Does a Modern Western Mythology Exist?

https://foxhugh.com/2011/05/17/does-a-modern-western-mythology-exist/

Several internet sites suggest that there are modern Western myths and the following characters are
cited as examples: the Code Fairy, Easter Bunny, Father Time, the Grim Reaper, the Invisible Pink
Unicorn, J.R. Bob Dobbs, Lady Luck, Mother Nature, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy. Does this
claim of the existence of a modern Western mythology withstand scrutiny? Each character will be
looked at individually and an overall conclusion will be arrived at. Myths, as opposed to stories in
general, in this article are assumed to explain phenomena and elicit or elicited some degree of belief
in this explanation. People no longer believe Zeus creates thunder but Zeus is still a myth because
people once believed in that explanation of thunder.

Code Fairy

Generally, the Code Fairy is considered a very weak example of a modern Western mythology. The
Code Fairy is a fictional spirit said to eat semicolons and curly braces from computer source
code. The Code Fairy is an example of folklore mythology which non-programmers know is fiction,
but which is sometimes presented by computer programmers as fact, as a way to explain how a
computer program stops working after compiling it, without altering the source code. The
explanation is silly but further analysis may yield a surprising result. While probably programmers
do not believe in a code fairy as such, the code fairy is a safe way for a computer programmer, who is
supposed to be hyper rational, to suggest sometimes things do go bump in the night in a way that
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cannot be explained even in the rational world of programming. The code fairy is a good example of
a post-modern myth which overtly deconstructs the concept of the myth while at the same time
providing a covert mythological function. The code fairy pretends to be a non-myth or parody of a
myth. Covertly the Code Fairy allows for the communication of how some phenomena defies
explanation even in an area of human endeavor where explanation and control should always be
possible. Humans rely on computers more and more and any suggestion by computer professionals
that computers are affected by hard to define influences is disconcerting in the extreme. The Code
Fairy is also a safe way to express anthromorphic views about computers that are not acceptable in a
positivistic work atmosphere but do play some part in the thinking of humans no matter how
rational they are expected to act in public. The Code Fairy with its contradictory explanatory
functions is probably
better classified as a postmodern rather than modern myth.

Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is supposed to bring Easter eggs to an outside area and then the children look for
the hidden Easter eggs. Both rabbits and eggs are ancient symbols of fertility and the Easter Bunny
can be seen as an updated version of customs going back to Roman times. The Easter Bunny is an
ancient symbol revamped but not necessarily an ancient myth. Rabbits and eggs do not explain
fertility but represent fertility. The Easter Bunny is often classified with the Tooth Fairy and Santa
Claus as an example of a modern mythical figure. I disagree! The Easter Bunny is different from
Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy in that children are not taught to actually believe that the eggs are
planted by the Easter Bunny but rather the Easter Bunny story is understood to be a fanciful story
even by children. The Easter Bunny is not a mythic figure but a story with older symbolic origins
that is used to amuse children.

Father Time
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Father Time is a modern version of Chronos the Greek

god of time. People do not believe that Father Time does exist but the origins of Father Time in prior
myth means that Father Time can be considered a newly named myth rather than just a story.

Grim Reaper

The Grim Reaper is a modern version of Death. The idea of a skeletal figure that brings death to
people is quite ancient. Like Father Time, the Grim Reaper can be seen as myth that once was
believed in under a different name.

Invisible Pink Unicorn

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The Invisible Pink Unicorn (IPU) is the goddess of a parody religion used to satirize theistic
beliefs, taking the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink. She is a rhetorical
illustration used by atheists and other religious skeptics as a contemporary version of Russell's
teapot, sometimes mentioned in conjunction with the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The IPU is used to
argue that supernatural beliefs are arbitrary by, for example, replacing the word God in any theistic
statement with Invisible Pink Unicorn. The mutually exclusive attributes of pinkness and invisibility,
coupled with the inability to disprove the IPU's existence, satirize properties that some theists
attribute to a theistic deity. No one believes in the IPU. The IPU has modern origins unrelated to
prior myths. Clearly the IPU is not a myth but a critique of myth.

J.R. Bob Dobbs

J. R. "Bob" Dobbs is the figurehead of the Church of the SubGenius. His image is derived from a
piece of 1950s clip art. According to SubGenius dogma, "Bob" was a drilling equipment salesman
who, in 1953, saw a vision of God (JHVH-1 according to Church scriptures) on a television set he had
built himself. The vision inspired him to write the "PreScriptures" (as described in the
Book of the SubGenius) and found the Church. The theology holds that "Bob" is the greatest
salesman who ever lived, and has cheated death a number of times. He is also revered for his great
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follies and believed to be a savior of "slack". J.R. Dobbs has similarities with the IPU in that both are
modern, artificial creations that have mythic properties in order to deconstruct the idea of a myth in
the first place. Both also serve a satirical function with the satirical function of J.R. Dobbs being
more prominent than in IPU discussion. IPU has a more philosophical tone. J.R. Dobbs like the IPU
is not a myth but a critique of myth.

Lady Luck

Lady Luck is a modern incarnation of the Roman goddess of luck, Fortuna and is therefore like
Father Time and the Grim Reaper an old myth given a new name and therefore is myth due to
origin. While modern thinking probably does not allow for the personification of luck most human
probably do believe in good or bad luck. People are assumed to have good or bad luck. People
commonly believe in lucky numbers and lucky days. Comic books refer to stochastic fields that
characters like the Scarlet Witch can generate to create hexes but this is of course scientific mumbo
jumbo. The idea of luck as an explanation contrary
to a purely scientific, materialistic view of the universe is alive and well.

Mother Nature
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Mother Nature is yet another example of a modern incarnation of an older mother of the Earth that
has existed in many pantheons of the past. One version of ecology suggests that Earth is a synergic
ecological whole that can be referred to as Gaia. This suggests that Mother Nature exists as myth
both due to origin and reintegration into our scientific positivist world view via modern ecological
conceptualization.

Santa Claus

Santa Claus, or "Santa", is a figure in North American culture with legendary, mythological and
folkloric aspects who developed from an amalgamation of Dutch Sinterklaas, English Father
Christmas and other traditions of Christmas gift-bringers. Santa Claus is said to bring gifts to the
homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve, December
24. Santa Claus is a myth due to origin but beyond this Santa Claus is a belief held by young
children in the present. Young children in many countries do believe in Santa Claus. If you like
Santa then you will love My Asian Adventures as Santa Claus.

Tooth Fairy
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The belief in faeries is a very old one. The Tooth Fairy like Santa Claus, and unlike other characters
on this list, is a myth both due to origin and due to the fact young children believe in the Tooth Fairy.

Upon closer examination characters that are lumped together as examples of modern Western myths
do not belong together. The IPU and J.R. Dobbs are not myths. Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy
clearly are myths because of origin, explanatory power and most importantly children believe in
them. Other characters on this list can be seen as myths due to origin rather than in the fact that
they are believed in currently. Mother Nature
is myth given new scientific identity. Analysis of the Code Fairy shows that a new type of myth may
have evolved in the 20th century. The Tooth Fairy has both an overt and covert message. Overtly the
construct is satire but covertly the construct is explanation. The Code Fairy may be a new type of
postmodern
myth.