A Myth for the Sixth Mass Extinction

Telling Noah's Story during a Climate Crisis

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3590481
AutoresNancy Menning (0000-0002-7202-9246, Ithaca College, autor de correspondencia)
Año2022
Volumen13
Número3
Páginas243
Fecha de publicación2022-03-11
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel13030243
OpenAlexW4220695556
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas36

Myths are open storylines that invite elaboration and modification. The flood narrative of Genesis 6-9, for example, has been readily employed to motivate endangered species protection and to reflect on the rising seas and mass extinctions associated with climate change. The distinctive features of any retelling of the Noah's ark story reflect the needs of historically situated and culturally embedded audiences. This paper focuses on four versions of Noah's story: in Genesis, in the Qur'an, at Ark Encounter theme park, and in Darren Aronofsky's film Noah. Analysis identifies the narrative choices that align each telling with its cultural context and draws out insights for adapting the story for the contemporary climate crisis. A conclusion addresses issues of race and racial injustice in traditional interpretations of Noah's story, and highlights approaches to redress those inequities in new imaginings of the flood narrative

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Environmental ethics · Flood myth · Injustice · Literature · Media studies · Mythology · Narrative · Political science · Redress · Sociology · Storytelling · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Ecology, and Ethics