Materialism And Idealism In Beowulf

A difference in time can be experienced in many different ways, one of these ways being the change in cultural values over long periods of time. This change is seen when you look at both the movie from 2005, Beowulf and Grendel (Gunnarsson), and the folk epic from around the year 1000, Beowulf (Heaney). What someone may notice right away is the thousand year difference in the creation of the works, but if time is taken to read and watch these stories, the difference is found to be much more diverse. Throughout the epic poem of Beowulf, the character Beowulf himself is seen as a sort of folk hero in almost all aspects. While the Beowulf in the 2004 movie, is seen as more of an average and humble man who happens to be a very skilled warrior. These concepts are very apparent when it comes to the contrast in materialism and idealism between the two stories. In the poem Beowulf, the man himself is extraordinary in ways that the normal people of that time couldn’t even believe. There were many stories told about …show more content…
This is show throughout the movie by simply not giving Beowulf rewards other than being hailed a hero. That is to be expected whether or not he is materialistic since he did kill the terrorizing monster even if his rampages could have been stopped another way.
Overall if someone was to read the epic poem Beowulf and watch the 2004 film Beowulf and Grendel, they may be able to easily make out how much our cultural values have changed over time in regards to not only how we treat the idea of idealism but also how we see materialism as something to be ashamed of. In his roots, Beowulf is seen as a hero, a savior, a materialistic man, a man with the idea that he is greater than others, and a man who does not show mercy to beasts. This all changed when Hollywood got a hold of him and made him into the humble-hero we see in the movie