Comments on: I am god for a short time, but then I'm toast.

Question: I am god for a short time, but then I'm toast.

allthewhile — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:42:16 -0800

I am trying to think of all possible popular cultural references to the following event: Person finds him or herself in a foreign land and is mistaken for the local/regional god. I can only think of two times when this happens but I know it happens quite a bit more in tv/fiction/movies etc.

1. Joe vs. the Volcano

2. Pirates of the Caribbean 2

Yes I know I'm uncultured.

Go hive mind go!

By: Kirklander

Kirklander — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:43:07 -0800

The classic example would be Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King," but this kind of shit happened to Captain James T. Kirk all the time.

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:43:44 -0800

C3PO in Return of the Jedi

By: Science!

Science! — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:44:03 -0800

Stargate SG-1, it happens regularly in the early seasons.

By: emhutchinson

emhutchinson — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:45:43 -0800

Cortez, no? I think there's a Neil Young song about it, if wikipedia's not your thing.

That would be "Cortez the Killer."

By: Pater Aletheias

Pater Aletheias — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:46:18 -0800

This'll give you a bunch more.

By: Maias

Maias — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:47:12 -0800

The Gods Must Be Crazy.

By: Pater Aletheias

Pater Aletheias — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:47:43 -0800

There's an ancient version of this in the New Testament:

In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

Acts 14:8-13

By: qxntpqbbbqxl

qxntpqbbbqxl — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:52:58 -0800

John Frum

By: qxntpqbbbqxl

qxntpqbbbqxl — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:54:49 -0800

Pater Aletheias beat me to it! That'll teach me not to follow links

By: amicamentis

amicamentis — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:08:10 -0800

Um, I'm embarrassed to even post this but this scenario occurred in one of the Hawaii vacation episodes of Saved by the Bell. The local Hawaiian tribe thought that Screech Powers was a god and they followed him around places and did his bidding.

By: Fortnight Bender

Fortnight Bender — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:08:33 -0800

Wizard of Oz?

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:09:02 -0800

Hernan Cortez, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico and the Aztec Empire was mistaken for the God-King of the Aztecs, because he landed on a specific date — the return of Quetzalcoatl.

By: barnacles

barnacles — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:11:28 -0800

Captain Cook was taken as the Hawaiian god Lono when he got there.

By: Ziggy Zaga

Ziggy Zaga — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:26:49 -0800

The movie Heavy Metal had such a skit.

By: You Should See the Other Guy

You Should See the Other Guy — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:28:17 -0800

I can only think of two times when this happens but I know it happens quite a bit more in tv/fiction/movies etc.

1. Joe vs. the Volcano

This does not happen in Joe Versus the Volcano.

By: monkeywithhat

monkeywithhat — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:32:43 -0800

I think every Star Trek Series had this happen at least once a season. Star Trek Voyager had ferengis use a replicators to make people think they were gods.

In a Twilight Zone episode that was later parodied by both the Simpsons and South park an astronaut finds a race of tiny people that worship him as a god.

In a Tin Tin comic he uses the prediction of a solar eclipse to convince people he is a god. Which is from Mark Twain's a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court, which is from Christopher Columbus actually doing it on one of his later voyages.

By: Ziggy500

Ziggy500 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:33:54 -0800

The Road to El Dorado.

By: Max Power

Max Power — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:38:04 -0800

Didn't the Aztecs think that the arriving Spanish conquistadores' ships were quetzacualtol ?

By: Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam

Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:50:38 -0800

It happens to Bender

also, that article points out some other possible instances: "This episode explores themes similar to "The Seventh Sally" by Stanisław Lem, "Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon, The Twilight Zone episode "The Little People", and Alan Dean Foster's short story "Gift of a Useless Man."

By: so_necessary

so_necessary — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:52:29 -0800

A similar trope is when a character accidentally fulfills the criteria to become King/Emperor etc, which is the plot of a Futurama episode.

By: saradarlin

saradarlin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:54:02 -0800

SIMPSONS has at two occasions I can think of...

Treehouse of Horror VII
Lisa's science experiment develops more than she anticipated when she becomes a god to little folk.

And a second episode where Homer is mistaken for the Pagan god of some island people while on vacation (I think).

By: wheat

wheat — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:01:44 -0800

Two, but they're both of the maybe variety: Gulliver's Travels and The Time Machine. I say maybe because, while I'm fairly sure the point-of-view character in each wonders aloud that the locals must take him for some sort of god, I'm not sure that we ever get any confirmation of that from the locals themselves. Someone who has read them more recently (or more carefully) feel free to chime in and correct me.

