"God is not a deadbeat dad" - When watching Supernatural, always turn on your x-ray vision.
This post is dedicated to Elina - thanks for encouraging me back online.
****
I guess it bothered me more than I realised that so many viewers accepted Joshua's words at face value in episode 5.16 Dark Moon Rising.
When Dean saw God as a 'deadbeat dad' in 5.16, I could understand how disillusioned he felt. In many ways, for Dean, God in Supernatural is an extension of his father and 5.16 completed his ongoing alienation and sense of abandonment that he had been experiencing with John Winchester from the beginning of Supernatural.
In Season one, Dean hadn't seen his father for over a year and I always felt intrigued by the fact that he hadn't sought Sam out immediately after John's disappearance - which lends itself to suggesting that this might not have been the first time John had 'taken off' on Dean without a word during the past 4 years of separation between the two brothers. During Season one, as John continues to stay remote and unspeaking, Dean gradually loses faith in his all knowing, all seeing father. This leads John to remark on how Dean's 'tone' had changed towards him when they finally do reunite.
There's been a lot of fan discussion on whether John was justified in the way he refused to reach out to his sons, and when discussing John's characterisation, I think that we can't avoid the fact that the role has been seriously askewed by the lack of availability of the actor, JD Morgan. For example, many fans commented on the lack of John's presence in either of his two son's heavens, particularly in Dean's.
So here is where the x-ray vision comes into play. When discussing a show like Supernatural, there are multiple levels of meaning created by text which can effect how you interpret what has been shown. Below is a list of some of these different type of meanings;
- The meaning created 'internal to the text' focused on the story being told - basically, what has been said and what has been shown
- The meaning created by the medium of the text - the way the episode has been directed, the script/dialogue, the acting - both in execution and availability, budget for the episode can effect special effects, location, wardrobe, music etc.
- The meaning intended by Erip Kripke
- The meaning created by the viewer (each of whom would bring his/her own bias and background knowledge/history which effects the way the story impacts on the reader). etc. etc.
One would argue that a viewer in Japan, with it's background in horror and bishonens, would view a show like Supernatural considerably differently than a viewer in Australia, a viewer in Canada (who might even live in Vancouver), as compared to a US viewer - who might come from a similar economic/cultural background as the Winchesters.
This means that when responding to a show like Supernatural, you really do need to make it clear exactly at which level you are engaging with the meaning. So, by using 'x-ray vision', we can start discussing what was implicit beyond just the explicit dialogue.
Therefore, in examining the scene in 5.16 in the Garden, here are what was actually said - and my interpretation of what was implied beyond the words.
Joshua tells Dean that he thinks that God speaks to him because he can relate to him, as "Gardner to Gardner".
An older, biblical metaphor for God is that of a Shepherd. So what changes if you see God as a Gardner instead of a Shepherd? Quite a lot actually. The Shepherd role suggests a more immediate, protective guardian who takes direct action in the lives of the flock. A Gardner on the other hand is someone who takes on a more distant role - a planner/organizer, someone who creates an image of the garden, not just a caretaker and someone who acts more ruthlessly - as an example, I refer you to my mom pruning the roses - that little tree gets stripped down to the bone.
So yes, I think that a Gardner is probably a more appropriate metaphor for the God shown in Supernatural.
I also think that Dean would have far preferred getting the Shepherd - but I digress.
God's message by Joshua - notice that he is addressing Dean, not both Winchesters - "Back off. He knows already... he just doesn't think it's his problem... He granted you salvation in heaven, and after everything you've done too."
Ok. Here's where I really diverged with majority reading of this scene.
First off. How many people actually get to have God giving them a personal (really personal) message like that? I can't help wondering exactly how and why Dean Winchester of all people, managed to rate so high on God's meter that he achieved an actual response from God. Not even the angels get that. When was the last time God spoke to Castiel, to Zachariah, even through the medium of Joshua?
Check out the scene when Joshua interrupts Zachariah. He doesn't give a message to Zach the way he did to Dean. All Joshua says is that he got his orders to speak to Dean and then makes a pointed reminder about the 'wrath thing'. A reference which makes you think that God in SPN is definitely more the one in Old Testament than the New Testament.
