Blog Post # 26

As we transition from Dante's Inferno and begin our evaluation of Vincent Ward's What Dreams May Come, we were asked to compare the two works in a way that each of these pieces would reflect each other. After hearing all the presentations about Dante's Inferno and watching What Dreams May Come, I see that there are many similarities and references to Dante in the film. The first and most symbolic of all the relations was Chris Neilsen's guide into Hell, The Tracker. He is the depiction of Virgil. Both are guides into the underworld, and both act as a mentor to the one they lead. Later on the watcher finds out that The Tracker is actually Albert, the medical expert Chris trained under in college. Albert led Chris in his life, and now he leads his soul through Hell. They have a special kind of relationship, one that allows them to always count on each other. It also shows the path of life, in the sense of the soul. Albert was black in a physical condition on Earth, but his soul always viewed himself as the old wise man he was when he appeared to Chris in Heaven. Together they pass through many regions of Hell similar to those described in Dante's Inferno. The gates of Hell is a ship graveyard, filled with battleships and other wreckage. Violent, tortured souls slum about, waiting to be lowered in through the gates. The first level, or plane, they both reach is the "sea of faces". This is the Illustration of The River of Styx. It is not exactly the same, but you can see the connection. When Chris falls into Annie's personal Hell, he finds it to be their house in a giant upside down church-the church they were married in. This is using Dante's idea of Contrapasso. The sin the soul commits should fit the crime. Each person is punished differently, but they are all divided up into different levels. Albert helps Chris, telling him to make sure he comes back out of the house in under three minutes otherwise he will be pulled down into Annie's world she created for herself. When Chris decides to stay with Annie, Albert helps them both escape before both of them got stuck in Hell forever. Albert is not only a great friend that Chris will have for many more lives to come, but also the ideal Virgil to him. He fits the part, and plays it beautifully.
The second most notable association between Dante's Inferno and What Dreams May Come is the gates of Hell. Both appear as a huge, gaping, horrifying place that you usually wouldn't return from. They both symbolize the many people sinning, for the gate is swarmed with incoming souls in both these pieces. Each of the main characters make it back out of Hell, and are both led by a guide through the gate. The entrance of Hell is a dark place, one with people of all wars and all sins, usually violent ones. The gates of Hell in What Dreams May Come  is a ship graveyard, filled with all the tired souls of soldiers and sunken battleships. This is the wrathful level of Hell. You could get lost in it, and all those waiting are violent, not saying that soldiers go to Hell. The main and final ship is called the Cerberus, the three headed dog of Greek Mythology that is so often used in Dante. Everything is red and burning, and all the souls carry a white flag - surrendering their will and giving in. War is Hell, and this representation in both of these works says something. The use of boats as the main form of transportation all throughout What Dreams May Come is symbolic, its trying to make it seem older and more connected to Dante. The colors noted all point to those represented in the many Cantos of Hell, and the sense of life and what to make of it ties in with Dante's reason for writing The Divine Comedy. In the end, both of these works were working for one simple thing: the realization of what happens when we die, be that good or bad. There are different beliefs, different religions, all kinds of opinions from all over the world but one may never know for sure until it happens. Life is a mystery, but not one to solve. Dante's Inferno and What Dreams May Come are both beautiful representations of what the afterlife could be.