Real Life Pokémon: The Mythological History of Animals

Animals and storytelling have been a part of human culture since Homo Sapiens was born. Living in a world filled with majestic creatures that we hunted for food, skinned for clothes, and kept as pets has influenced our lives in powerful ways: religion, politics, and even war.

From the sacred Egyptian cats to the sacred cows of Hinduism, animals represent more than biological life forms, they are intertwined in all aspects of our culture. Pokémon takes advantage of this deeply ingrained psyche by extending the powers that animals have, and thus their usefulness in human society.

Created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori, Pokémon (originally called “Pocket Monsters”) were adapted from real-life animals in the early 1990s. In the original video game, the player must capture Pokémon using designer Poke Balls. special, and use them to fight fictional competitors, collecting various special badges with each defeat. Pokémon taps into our human instincts for companionship, competition, and travel. As a result, Pokémon became one of the biggest pop culture trends throughout the work in the 90s.

Millennials grew up playing Pokémon video games, watching their cartoons, and playing their card games. As technology advanced, Nintendo, which publishes Pokémon, updated versions of the video games to play on advanced hardware. As smart technologies advanced, Niantic, a San Francisco software company specializing in augmented reality, worked to create one of the most successful smartphone apps ever: Pokemon Go. Taking advantage of the public’s nostalgia for this cultural phenomenon, combined with new technologies, Pokemon Go. allows users to catch their own Pokémon in their community through their smartphone.

Although Pokemon Go integrates novel technology to create a fundamentally unique experience for users, it has more than just software to be thankful for for its success. At the core of its appeal to consumers is its connection to human psychology. Humans have always had an affinity for animals because they have shared our spaces since the development of our species. Because of this, our ancestors told stories and created mythologies around the animals and the symbols they represent.

If we flip through history, we will discover countless human-animal interactions, and stories based on them that conveyed important cultural messages. For example, lions represent authority, power, and dominance; lambs and snakes are often symbolized in religious texts, and eagles are seen as harbingers of freedom.

One culture that was particularly influenced by animals was ancient Greece, which based a large part of its religion on mythological creatures. One of the most famous storytellers in ancient Greece, named Aesop, was famous for incorporating animals into his anecdotes that were used to convey important moral tales. These were used by politicians, religious leaders, and teachers to explain life lessons to the public in easy-to-understand ways.

Aesop relied heavily on the application of archetypes, which is a significant symbol or motif. Examples of archetypes include a mouse representing weakness and a tortoise representing languor. Aesop used motives to express certain virtues or vices. An example of Aesop’s fable is the tale of The Fox and the Raven, which can be found at AesopsFable.com and which can be viewed on YouTube: Timeless Tales: The Fox and the Crow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hACpLj0_EiA

A Fox is awakened by a Raven that landed on a branch above, with a piece of cheese in its beak.

Timeless tales: the fox and the raven

“Oh Miss Raven! How beautiful is the morning with its beauty! How beautiful and bright are your feathers? And those eyes, like shining reflections of your soul. What a beautiful voice you must have, beyond all other birds in the world. forest. Please, can I just listen to one song to prove that you really are the queen of all birds? “

The Raven, softened by the Fox’s compliments, lets out a loud “Caw!” However, as soon as he opens his mouth, the cheese falls to the ground, allowing the Fox to devour the morsel.

With a chuckle, he says, “Miss Crow, in exchange for your cheese, I’ll give you one piece of advice: never trust a sycophantic.”

From the 6th century BC. When Aesop was alive, thousands of fables have been attributed to his name throughout the world. From England to India, Aesop’s fables are used to instill values ​​or warn about vices in both children and adults. The Fox and the Crow is just one example of the many unique, fun and thought-provoking fables that use animals as symbols to convey a message in an entertaining way. This tradition has carried over into our current culture, demonstrated by the revival of Pokémon through the augmented reality game, Pokémon Go.

Human evolution and its culture are deeply connected to animals, which is why they permeate many of our myths and stories. For anyone interested in Pokemon Go’s mythological influences and how animals and stories connect us, thousands of Aesop fables can be accessed at AesopsFable.com, one of the best resources for fables. You can scan their catalog or look for previous versions and reiterations of fables. They even have a growing catalog of stories, animations, and books available.

One project AesopsFable.com is developing is its animated series Timeless Tales, which seeks to bring moral fables into the modern age in fun and engaging ways. Timeless Tales seeks to develop the self-esteem of children and adults alike, allowing the public to think critically about the virtues and vices of human nature, lessons that they can apply in their own lives. In modern media, there are few programs that provide opportunities for children to analyze and interpret the world around them from a moral point of view. Timeless Tales hopes to give children insight into more complex human emotions and values ​​so they can understand themselves and the world on a deeper level.

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