So, before we the viewers start agreeing with Dean - we should take the time to be impressed by just how highly God rates Dean.
As for the actual message. What did God tell Dean? That he didn't care? God in Joshua's message acknowledges that he has taken direct intervention on the following occasions;
- is paying such close attention to Dean that he knows everything about him
- transported Dean and Sam into the plane at the start of Season Five
- to restore Dean's favorite angel, Castiel
- to send Dean and Sam to heaven (more than once)
- to resurrect Dean and Sam (more than once)
- this time, God allows/wants Dean and Sam to remember heaven - do you have any idea how many people in history/literature ever got this break? (I think Buddha was one actually - I'll have to make another post regarding parallels between Dean and the Savior/Messiah figures)
And lets not forget that SPN has strongly implied that God has intervened in Season One episode Faith - Roy told Dean that he selected him because God told him to. This has never been contradicted/challenged in the show.
So back to whether God cares. Excuse me, but where do you read that God doesn't care when you start examining just how many times, and to what extent, he has strained and bent all reality for Dean Winchester? Can he not care like that about me? I wouldn't mind a free get into heaven, or free ticket back to life card and Dean and Sam got them cards in spades according to Ash.
As for God telling Dean to 'back off' and that he has no further intentions to take any further direct actions - I didn't read this as an abandonment. I read this as an adult, as being told by another adult, to stop looking for the magic fix and to start making my own choices, to take responsibility for my own decisions and actions.
Apart from the use of deus ex machina being poor storytelling - there's also the fact that looking for the Game Master in the RPG and asking for help is the action of a serious cheater (read loser).
God set up the possibility of an Apocalypse but it was the Winchester brothers own actions that set them up to trip the final alarm. He also provided them with the tools to either trigger or end the Apocalypse. The main dilemma for Sam and Dean is that right now, they aren't too keen on either options. But that's what life is about. Making hard choices. There is no right choice and there never was a guaranteed way to win. What in the world is so depressing about that? Might as well lie down and stop living if that's the case.
Lets face it. In SPN, we are being presented with a world where evil has physical form and where we can taken direct action against evil by shooting, killing, hitting etc. All actions which are considered to be very therapeutic but really, really frowned on in our safe, insulated world. So which is the greater evil - to be torn apart by a demon or to be torn apart by a real person? The second is happening all around us (check out Congo etc.) but no one cares, no one is rising up to say that this shouldn't happen. Not like Dean is.
Dean really does say that it's wrong for demons, ghosts, monsters etc. to hurt people but he has explicitly acknowledged in the show that he isn't able to act against the evil committed by men.
What's the difference between the demons destroying life on earth (or angels) or men destroying life on earth? In fact, I'd back men as the most destructive force out of the tree. Come on, we are currently inventing ways to kill and destroy in increasingly deadly and expansive ways while simultaneously choking the life of the planet by overbreeding - you have to be impressed at that! Not even the demons and angels managed the double jeopardy in extinction.
So back to God telling Dean to back off. I agree with him. Dean was given all his options - the fact that he doesn't like any of them is what makes him a contrary human being. In 5.11, Dean explained that what he really wants is 'to save all of them.'' Whatever option Dean takes, with that goal, he was always going to be disappointed.
So this is the difference between seeing what has been shown by the show and in taking what the show has told you as the gospel.
In the show, Dean is obviously disappointed and angry with God's message (to be fair to his writers and the actor, this would be completely consistent with the way the character thinks and reacts).
When he gets God's message, Dean says, "Just another deadbeat dad and a bunch of excuses, right? I'll muddle through"
You know what? Dean got it. Dean really did get God's message, right off.
He didn't give up. He didn't say that he was going to rebel or retaliate against God because he didn't get what he wanted. Dean was going to 'muddle through' because that's who Dean is. He is a person who saves others. Whether he gets help or not. Whether he has hope or not.
Ironically, I think it was Joshua who showed the least understanding, of God or of Dean.
Joshua is concerned about how angry Dean is and he tells him that - "You are losing faith... God was your last hope. .. I wish I could tell you something different."
