Page - 112 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01

Style As Wright states, subject matter alone does not make a film or series religious.22 The style of Vikings creates a strong religious dynamic and conveys deliberate reli- gious constructs. Intense imagery and stylistic effects express collisions and conflict between Christian and pagan religions, which largely revolve around the principal characters and their narratives. Camerawork blends the two religious systems, likely presenting something of the historical reality.23 At many points, detailed attention is given to the symbols and rituals of the two religions. Visual references to Christ and his Passion, even to the point of a (historically inaccurate) re-enactment of the Cruci- fixion, are presented alongside pagan sacrificial rituals. The portrayal of the individ- ual characters is complex, although in the later series the characters are less devel- oped and somewhat flatter. Nevertheless, it is this ever changing filmic movement that sustains the deliberate attempt to create meaning throughout the episodes. Cultural and Religious Context The cultural and religious contexts in which the series is embedded were in reality more ambiguous than is suggested. The cultural context was likely more democratic than depicted,24 and the society less violent.25 Scholars have pointed out that, in contrast to the image given here, religious beliefs were diverse and the popularity of the various gods differed from place to place. Anders Hultgård and others state that Viking religion was a non-doctrinal community religion, in contrast to doctrinal transnational religions like Christianity.26 The script, written by Hirst, across the four series suggests a transitional and syncretistic period, and indeed attempts to recon- struct a strongly unified Viking religion have proved problematic and overly harmo- nizing. Surviving sources suggest shifts and variety, with the underlying theology, mythology and worldviews multifaceted and connected to similar forms beyond the Viking world.27 The figure of Ragnar is evidently a composite of various legends, 22 Wright 2007, 11–30. 23 Brink 2008, 212–257; Richards 2005, 19–29; Andersson 2016. 24 Brink 2008, 11–49; Andersson 2016. 25 Richards 2005. 26 Hultgård in Brink 2008, 212. 27 For example, the mythical representation of the world as a cosmic tree (Yggdrasill). According to Brink and others the closest comparison is found in ancient Iranian religion, with myths containing depictions of the tree and its branches: “The trunk of the cosmic tree is also thought to contain nine mountains from which all waters of the earth flow forth. These similarities together with evidence from Greek, Phrygian and Indic traditions indicate that the Scandinavian idea of the world-tree is part of an Indo-European mythic heritage, which has analogies also among Finno-Ugric peoples of northern Eurasia”, Brink 2008, 215. “Someday Our Gods Will be Friends” | 111www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 103–126