This is part three of the Sandman and American Gods series. The intro is here and part one is here. This is part two, which discusses the theme of “poor old pagan gods, nobody worships them any more”, which is repeated ad nauseam through American Gods and Sandman.
So, it’s stated numerous times throughout American Gods that these gods have no more worshipers any more. The gods make long speeches about not being remembered. The plot could have been very easily modified as “we have few worshipers, but they’re growing”, but it isn’t. It’s also said that them not being worshiped makes them weaker.
Big snag here: he puts all of the non-Christian deities (and folklore creatures, and so on) together, in the same boat. Including Kali, even though Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world (eighth in the US, both according to Adherents.com, although their info is woefully out of date so the numbers could be off). This is addressed, but only in passing and only once – towards the beginning of the book, Kali says she “does well” compared to the other gods. This is putting Hinduism in a with a group of religions that has a much smaller number of followers than it does. This could also be said for Baron Samedi or Anansi, since African diaspora religions are ranked 8th in the world.
It’s also odd because the whole point of the conflict is that it’s between old gods who are dying and new gods (including things like media, the internet, the automobile industry). That’s why Odin is able to manipulate the other deities, because they’re all afraid of being replaced and/or dying. Nevermind the fact that the number of pagans in America grew several times over between 1991 and 2001*, and has very possibly already multiplied several times again. Or the fact that Hinduism in America is definitely not under any threat of disappearing any time soon.
This is a recurring theme in Gaiman’s work, being invoked several times in Sandman as well – and not just within the confines of America. In one issue of Sandman, Bast monologues about how she wakes up cold and lonely in her temple and looks for people praying for her – there is only one worldwide, a little girl (I guess it’s supposed to be because she doesn’t know any better). That, my friends, is a total crock. Bast is an extremely popular deity, among Egyptian pagans and eclectic pagans.
One of my biggest issues with this is that, well, not only is it insulting to and an erasure of followers of non monotheist religions, but to the uninformed reader, it’s confirmation of the “fact” that nobody worships these deities any more, so they’re fair game. Someone unaware of paganism reading Gaiman’s work is less likely than someone say, reading the newspaper, but it’s very possible. And even among people who are aware of paganism, many think of us as exactly how the waitress is portrayed in American Gods – people who are incredibly uninformed and in essence, a total joke. These pagans do exist, but there are plenty of us (I would wager the majority) who aren’t like that. Many still view paganism as something not to be taken seriously as a group of religions and depictions like this – the only depiction of an actual pagan in any of Gaiman’s work – reinforce that.
Still think the portrayal isn’t necessarily all bad? Well, here’s what Wednesday/Odin says after stiffing the “pagan” waitress ten dollars & being chided by Shadow about it:
“What the hell else can I do? They don’t sacrifice rams or bulls to me. They don’t send me the souls of killers and slaves, gallows-hung and raven-picked.”
Ah yes. Because see, one of Those Pagan Gods wouldn’t care about anything except for that. No, Calvin Odin is one of the old gods! He demands sacrifice!* (transcript of comic at bottom of post)
And then we have the portrayal of pagan gods in Sandman. The Norse deities (Odin, Thor, and Loki anyways…) are the only ones featured extensively, although Bast makes several appearances. The Hindu deities make a quick appearance but have no dialog, some Shinto gods show up at a dinner party in one issue, and Anubis accompanies Bast at the same party. Lucifer is a more likable character than any of the Norse deities. Thor is portrayed as a drunken frat boy type that Dream has to reprimand because he gets drunk and relentlessly/crudely hits on Bast. At a formal event. Bast is portrayed fairly uninsultingly, at least, aside from the lonely monologue.
Plenty of other non-Christian deities don’t make an appearance in either work, but I do have to add: the Vanic deities are never featured in either work. Not. Once. I don’t even think they’re mentioned. I guess I should probably be grateful, since given all things, I would probably not be happy with the portrayal – but I sure get sick of the Vanir always being glossed over for the Aesir!
I’m certainly not saying that everyone who wants to write about non-Christian deities needs to have experienced them personally, but I wish they would remember: they are not just a storytelling device. They are living, breathing deities for hundreds of thousands of people and as such, they, and we, deserve some respect.
*Rough estimates put it at 8,000 in 1991 and 134,000 to almost 200,000 in 2001 – note that these are numbers of Wiccans & so the total pagan population might be higher.
*It has been noted within several pagan circles that the gods also enjoy sacrifices of, for example, time, whether spent on creating artwork for the deity or say, volunteering for a charity that is appropriate. Or even learning more about that deity, whether through meditation or homework. However, this is never mentioned in fiction. Go figure.
The link is to a Calvin & Hobbes comic. The first panel is blank and says, in an old timey font, “First there was nothing…”. Second panel is a close up of an eye and says “…then there was Calvin!”. Third panel: “Calvin, the mighty god, creates the universe will pure will!” with a bearded male figure rising out of light that has his arms upraised. Fourth panel: “From utter nothingness comes swirling form! Life begins where once was void!”, with close up of a hand surrounded by planets. Fifth panel: “But Calvin is no kind and loving god! He’s one of the old gods! He demands sacrifice!” with a face close up. Sixth panel: “Yes, Calvin is a god of the underworld! And the puny inhabitants of earth displease him!” with “Calvin’s” back and the earth between his hands. Seventh panel: “The great Calvin ignores their pleas for mercy and the doomed writhe in agony!” (an explosion behind the text). Eighth panel: Calvin (a white, blonde, six year old male child) is shown in the background with his parents talking in the foreground. His dad: “Have you seen how absorbed Calvin is with those tinkertoys? He’s creating whole worlds over there!” His mom: “I’ll bet he grows up to be an architect!”.