He didn't have to. Joshua missed that.
And so did a great deal of the fandom.
Yes, Dean is disappointed in God. Who hasn't been?
As Joshua said, don't start asking why evil exists etc. You do go nuts when you start trying to figure that out.
That's what ineffability is all about.
My way is to keep in mind that if God created evil and intended evil to exist in the world. He also created good and equally intended good to exist in the world. He then made the deck more interesting by introducing free will and snuck in the ability to think to make the whole pot more exciting.
I say that when you are in the game, you play to win, whichever side you are on.
As for Dean and his loss of faith. So what? So he loses the belief that someone else is going to come to the rescue. That's something we all have to learn to do - there is no Superman. There is no shining knight coming to the rescue. God may exist but he's not going to come and give you a do-over or save the world. That's not a loss. That's a win. Because what do you have left when you lose faith in everything and everyone else? You have yourself. You have your choices. Dean has finally learned that he has to act, with the options that he has, to go after the one objective that he has never wavered from, from the beginning of this show.
To save people.
The only time I'm going to be concerned about Dean is when he loses that. Because that is when he does lose everything.
So back to Joshua's final words, "This time God wants you to remember."
Why did God want them to remember? Was it to comfort Sam and Dean that they were going to heaven? Did they look comforted by this?
I think God wanted them to remember their experience in heaven, because he wanted Sam and Dean to remember his words. That they can't rely on false hopes and expectations, that they are the only ones who can take action.
And in 5.17. Dean takes the first step.
There's going to be a lot of fuss (there already is) about whether this was the right step or not.
But in the end, the only thing that matters is that it was Dean's choice. And that he made this choice because he wanted to save as many people as he possibly could. Notice, that already thanks to 5.16, Dean has learned that he can't save everyone. Now he's left with saving as many people as he can, and more importantly, in making sure that people who matter to him, like Lisa and Ben, are going to be in the group that gets saved. Whether this is the right choice or not is actually irrelevant. God isn't playing find the ball in the shell game. You don't get to choose the 'right' answer - what you get is a choice, and what you end up with, is the consequences of that choice.
****
I guess it bothered me more than I realised that so many viewers accepted Joshua's words at face value in episode 5.16 Dark Moon Rising.
When Dean saw God as a 'deadbeat dad' in 5.16, I could understand how disillusioned he felt. In many ways, for Dean, God in Supernatural is an extension of his father and 5.16 completed his ongoing alienation and sense of abandonment that he had been experiencing with John Winchester from the beginning of Supernatural.
In Season one, Dean hadn't seen his father for over a year and I always felt intrigued by the fact that he hadn't sought Sam out immediately after John's disappearance - which lends itself to suggesting that this might not have been the first time John had 'taken off' on Dean without a word during the past 4 years of separation between the two brothers. During Season one, as John continues to stay remote and unspeaking, Dean gradually loses faith in his all knowing, all seeing father. This leads John to remark on how Dean's 'tone' had changed towards him when they finally do reunite.
There's been a lot of fan discussion on whether John was justified in the way he refused to reach out to his sons, and when discussing John's characterisation, I think that we can't avoid the fact that the role has been seriously askewed by the lack of availability of the actor, JD Morgan. For example, many fans commented on the lack of John's presence in either of his two son's heavens, particularly in Dean's.
So here is where the x-ray vision comes into play. When discussing a show like Supernatural, there are multiple levels of meaning created by text which can effect how you interpret what has been shown. Below is a list of some of these different type of meanings;
- The meaning created 'internal to the text' focused on the story being told - basically, what has been said and what has been shown
- The meaning created by the medium of the text - the way the episode has been directed, the script/dialogue, the acting - both in execution and availability, budget for the episode can effect special effects, location, wardrobe, music etc.
- The meaning intended by Erip Kripke
- The meaning created by the viewer (each of whom would bring his/her own bias and background knowledge/history which effects the way the story impacts on the reader). etc. etc.
One would argue that a viewer in Japan, with it's background in horror and bishonens, would view a show like Supernatural considerably differently than a viewer in Australia, a viewer in Canada (who might even live in Vancouver), as compared to a US viewer - who might come from a similar economic/cultural background as the Winchesters.
