In DreamWorks’ 1998 animated film, The Prince of Egypt, viewers are introduced to Moses, a young man filled with life, vibrancy, and mischief. His life was preordained by God to lead his people - the Israelites - out of captivity and into the Promised Land. This modern Midrash not only revitalizes the story of Moses, but changes its original purpose. By comparing and contrasting the DreamWorks version of Moses’ youth and exit from Egypt to Midian to that of the biblical story and scholarly commentary, it is revealed that the purpose of The Prince of Egypt is to emphasize social change and justice.
Two major alterations in The Prince of Egypt, is the role of the Egyptian princess and Moses’ revelation about the circumstances surrounding his …show more content…
Pharaoh was terrified of the Hebrew man who was destined by God to rise up, free the Israelites, and defeat him. His fear was apparent through his actions. “Pharaoh charged all his people saying, ‘every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live’” His decree sets God’s plan in motion. In taking into account Sarna’s scrutiny “that the mother deliberately selected the spot after observing the character and habits of this particular princess” we see the purpose of the story of Moses. The story’s purpose is to show the people of that time that no matter how much someone tries to alter God’s plan, His goals will always be accomplished. Even in attempting to destroy and conquer your enemies, ironically a person can let them into their home, nurture them, feed them, and then in the end be defeated. I often wondered why Pharaoh allowed his daughter to adopt baby Moses. One would think that Pharaoh would have been harsher on his family to follow the rules and set an example for the people. However, by allowing his daughter to keep a baby boy, who would turned out to be the man he desperately tried to kill, is confusing. This shows that the Pharaoh had double standards. That the Pharaoh was careless even when he tried to cover all of his bases. He allowed the …show more content…
In “The Prince of Darkness”, Leroy Gardener critiques DreamWorks animated film claiming it to be a destructive force that targets the younger audience. Gardener gives an example of his own childhood, reminiscing on how Sunday school’s “curriculum consisted of a comic-book type children's magazine called The Bible Greats.” He goes on to compare The Bible Greats to that of D. C. Comics. He wrote that because of the “action packed, breath-taking artwork, I viewed them in the same manner as I viewed the exploits of my favorite superheroes of that era who also routinely won all of their battles against their arch-enemies.” He claims that The Prince of Egypt, would allow young people to take a biblical story and dismiss it as make believe which, as a result, damages one’s faith. However, in the “Prince of Egypt--Three Perspectives”, Rabbi Dan Goldblatt believes that “this film warmly and sensitively communicates many of the powerful spiritual teachings of the Torah and even contributes some of its own insightful midrashim as well.” He writes that “in the Jewish world, religious school teachers and rabbis should be “jumping for joy” because The Prince of Egypt should help in teaching the spiritual meanings of the Exodus. Rabbi Goldbaltt states that The Prince of Egypt places “God at its center, as the source of social justice and transformation” and I believe that this
Two major alterations in The Prince of Egypt, is the role of the Egyptian princess and Moses’ revelation about the circumstances surrounding his …show more content…
Pharaoh was terrified of the Hebrew man who was destined by God to rise up, free the Israelites, and defeat him. His fear was apparent through his actions. “Pharaoh charged all his people saying, ‘every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live’” His decree sets God’s plan in motion. In taking into account Sarna’s scrutiny “that the mother deliberately selected the spot after observing the character and habits of this particular princess” we see the purpose of the story of Moses. The story’s purpose is to show the people of that time that no matter how much someone tries to alter God’s plan, His goals will always be accomplished. Even in attempting to destroy and conquer your enemies, ironically a person can let them into their home, nurture them, feed them, and then in the end be defeated. I often wondered why Pharaoh allowed his daughter to adopt baby Moses. One would think that Pharaoh would have been harsher on his family to follow the rules and set an example for the people. However, by allowing his daughter to keep a baby boy, who would turned out to be the man he desperately tried to kill, is confusing. This shows that the Pharaoh had double standards. That the Pharaoh was careless even when he tried to cover all of his bases. He allowed the …show more content…
In “The Prince of Darkness”, Leroy Gardener critiques DreamWorks animated film claiming it to be a destructive force that targets the younger audience. Gardener gives an example of his own childhood, reminiscing on how Sunday school’s “curriculum consisted of a comic-book type children's magazine called The Bible Greats.” He goes on to compare The Bible Greats to that of D. C. Comics. He wrote that because of the “action packed, breath-taking artwork, I viewed them in the same manner as I viewed the exploits of my favorite superheroes of that era who also routinely won all of their battles against their arch-enemies.” He claims that The Prince of Egypt, would allow young people to take a biblical story and dismiss it as make believe which, as a result, damages one’s faith. However, in the “Prince of Egypt--Three Perspectives”, Rabbi Dan Goldblatt believes that “this film warmly and sensitively communicates many of the powerful spiritual teachings of the Torah and even contributes some of its own insightful midrashim as well.” He writes that “in the Jewish world, religious school teachers and rabbis should be “jumping for joy” because The Prince of Egypt should help in teaching the spiritual meanings of the Exodus. Rabbi Goldbaltt states that The Prince of Egypt places “God at its center, as the source of social justice and transformation” and I believe that this