The Son begins to doubt the authority of his Father when his Father displays an incredulity that the Son is able to achieve his objectives. This is possibly the most crucial scene in the film in which Kitai decides to completely ignore the directives from his father. The lesson is that If authority is not right or is oppressive, it has to be rejected by the hero for justice to be served.
Son is Disobeying Father and is slain and Cast Out or Cast down. The fact that a child is cut off from communicating between the Father is an indication of being cast down from the heavens, as depicted in the literal sense when Kitai made a leap from at the top of a waterfall, in defiance to his Father’s command to return to his home. The incident led to his communication with his Father to break which left the Son in a state of isolation and without direction in a crucial stage of the mission or initiation. And it can be followed as
Son is forced to face His Enemy (FEAR) All by Himself The movie “FEAR” is symbolized by the Ursa that is a creature that tracks its adversaries through pheromones that are released when the victim is scared. It can detect your fear. It’s only when the Son has conquered himself that he is able to overcome the fear within him. This is what is what the Ursa monster in the film represents.
Every hero tale you’ve ever read or watched shown in the screen an homage to the mythology of Heru. Heru is an old African god known as Neter (force or element that is a part of the natural world) and was the basis for all good rulers. It is possible to learn about his adventures through “The Passion of Osiris (Ausar)” and “A Tale of Two Brothers”. These stories are handed down in the ancient land of Kemet today, which is Egypt.
In the myth of Heru’s Father, Ausar (Osiris) was betrayed, and killed by his rival brother Set. Ausar is revived as the god of the afterlife or underworld. As an emperor, he is forever seated on a throne, and make his judgements on those who have died. This is illustrated symbolically when Kitai’s Father Cipher was stuck in the ship’s chair and was using the ship’s camera (spiritual eyes) as well as the communications. Link (spiritual communication) to keep watch and give direction to Kitai[]
The throne motif is crucial since it was a foreshadowing in After Earth by the soldier in a wheelchair, who walked up to with the general and his son. When he approached the General, the soldier announced that the General saved his life, and he demanded for to receive the honor of being “stood up,” or in Biblical terminology, “made upright”, by his fellow soldiers in order to give the proper salute in honor of his heroes (savior). The theme would play over and over again, when the General made the command “stand me up”, to salute his son. This particular scene is a representation of his son “redeeming” or “saving” his father.
Going back to the mythology of Heru… following the time that His father Ausar (Osiris) is killed and his brother is able to take over his kingdom Kemet It becomes the responsibility of Heru and Mother Auset (Isis) to obtain Heru to the throne and become the legitimate ruler of the country. Heru is required to undergo many years of training under the tutelage of his mother Auset and his Aunt Nebhet (Nephtys) and the tiny Bes who is the Neter of the child’s birth happiness and war. Bes is Bes who helps Heru to become the warrior. In the film Star Wars Yoda played the role as the teacher (Bes) in the role of Luke Skywalker (Heru).
Heru’s symbol Heru represented the Hawk. The mythological figure was usually depicted with wings and wearing the face or the head the bird. In the film After Earth we see the relationship between both the Hero with his Hawk within the “Leap of Faith” sequence in which the Hawk pursues Kitai down, and then takes the victim into her nest for the food source for her chicks. Kitai awakes and is devoured by the new chicks, only to discover that the nest of the hawk is being attacked by predators that are primarily felines who want to devour the chicks.
Kitai assists the hawk in protect the nest, however, he fails to prevent predators from killing the young birds.
The Hawk mourns the loss her newborn chicks in an angry screech and starts following Kitai in the air. that seems threatening at the beginning however, we discover afterward that the Hawk has formed a bond with Kitai and then brings him back to safety and shields him from cold using her own body heat to prevent the bird from freezing. This is a clear symbol of Kitai’s mythical connection with Heru the NeterThe * symbol who is The Sun as well as Sky. Sky… and the first skywalker.
After many tense fights and adventures Heru was able to, with the aid of his mother would eventually gain the supremacy of the country from Kemet (Egypt) in order to thus bring his father back to Ausar (Osirus).
It is essential to be aware that the tale that tells the story of Ausar (Osiris) as well as Heru (Horus) is told as well as told over the globe and is available in a variety of variations. The names and characters and the details may change but the essence of the story is the same. It is the responsibility that the son succeeds to his father as the ruler of the earth or land however only after that he has proven that he is worthy of the position. You can clearly see that the film After Earth has a lot more to offer than what is apparent to the naked eye.
There are many more examples of archetypal and mythological symbolism used in the film After Earth that I was not able to discuss such as the Mother being”the “Queen of Heaven,” or the Sister as the “Spiritual Guardian” of her brother. This film is chock-full of the elements that contribute to an excellent story, and I personally believe that the tale about After Earth was masterfully told. I’m eager to see the next film, not just by Will Smith and crew, but also from other Black film makers as well.