In the series Vikings, episode eight of season two there is great concern over the birth of Ragnar's fourth son, Ivar, since he is unlike the others. His birth was a sign of a prophesy come true whereby he was described as being boneless and a monster. From the kingdom's reaction, it seems that the society did not tolerate disability and was even associated with evil. Moreover, the fact that Ivar was born of a famous warrior and leader symbolized bad luck was upon Ragnar's reign. The paper aims at discussing myths and misconceptions of the society in relation disability.
Social evolutionists emerge in a manner in which were a mythopoeic or legend influencing phase of the human idea in which people have been living for untold ages. There is a general understanding among ethnologists that legends dwell on a super exotic, mysterious or powerful circle of the real world and allude to some ancient time. On this suspicion, fantasies have been characterized as tales of the mysterious starting point, common among ancient people groups and by them acknowledged as evident, concerning heavenly creatures and occasions, or regular creatures and occasions impacted by otherworldly agencies (Cressey, 40).
Gender myths give a progression of pictures of women and men that urge us to comprehend what they either do or not do in specific ways. Through development, they have given women's activists much useful material to use in the quest for gender balance, for instance, the idea of men being perpetrators of domestic violence while women as their victims have activated truly necessary resistance to sex-based violence (Fausto-Sterling 87). On the other hand, these myths may likewise make the contrary impact to the one we had sought after whereby an indistinguishable picture of men from ordinarily forceful with challenging to control tempers lends support to the possibility that it's ladies' obligation to remain quiet and calm, defuse the circumstance and keep the family together (Fausto-Sterling 65).
From the episode, the differential-association theory best suits the myth's origin. The differential association theory argues that the society plays the main role in determining what type of norms those are to be violated. Notably, specific people from a unique group are the ones who spark the norms of conformity and deviance simply because they are better positioned thus influence how different people view certain things apart from how they react. Since the birth of Ivar had been prophesized in a deviant manner, the entire community believed that his disability was related to evil or bad lack. The same would not have been the case if Ivar's birth was prophesized in a conforming manner since would have associated him with good.
Moreover, since the society was confined to itself, the myth spread and manifested in peoples' mind easily. Just like vices like crime can be learned through interacting with different people via communication myths can easily be spread by word of mouth (Cressey 112). Looking into keenly one can establish that people who interact frequently hold similar ideologies and character traits. As a result, changing these ideologies becomes difficult since it is what they have lived believing throughout. Therefore the aspect becomes confusing which may affect the attitude of the audience.
When addressing the issue about myths its evolution from time to time brings about two points of contention. One is the thought of whether every primitive thought is to be treated as myth or whether a myth is an element of primitive thought, while the other is whether evolution occurs in myths or it should be considered as a passing characteristic of thinking.
In the current world myths should not be considered as personal trouble but a social problem simply because it carries far many implications to an individual thus affecting the normal setup of society. In this context, if this myth is upheld then, there would exist in a society characterized by discrimination against those affected. The society will further be viewed as inhuman since people with disabilities will be denied their rights and privileges, and to make matters worse, they would not be considered as humans even though they are born normally.
The socio-historical context of the American culture also holds some myths which have guided to how its society has been shaped. By examining the American culture and surveying its opinions, traditions, and behavior one can establish a tradition whereby myths conform to their pursuits and how mostly they are in control of their social and moral behavior. Myths can be considered as global phenomena that have emerged in plenty due to motives and even involve different mental faculties that bring about the likelihood of social delusion. The media and movie composers should be cautions when setting up movies taking into consideration the implications on the audiences.
Work cited
Cressey, Donald R. Delinquency, Crime and Differential Association. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2012. Internet resource
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. Myths of Gender: Biological Theories About Women and Men. New York, NY: BasicBooks, 2015. Internet resource
