Sally Duff-Big Fish

In the movie Big Fish, Edward Bloom doesn’t undertand his father.  He doesn’t understand why his father is always lying and making up stories.  But Edward’s father is adamant that he isn’t lying, that he isn’t making up stories.  What Edward doesn’t understand is myth.  Edward doesn’t understand that all the stories his father has told him are true, but since Edward takes them entirely literally, they seem outlandish.  To his father, the specifics are not the important part of the story.  It doesn’t matter to him if a man is seven feet tall or twelve feet tall, he’s still a giant.  It doesn’t matter if twins are identical or siamese, twins are twins.  Edward’s father tells stories truthfully, but embellishes them.  I think this view is important in interpreting the Bible.  There are many parts that are necessary to be taken completely literally, but then there are also parts that may be embellished.  The importance is not in the specifics of the story, the importance rests in the themes and the lessons.  It is through myth that we are able to share emotions.  Mere facts do not convey atmosphere.  What are people thinking and feeling?  The only way to demonstrate this in story is to use myth.