How Heaven and Hell are construed in Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come

Dossier / Travail , 2010 , 20 Pages , Note: 1,3

Philologie Anglaise - Autres

“When I was young, I met this beautiful girl by a lake.”

The following paper focuses on how the afterlife is allegorized in Vincent Ward’s film. Ward combines motifs from various religions. Ancient, Western and Eastern versions of afterlife merge to an individualistic Great Beyond. The leading literary influence seems to come from Dante‘s The Divine Comedy, especially considering the movie’s depiction of Hell. Also several parallels to art work stand out. Of course, as no sources can prove it, it is just speculation if, especially the referred literature and paintings were an inspiration for the film. However, some parallels cannot be dismissed out of hand.
For a clearer arrangement, I assembled the research paper in a Heaven (Chapter 2.1.) and a Hell (Chapter 2.2.) section and will then summarize my observations as well as explicate how this all fits into the science fiction genre (Chapter 3). Unfortunately, apart from various reviews on the internet, no other secondary text on What Dreams May Come can be found in literature. On that account, my paper mainly bases on the film itself and several reference books on theology, philosophy and mythology. Namely, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy and Boxton’s The Complete World of Greek Mythology as reference books as well as work on afterlife: Coward’s Das Leben nach dem Tod in den Weltreligionen and Braun’s Das Jenseits – Die Vorstellungen der Menschheit über das Leben nach dem Tod.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• The Afterlife in Vincent Ward's What Dreams May Come
  • Heaven
  • Hell
• Summary
• Bibliography

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This research paper aims to analyze how the concept of the afterlife is depicted in Vincent Ward's film What Dreams May Come. The paper examines how the film combines motifs from various religions and cultures to create a unique and individualistic vision of the Great Beyond.

• The depiction of Heaven and Hell in the film
• The influence of Dante's The Divine Comedy on the film's depiction of Hell
• The merging of ancient, Western, and Eastern afterlife concepts in the film
• The film's exploration of the themes of love, loss, and redemption
• The film's use of visual effects to create a compelling and unforgettable experience

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The first chapter provides an overview of the film's plot and introduces the main characters. The second chapter examines the film's depiction of the afterlife, focusing on the concepts of Heaven and Hell. The third chapter summarizes the film's overall message and explores its significance within the science fiction genre.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords and focus topics of the text include: afterlife, Heaven, Hell, What Dreams May Come, Vincent Ward, Dante, The Divine Comedy, love, loss, redemption, visual effects, science fiction.

• Université: Dresden Technical University (Institut für Anglistik/ Amerikanistik)
• Cours: Science Fiction Films
• Note: 1,3
• Auteur: Antje Schoene (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2010
• Pages: 20
• N° de catalogue: V149602
• ISBN (ebook): 9783640602995
• ISBN (Livre): 9783640602094
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: What Dreams May Come, Vincent Ward, Robin Williams, Heaven, Hell, Richard Matheson, Dante