronted will eventually catch up with you, in life or in death. For Beowulf, the time is ripe, and a dragon shows up in his kingdom. Beowulf understands what has happened when Ulferth, once Hrothgar’s main advisor, now the kingdom’s priest, arrives scorched within the castle ramparts and tells him how his family has been slain and the last thing he heard was “the sins of the fathers”. The fathers, we understand, are Hrothgar and Beowulf, brave warriors, but fallible in their inability to confront the truth of what they’ve done.

Slaying the dragon

We may have noted the strong presence of dragon symbology in the film up to this point, particularly in the royal dragon horn and the art on the royal crown. Hrothgar claims that the horn became his after he killed the dragon Fafnir, and much of his personal mythos and power base is founded on this story. Now there is the eerie sense that everything is as it was and a circle has been completed – Beowulf is a disillusioned and weary king, once a great hero, whose power base is built on half-truths. He is king, but for all the wrong reasons, much like was probably the case with Hrothgar. There is a lineage extending from Hrothgar to Beowulf, a lineage of brave yet flawed warriors, broken by their own inability to break free of their own personal story, their curse.

So now that a dragon shows up to torment Beowulf, there is the strong sense that his and Hrothgar’s stories are somehow connected, in their shared strengths and weaknesses, and at both having conceived a bastard son with the same demon mother.

The dragon is the most powerful creature human legends have created, and the fight between dragon and human symbolizes the fight between man and nature, which is the fight between the Masculine and the Feminine. The Hero who slays the dragon is symbolic of the boy who lifts the spell of the Feminine from his life through taking the Hero archetype to its ultimate conclusion. Free from attachment to Mother, he is finally enable to serve the Feminine in a mature way. And then, the Feminine, even the darkest of it, holds no more power over him.

Beowulf has finally reached maturity, some years too late. As he prepares for the showdown with the dragon, this time in service of those he loves, he looks at Wealthow, suspecting it is the last time he is to be graced by her wise and gentle eyes. She knows everything of course, but still has a softness for him. Beowulf admits before he leaves:

I have always loved you. Keep a memory of me, not as a king or a hero….but as a man…fallible and flawed.

His aspiratons to grandeur are now gone, truth and love now on his mind. He rides to confront the demon mother, and finds that she is out for blood. She sends their dragon son after him and after a ferocious battle, he slays the creature, his own son and guilt, and they both plummet to the ground. Beowulf lies mortally wounded next to the dead body of his son (shapeshifted post mortem back to humanoid form) while waves are lapping their legs. He says goodbye to his son, who shines with the colour of gold like his mother, and as the glowing body is washed out to sea, there is genuine sorrow in Beowulf’s eyes. He has lost his only child. There is the sense here that when a father has too much guilt weighing on his conscience, relationship with his son becomes impossible, and the heart-rending truth of such separation comes clear only on the doorsteps of death.

“There’s no time for lies,” Beowulf pleads as Wiglaf arrives but stops him yet again from revealing the truth after so many years of secrecy. “Do you hear her? Grendel’s mother? My son’s mother!,” Beowulf begs of him. “You killed Grendel’s mother, many years ago. They sing of it,” Wiglaf responds. But a deathbed is no time for lies as Beowulf points out. And since the time of death is uncertain, there is never a time for lies. When the lie that has haunted him for a lifetime is shed, Beowulf dies, on the beach where his son lay, as the last of the heroes.

Beowulf’s body sails out to sea, and the she-demon descends on him. She is victorious, yet she mourns him in her own way. There is the question here, as she looks deeply and seductively into Wiglaf’s eyes, whether he, now King, is strong enough to withstand the threat of her deep, dark feminine sexuality. As I examine Wiglaf, I see much to indicate that he is. There is evidence of this prior to the battle with Grendel when he admonishes his fellow thanes to not blur their head with women and fornication before a major battle. Beowulf may have been a greater Hero, but Wiglaf was the greater man, and should have been king in the first place.

Conclusion

Beowulf is the story about heroes who would be kings, and the challenges they face when they realize that the duties as King are of an entirely different calibre to those of the ego-driven hero. It is also a story about male companionship and loyalty among warriors, which is the very positive aspect Beowulf brings to the table. But more than anything, it is a story about the tremendous power the Feminine, mainly the dark Feminine, wields over the man who doesn’t maintain perfect integrity and who hasn’t yet dedicated himself fully to serving others. When Beowulf finally realized that this was what his life should have been about, it was too late. But now that Beowulf has helped us realize this for us, we can make sure not to make the same mistakes.

That means, in real life terms, no more lies, maintain perfect integrity, work through and transcend the desire for glory and heroics, and then set up base on the throne of mature masculinity, in service of the kingdom – the people whom you love.

I felt it was time to set one of these babies up so here we go. In here I can talk more about day to day stuff, what’s going on “backstage” with this project, bring forwards interesting feedback I receive, ramble a bit about my life etc. People are writing me with increased frequency now that the site has been officially launched, and a lot of interesting things are brought to my attention. I can’t just let all this good information bypass you all, forever lost deep in cyberspace. More importantly, I have a desire to connect with you all on a more personal level, as I believe it’s the only way we’re gonna get anything done in our society. The self-centered man belongs to yesterday.

I’m really taking to the idea of brotherhood. I have been fortunate to experienced it on occasion, and it’s a powerful, awesome and humbling feeling. Totally ballsy and strong, yet vulnerable and loving. Learning to love other men in a deep way without feeling homophobic, but strong and empowered, is something everyone needs to experience for himself. In this version of friendship, I got your back, you got mine. We go down or soar together. I think this is a powerful concept. We need to bring it back to life. I need to for myself anyway.

So how about it then, should we play a little with this idea of brotherhood? Really, we need to, because you know just as well as I that a website such as this – despite all its awesomeness – is just a tiny speck of a vast cultural process that must take place in the years ahead. You see, my vision for this project – reinventing modern man by resurrecting authentic masculinity – is way too big to pretend I can do it alone. So we got to connect you see!

So welcome to this blog. Here’s to many good conversations in the time to come!

Love and respect brothers,
Eivind