Giants have been recorded in ancient texts all over the world. A wide variety of modern books call our attention to this very fact - a great many of them dealing with the existence of an ancient race of human angel hybrids known as the Nephilim. This sounds absolutely crazy to many before they realize one of the most famous stories of all time exists because of this race of ancient giants. Ever heard of Noah's Ark? Did you know God flooded the earth (according to the Bible itself) because a race of giants had corrupted all the bloodlines? Even if you're not looking specifically at the Judeo-Christian traditions about the pure man shoving animals into a big boat to protect life from a massive tempest, stories of a flood can be found in just about every ancient tradition. Not only that, but a lot of them have giants in them as well. Look it up.
Guilty Pleasures Radio has covered this topic frequently - interviewing authors like Scotty Roberts (author of The Rise and Fall of the Nephilim), Frank Joseph (Lost Worlds of Ancient America), and Patrick Heron (The Nephilim and the Pyramid of the Apocalypse). That's not the subject of this article, however, because the recurring role of giants throughout history is not new news. Shocking at first, but you get used to those kind of grand historical shocks as you look further and further down the rabbit hole of ancient history. No, the story that's really shocking here is that a major link to the strange tale of the Nephilim. That link is coming from Hollywood.
A certain visionary filmmaker named Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Fountain, Pi) is currently working on a massive $150 million project titled Noah. It's something he's dreamed about making since he was a young boy. It's the epic tale of Noah and the flood. While that sounds like a simple story everyone's seen before in movies, he has been slowly assembling a massive ensemble that no doubt has piqued interests beyond the religious crowd. We're looking a a film starring Russel Crowe, Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, and Logan Lerman. It's been clear that there will be a much larger cast of characters for this rendition than we generally hear about when the tale is told.
Today, however, it was announced that characters have been cast that aren't quite what the average person expects from a Noah tale. These are the giants. The press release says these characters are being called the Watchers, a race of giants that existed in the time period. Many members of the press are releasing this information with a bit of
shock and confusion. In some places, you'll find reporters even suggesting this news is evidence that Aronofsky will be deviating from the biblical texts. Luckily, it seems there are some who frequent film sites that have the same taste for the strange as I do, pointing to Genesis 6:4 which reads:
"There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of man and bore children to them. These were the mighty men of old, the men of renown."
So, what does this tell us? Well, quite simply, we are about to see an epic Hollywood film that tells the tale of Noah that is actually in the Bible, not the watered down version taught in Sunday school. A tale of giants and fallen angels along with an angry God. This story that is somehow universal and controversially unknown can stand to shed light on this subject to the general public who may not feel compelled to tune into KVNO HD2 every Monday (wink wink). Will the Nephilim become an acknowledge bit of religious mythology as people open their bibles and look up why there are giants in this movie? I can't say, but I'm excited to see what a visionary director like Aronofsky will do with the material.
After all, if there's anyone I want interpreting biblical imagery for the big screen in a smart and engaging way, it's Darren Aronofsky. He's proven himself over and over again to be one of the best working artists in the world of cinema and I expect this to be something to keep an eye out for. If nothing else, it should raise enough eyebrows that need raising about a subject that gets ignored by so many Judeo-Christians.
But hey, maybe I'm so desensitized from seeing thousands of these videos that I would judge the real deal simply because it looked to stereotypical. I don't know anything more than you do about what these things would actually look like or where they enjoy loitering.