This means that when responding to a show like Supernatural, you really do need to make it clear exactly at which level you are engaging with the meaning. So, by using 'x-ray vision', we can start discussing what was implicit beyond just the explicit dialogue.
Therefore, in examining the scene in 5.16 in the Garden, here are what was actually said - and my interpretation of what was implied beyond the words.
Joshua tells Dean that he thinks that God speaks to him because he can relate to him, as "Gardner to Gardner".
An older, biblical metaphor for God is that of a Shepherd. So what changes if you see God as a Gardner instead of a Shepherd? Quite a lot actually. The Shepherd role suggests a more immediate, protective guardian who takes direct action in the lives of the flock. A Gardner on the other hand is someone who takes on a more distant role - a planner/organizer, someone who creates an image of the garden, not just a caretaker and someone who acts more ruthlessly - as an example, I refer you to my mom pruning the roses - that little tree gets stripped down to the bone.
So yes, I think that a Gardner is probably a more appropriate metaphor for the God shown in Supernatural.
I also think that Dean would have far preferred getting the Shepherd - but I digress.
God's message by Joshua - notice that he is addressing Dean, not both Winchesters - "Back off. He knows already... he just doesn't think it's his problem... He granted you salvation in heaven, and after everything you've done too."
Ok. Here's where I really diverged with majority reading of this scene.
First off. How many people actually get to have God giving them a personal (really personal) message like that? I can't help wondering exactly how and why Dean Winchester of all people, managed to rate so high on God's meter that he achieved an actual response from God. Not even the angels get that. When was the last time God spoke to Castiel, to Zachariah, even through the medium of Joshua?
Check out the scene when Joshua interrupts Zachariah. He doesn't give a message to Zach the way he did to Dean. All Joshua says is that he got his orders to speak to Dean and then makes a pointed reminder about the 'wrath thing'. A reference which makes you think that God in SPN is definitely more the one in Old Testament than the New Testament.
So, before we the viewers start agreeing with Dean - we should take the time to be impressed by just how highly God rates Dean.
As for the actual message. What did God tell Dean? That he didn't care? God in Joshua's message acknowledges that he has taken direct intervention on the following occasions;
- is paying such close attention to Dean that he knows everything about him
- transported Dean and Sam into the plane at the start of Season Five
- to restore Dean's favorite angel, Castiel
- to send Dean and Sam to heaven (more than once)
- to resurrect Dean and Sam (more than once)
- this time, God allows/wants Dean and Sam to remember heaven - do you have any idea how many people in history/literature ever got this break? (I think Buddha was one actually - I'll have to make another post regarding parallels between Dean and the Savior/Messiah figures)
And lets not forget that SPN has strongly implied that God has intervened in Season One episode Faith - Roy told Dean that he selected him because God told him to. This has never been contradicted/challenged in the show.
So back to whether God cares. Excuse me, but where do you read that God doesn't care when you start examining just how many times, and to what extent, he has strained and bent all reality for Dean Winchester? Can he not care like that about me? I wouldn't mind a free get into heaven, or free ticket back to life card and Dean and Sam got them cards in spades according to Ash.
As for God telling Dean to 'back off' and that he has no further intentions to take any further direct actions - I didn't read this as an abandonment. I read this as an adult, as being told by another adult, to stop looking for the magic fix and to start making my own choices, to take responsibility for my own decisions and actions.
Apart from the use of deus ex machina being poor storytelling - there's also the fact that looking for the Game Master in the RPG and asking for help is the action of a serious cheater (read loser).
God set up the possibility of an Apocalypse but it was the Winchester brothers own actions that set them up to trip the final alarm. He also provided them with the tools to either trigger or end the Apocalypse. The main dilemma for Sam and Dean is that right now, they aren't too keen on either options. But that's what life is about. Making hard choices. There is no right choice and there never was a guaranteed way to win. What in the world is so depressing about that? Might as well lie down and stop living if that's the case.