By: mmoncur

mmoncur — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:02:36 -0800

"Sky Coyote" by Kage Baker, although the character's appearance as a god is intended, and does not go exactly as planned.

And no, this does NOT happen in Joe vs. The Volcano.

By: Zoyashka

Zoyashka — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:09:19 -0800

Rygel in Farscape - episode "Jeremiah Crichton" (Season 1)

By: two or three cars parked under the stars

two or three cars parked under the stars — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:15:19 -0800

The Chipmunk Adventure? According to Wikipedia, Theodore is worshipped not as a god but as the "Prince of Plenty", but... I'm pointing it out anyway.

By: jacalata

jacalata — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:17:26 -0800

In Ice Age II the sloth is taken for a god, I believe. Bit hazy on the details though.

By: markjamesmurphy

markjamesmurphy — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:31:20 -0800

I think it happened to Gilligan when he put his head on top of a totem pole.

By: egeanin

egeanin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:39:30 -0800

I think it happened in the animated movie "Madagascar," but I really can't remember.

By: marsha56

marsha56 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:44:28 -0800

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

By: Confess, Fletch

Confess, Fletch — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:45:12 -0800

This doesn't happen in The Gods Must Be Crazy

By: kurtroehl

kurtroehl — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:58:42 -0800

This is essentially what happens in one of my favorite movies, which was only recently released on DVD: Farewell to the King.

By: kimota

kimota — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:58:37 -0800

There's always The Life of Brian, only it doesn't involve going to a foreign land.

By: scalefree

scalefree — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:18:59 -0800

Not quite a god but pretty close, the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.

By: 5_13_23_42_69_666

5_13_23_42_69_666 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:41:51 -0800

In Red Dwarf Lister is the god of the cat society, and there is also an episode where Rimmer becomes god of a civilization populated by his own clones.

By: Netzapper

Netzapper — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:56:15 -0800

Larry Niven explores this idea pretty extensively in his Ringworld books. Basically, since the world is so goddamn huge, there's a long tradition of technologically advanced groups claiming godhood to the more savage tribes. Many of the main characters use the "god gambit" as well.

By: tamarack

tamarack — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:57:30 -0800

I have a feeling this happens in a scene from Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates by Tom Robbins -- can anyone else deny or confirm? It's been awhile since I read it.

By: 5_13_23_42_69_666

5_13_23_42_69_666 — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:50:00 -0800

I have a feeling this happens in a scene from Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
I think that it's actually the parrot that they worship

By: Submiqent

Submiqent — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:39:16 -0800

A Harvey Birdman episode, Futurama episode 'My Three Suns'.

By: Submiqent

Submiqent — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:41:54 -0800

Oh and Bender makes himself the reigning pharaoh in 'A Pharaoh To Remember'.

By: permafrost

permafrost — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:33:57 -0800

This is from real life so may not count, but in Vanuatu, the Duke of Edinburgh is worshipped as a god.

By: Gungho

Gungho — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 05:42:08 -0800

Family Guy when Chris joins the Peace Corps and Peter goes to the island and is worshiped.
Three Stooges, probably a couple of times, but when they go to an island in search of a tree and Curly becomes a prince. (until he sees he has to marry the king's ugly daughter) Nyuk Nyuk.

By: misha

misha — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:39:28 -0800

In Jess Whedon's Firefly series, the nearly amoral mercenary Jayne is worshipped as a local hero in Jaynestown (completely undeservedly). It's a fantastic episode.

By: jackmcc

jackmcc — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 08:48:12 -0800

There's a British music hall song from 1909 called "I've Got Rings on My Fingers" by R.P. Weston and F.J. Barnes that deals with an Irishman cast up on a tropic isle. You can find the words here: http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=3117. It has a catchy tune.

By: KatlaDragon

KatlaDragon — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:47:38 -0800

In the Duckman episode "The One With Lisa Kudrow in a Small Role," Ajax is abducted to a planet where he becomes worshipped as the 'son of Dod.'

By: lhauser

lhauser — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:15:32 -0800

It doesn't happen in the movie Madagascar (just watched it tonight). Certainly not in The Gods Must Be Crazy movies (though they are well worth watching for the sheer fun of it).

By: themadjuggler

themadjuggler — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:43:33 -0800

My first thought was Apocalypse Now, and, to a lesser extent, Heart of Darkness.

By: amicamentis

amicamentis — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 08:28:24 -0800

In Madagascar, the characters are welcomed enthusiastically as the "New York Giants" because they scared away the predatory foosa. They were feared/respected, but not seen as divine.

By: allthewhile

allthewhile — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:25:37 -0800

Thanks to everyone who provided an answer to me!