Desire in both Ovid`s `Jason and Medea` and `The Life Aquatic`

Life Aquatic v .s . Metamorphoses

When looking up the word desire , one finds it simply means to hope or to wish for something . What this definition lacks is the explanation as to how people come to have desires , which when looked at closely can give a better definition for the word than the one that is found in the dictionary . Two different works in two different mediums have perfect character studies for two different spectrums of desire . Both the story Medea and Jason from Ovid 's Metamorphoses and the film The Life Aquatic

br with Steve Zissou show people having real emotional and meaningful desires while others have superficial wants and needs . Both sagas are epic , and deal with the classic tragedies of life and relationships From looking at these different works it is clear that when these two forms of desire come together the superficial can benefit from the emotional , but only at the price of exploiting the emotional

Superficially , The Life Aquatic is about sea exploration , but under the surface it is about revenge and relationships and what happens when one grows too old to do the work they love . Depending on how you see it The Life Aquatic either pokes fun at , or is a tribute to , the work of legendary deep-sea explorer Jacques Cousteau . His documentaries during the 1940 's through 1960 's enlightened the minds of those unaware of the sea-life below . Bill Murray 's interpretation of Steve Zissou is a very self-ironic and profane depiction , but it authentically personifies the half-environmentalist-half-entertainer aspect of Cousteau 's personality After Steve Zissou 's partner Esteban du Plantier is eaten by a gigantic Jaguar Shark , the adventurous oceanographer sets out on a quest for vengeance to kill the shark . His desire to complete his journey inadvertently leaves him to exploit the admiration of his supposed long lost son , Ned , who has recently come into his acquaintance and received a large inheritance from the passing away of his mother . Ned is at a transitional period in his life . He is very vulnerable and in search of parental guidance . Like wise , Zissou has entered somewhat of a midlife crisis where he is coping with the failure of his marriage and professional life . His sea documentaries are faltering in their popularity . His heroic and epic persona is flawless in the eyes of his adoring young fans , many of whom who he allows his human self to disappoint . He has become virtually jaded to the aspects of life with which he has no control . His only desire is to avenge his ex-partner Esteban du Plantier in the process of making a successful film . As he sets out on his journey to accomplish these goals , they become secondary to a Zissou attaining a heightened sense of maturity . Parallel to this plot , Ovid 's Metamorphoses also centers on the story of a journey

Ovid 's Metamorphoses showcases Medea as a complicated journey that one takes in to realize and obtain what they desire . Ovid...