Lets face it. In SPN, we are being presented with a world where evil has physical form and where we can taken direct action against evil by shooting, killing, hitting etc. All actions which are considered to be very therapeutic but really, really frowned on in our safe, insulated world. So which is the greater evil - to be torn apart by a demon or to be torn apart by a real person? The second is happening all around us (check out Congo etc.) but no one cares, no one is rising up to say that this shouldn't happen. Not like Dean is.
Dean really does say that it's wrong for demons, ghosts, monsters etc. to hurt people but he has explicitly acknowledged in the show that he isn't able to act against the evil committed by men.
What's the difference between the demons destroying life on earth (or angels) or men destroying life on earth? In fact, I'd back men as the most destructive force out of the tree. Come on, we are currently inventing ways to kill and destroy in increasingly deadly and expansive ways while simultaneously choking the life of the planet by overbreeding - you have to be impressed at that! Not even the demons and angels managed the double jeopardy in extinction.
So back to God telling Dean to back off. I agree with him. Dean was given all his options - the fact that he doesn't like any of them is what makes him a contrary human being. In 5.11, Dean explained that what he really wants is 'to save all of them.'' Whatever option Dean takes, with that goal, he was always going to be disappointed.
So this is the difference between seeing what has been shown by the show and in taking what the show has told you as the gospel.
In the show, Dean is obviously disappointed and angry with God's message (to be fair to his writers and the actor, this would be completely consistent with the way the character thinks and reacts).
When he gets God's message, Dean says, "Just another deadbeat dad and a bunch of excuses, right? I'll muddle through"
You know what? Dean got it. Dean really did get God's message, right off.
He didn't give up. He didn't say that he was going to rebel or retaliate against God because he didn't get what he wanted. Dean was going to 'muddle through' because that's who Dean is. He is a person who saves others. Whether he gets help or not. Whether he has hope or not.
Ironically, I think it was Joshua who showed the least understanding, of God or of Dean.
Joshua is concerned about how angry Dean is and he tells him that - "You are losing faith... God was your last hope. .. I wish I could tell you something different."
He didn't have to. Joshua missed that.
And so did a great deal of the fandom.
Yes, Dean is disappointed in God. Who hasn't been?
As Joshua said, don't start asking why evil exists etc. You do go nuts when you start trying to figure that out.
That's what ineffability is all about.
My way is to keep in mind that if God created evil and intended evil to exist in the world. He also created good and equally intended good to exist in the world. He then made the deck more interesting by introducing free will and snuck in the ability to think to make the whole pot more exciting.
I say that when you are in the game, you play to win, whichever side you are on.
As for Dean and his loss of faith. So what? So he loses the belief that someone else is going to come to the rescue. That's something we all have to learn to do - there is no Superman. There is no shining knight coming to the rescue. God may exist but he's not going to come and give you a do-over or save the world. That's not a loss. That's a win. Because what do you have left when you lose faith in everything and everyone else? You have yourself. You have your choices. Dean has finally learned that he has to act, with the options that he has, to go after the one objective that he has never wavered from, from the beginning of this show.
To save people.
The only time I'm going to be concerned about Dean is when he loses that. Because that is when he does lose everything.
So back to Joshua's final words, "This time God wants you to remember."
Why did God want them to remember? Was it to comfort Sam and Dean that they were going to heaven? Did they look comforted by this?
I think God wanted them to remember their experience in heaven, because he wanted Sam and Dean to remember his words. That they can't rely on false hopes and expectations, that they are the only ones who can take action.
And in 5.17. Dean takes the first step.
There's going to be a lot of fuss (there already is) about whether this was the right step or not.
But in the end, the only thing that matters is that it was Dean's choice. And that he made this choice because he wanted to save as many people as he possibly could. Notice, that already thanks to 5.16, Dean has learned that he can't save everyone. Now he's left with saving as many people as he can, and more importantly, in making sure that people who matter to him, like Lisa and Ben, are going to be in the group that gets saved. Whether this is the right choice or not is actually irrelevant. God isn't playing find the ball in the shell game. You don't get to choose the 'right' answer - what you get is a choice, and what you end up with, is the consequences of that choice.