I just finished a pretty dumb graphic novel that I got from the library:



It's pretty standard-issue supernatural thriller stuff: giant demon-king wants to take over the world, and needs human hosts to do it. His little goblin-imps can possess people and make them do their bidding. Only four teenagers stand in the way: the geek, the jock, the cheerleader and the outcast, helped by a lady pastor and her giant, silent tough-guy helper.

What struck me was a scene where this invisible demon-imp, watching a high school corridor from atop the lockers, suddenly wants to touch the bottom of the cheerleader character, is overcome by lust for her, and so possesses one of the teachers so he has solid hands to touch her with. Yeah, it's creepy in a bad way. But this demon-imp risks the whole big evil plan just so he can get his hands on a human girl. I mean, this is another species, from another dimension, and still earth girls are hot to him?

It reminded me of all those movies where angels come to earth, and fall in love with human women, and give up immortality in order to love her. What is it with supernatural beings and earth women?? How come there are no stories about female angels giving up immortality to be with earth men?

So; for discussion:

What are some films that line up with this stereotype?

What are some films that break with this stereotype? (I can already think of at least one)

And why is this theme so prevalent in fiction? What is it about earth girls?

Wings of Desire/ City of Angels

Superman II




Earth Girls are Easy

Just ask Jeff Goldblum and Jim Carey.

This topic has been moved to the better-suited "Film Awards, Festivals, and Lists" forum...

The one I was thinking about is Return of the King - in that one, it's a female angel giving up immortality for a human male.

Angel?

LOTR 101: Wizards ≈ angels; elves ≈ "chosen people"

Backrow Baptist wrote:
: Superman II

In that spirit, we could also nominate The Last Temptation of Christ, although there it is divinity rather than angelicity that is (seemingly) abandoned for the love of a woman.

Then again, what's the difference between an angel and a god, anyway? (Paging Professor Ransom... paging Professor Ransom...)

From a Judeo-Christian point of view, the ur-text for this sort of thing would be Genesis 6, where the "bene ha'elohim" -- variously translated as "the sons of God", "the sons of the gods", "the company of the gods" and so on -- enter into marriage with human women, and these relationships, combined with the heroic demi-gods which are the offspring of these relationships, are one of the main reasons that God decides to send a flood, to wipe out this forbidden mating of heaven and earth.

To supplement Genesis 6:1-4, I recommend the first book of Enoch, and the section called the Book of Watchers. I think the extra-canonical work falls under the time period of Second Temple Judaism. The writer of Jude was familiar with the first, second, and third book of Enoch, for he alludes to the third.

I was speaking thematically, not literally. I understand the taxonomy of Middle Earth...

To be fair...it's been prevalent since the earliest days of mythology. The Greek gods were not human. But boy did they chase the humans. I think it makes more sense in the "spiritual thriller" story than in the sci-fi stories. Especially with a demon that is probably driven by general lusts and desires and seeks to satiate them.

In fiction, generally speaking (not in the example you cite), the idea of the non-human desiring a human plays more for the metaphors of the lengths people go for "love". It's also a metaphor for the inter-racial relationship.

Prophecy 2 and Prophecy 3 both have plot lines revolving around angels mating with humans.

Also, Angels in the Outfield shows angels giving baseball players massages. That is semi-erotic activity.

Lets not forget The Bishop's Wife and later The Preacher's Wife. Cary Grant and Denzel Washington as far too frisky angels in my book.

Rosemary's Baby

Let's not forget the "sons of god" and the Nephilim in Genesis 6.

FWIW, it's not just "supernatural" beings per se. Human women are hot to many non-human species, e.g., King Kong (and others have already pointed to alien connections). On a related note, John Byrne once pointed out in his run on She-Hulk that many alien races in pulp fantasy have women who are babes while the men "look like something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe" (paraphrased from memory).


Um. Let's not get too rigid here. The most basic taxonomical distinction in Middle-earth, even more so than original/unfallen species and corrupt/fallen species, is between mortal and immortal races. Elves and wizards are immortal, Ents, men, dwarves and hobbits are mortal. Elves, with wizards, certainly qualify as "supernatural beings" in a way that the mortal races do not.

I'm not sure if the definition of supernatural for this thread applies to vampires, but it seems to me that the downfall in most vampire films (from Nosferatu to Keanu Reev... uh Francis Ford Coppola's Brams Stoker's Dracula) is the lust or wanting of human women. I know that vampires were once human, but are described as supernatural once they cross over into the realm of the undead. Near Dark reverses the norm, by having a female vampire's attraction for a human male lead to the downfall of her clan.

Also, does Emperor Tod Spengo's (jon Lovitz) lust for human Marge Nelson (Teri Garr) in Mom and Dad Save the World count here?

Michael Todd wrote:
: To supplement Genesis 6:1-4, I recommend the first book of Enoch, and the section called the Book of Watchers. I think the extra-canonical work falls under the time period of Second Temple Judaism. The writer of Jude was familiar with the first, second, and third book of Enoch, for he alludes to the third.

FWIW, I'm not familiar with these books myself, but your reference to Enoch reminds me that Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy includes a depiction of Enoch as a former human who has since become an angel, and an evil angel at that; and if memory serves, his downfall ultimately comes about because he longs to feel a woman's flesh again.

SDG wrote:
: Let's not forget the "sons of god" and the Nephilim in Genesis 6.

We didn't.

: On a related note, John Byrne once pointed out in his run on She-Hulk that many alien races in pulp fantasy have women who are babes while the men "look like something you scrape off the bottom of your shoe" (paraphrased from memory).

Hmmm, reminds me of Disney's depiction of the "Red Man" (and, uh, "red woman", I guess) in Peter Pan. Tiger Lily may be kinda sexy, but her dad ... ugh.

FWIW, I think the male-angel-fallling-for-female-human motif may be driven to some degree by a tendency in some quarters to see women as sexual and physical and men as spiritual and cerebral. But in cases where, e.g., someone like Arwen gives up immortality for someone like Aragorn, the tendency may be to see women as exalted and ethereal and men as physical and brutish (and I don't mean that last word as a criticism; I'm just acknowledging that warfare tends to be men's work, not women's, in places like Middle-Earth, exceptional cases such as Eowyn notwithstanding).

The Entity

And for the mortal men /supernatural women...
Stargate
Cocoon

Darn it, I scanned on both "sons of god" and "Nephilim," figuring that any mention would be sure to use one of those phrases -- and somehow you avoided them both. I knew I should have checked "Genesis 6" too....

Hmmm ...


Would the capitalization have made the difference, I wonder? The punctuation, maybe? (Serious questions. Search engines puzzle me sometimes.)

In Starman, the alien guy falls for the human woman, but I can't remember if he gives up his life voluntarily or not. Anyone remember?