SYMBOLISM
IN THE OPENING SEQUENCES
BY JEFFERY FRY
There
are a lot of images and symbolism
used in the first ten to fifteen
minutes of the show, but I am going
to touch on a few may ones both
in the speech and dream. I feel
like both of these serve as an introduction
to what we are to expect from the
series and may provide some clues
to what lies therein.
Most of the
info is taken from dream interpretation
sources, the Bible, and a lot of
speculation. I'm not saying this
is 100% correct, I'm not one of
the show's writers. Their intentions
are as much of a mystery as the
symbolism in the dreams and clues
they present us with.
SAMSON'S
SPEECH
"Before
the beginning, after the great war
between Heaven and Hell..."
This is likely
referring to the fall of Lucifer
from Heaven. Satan existed in Hell
before the dawn of man. He was the
tempter (in the form of a snake)
in the Garden of Eden. (Book of
Genesis)
"...and
so it was until the day that a false
sun exploded over Trinity, and Man
forever traded away wonder for reason."
This could
be referring to the Crucifixion
of Christ. It is stated in the book
of Matthew (ch 27v 45& 46) that
the sun was blotted out from the
sky for three hours as Jesus died.
Jesus is considered to be part of
the Holy Trinity (God the Father,
God the Son, Holy Spirit) in Christian
theology. The crucifixion put an
end to Jesus' life and his works
of miracles and healings. [Trinity
was also the first nuclear weapons
test of The Manhattan Project, July
16, 1945. It's possible that this
is the false sun that marks the
moment humanity embraced science
over faith. more
info -- Matt]
BEN'S
DREAM
the chase through the cornfield |
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A
cornfield or Corn represents
Fertility and/or Life. Being
chased through a cornfield may
represent the dreamer's struggle
with feeling pursued throughout
every turn of their life. |
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the ring: "In Hoc Signo
Vinces" |
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Roughly
translated from Latin, this
means "By this sign (the
cross) we conquer." The
motto is said to have been adopted
by the emperor Constantine after
his vision of a cross in the
heavens just before his decisive
battle in A.D. 312. Constantine's
army was fiercely outnumbered
by the contending emperor Maxentius.
On the evening before the battle,
Constantine saw a Cross emblazoned
on the horizon with the words
"In Hoc Signo Crucis Vinces"
surrounding it. He immediately
set to work placing the cross
on the shields of everyone in
his army. The next day Constantine
swept the enemy into the Tiber
River, and entered victoriously
into Rome. [The red cross
may be the symbol of The Knights
Templar, "a monastic military
order formed at the end of the
First Crusade with the mandate
of protecting Christian pilgrims
on route to the Holy Land."
more
info -- Matt] |
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the tattoo of a tree |
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Tattoos
represent a negative self-infliction.
A sort of self-torture or internal
struggle with one's self. Trees
themselves represent the dreamer
of the dream. A barren tree
represents something barren
in the dreamer: health/soul/mind.
The tree may be also represent
the Tree of Life or Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil mentioned
in the book of Genesis. According
to the Bible (Gen. 2:9), eating
from the tree of life Adam and
Eve would never die and never
be separated from their life-giver
and sustainer (God). The tree
of the knowledge of good and
evil was the antithesis of the
tree of life. One sustained
life; the other brought death. |
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the snake |
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This
may represent Satan or evil
in general. The serpent in the
Garden of Eden (Book of Genesis)
was said to be Satan. The snake
charmer is Ruthie, who we meet
later in the episode. The fact
that the snake is poised to
be kissed (an old carnival trick
of snake charmers), may represent
a foreshadowing that Ruthie
could be involved in a pivotal
way with the "Good vs.
Evil" struggle. |
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the dead sheep/lamb |
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Again,
the bible makes several references
of people being "lead like
lambs to slaughter". It
is a generality that people
can be led blindly, almost oblivious
to their own deaths. It was
spoke of both in Psalms 44:22
(speaking of people dying for
their faith) - "Yea, for
thy sake are we killed all the
day long; we are counted as
sheep for the slaughter."
and in Jeremiah 51:40 (speaking
of the destruction of Babylon)
- "I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams with the goats." |
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