Monday, March 3, 2014

Editorial: Gilligan's Island and the Seven Deadly Sins

You might not ever think of these people the same...
Now just sit right back, and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a tiny ship... who went out set a sail on a three hour trip... (Yes a three hour trip.) Everyone knows of their sad story of how the crew of the S.S. Minnow became shipwrecked on a remote island due to a heavy storm and thus they had to spend the rest of their lives (presumably) together. Along the way, they had wild antics, and several hundred ideas to get off the island... only to have the idea foiled, in one form or another.

BUT What you wouldn't know is underlying the antics, the comedy... the dramatic irony that we as the viewer knew they'd never get off the island, that they would never know... is the subtle evil that each of the members of the S.S. Minnow crew possessed. And I hope this entry, will prove that Gilligan's Island, may actually be Satan's island (which might have been the setting of "The Lord of the Flies" by William Golding.)

First let's examine the character Ginger... the movie star. With her beautiful looks, and her seemingly perfect body... is it any wonder that she was the object of the male character's affection? Ginger knew also that she was tempting them... therefore Ginger represents Lust on Gilligan's island. Because of this Lust... The professor couldn't come up with his best plans, The Skipper usually calmed down around her, the millionaire noticed her, and Gilligan was... well Gilligan. It is clear that Ginger, who is as sexy as she is dumb... represents the Lust so richly needed as part of the seven-peat equation... that Hell offers.

On the other end, Mary Anne who is often jealous of the attention that Ginger receives... is an adequate representation of Envy. Anyone who has ever watched this show of Gilligan's island can sympathize with Mary Anne. We all know how she never got any play. The only character on the show however that seemed to had somewhat of a thing for Mary Anne, was Gilligan. Mary Anne always had to play second string to our Lusty movie star Ginger.

Next on our list is the Millionaire's wife. With her "I won't do it" attitude, and quality of not WANTING to do anything, she is the perfect candidate for the deadly sin, Sloth. Other than that, only about 6% of all Gilligan's Island episode had the Millionaire's wife for more than 5 minutes, in a single episode. Ratings are lowered by inactive characters, and somehow I think that she knew it. But can you blame the cast? The Millionaire's wife never contributed to any of the ideas that any of the other members had, and she never dirtied her hands making food, providing shelter, or anything that required labor. She would have been first to throw over... and be voted off the island. She is the weakest link... good-bye.

Which brings me to the Millionaire himself. Well, it's obvious that with his money, and his coveting... he represents that faithful sin of Greed. Let's face it... the Millionaire obviously salvaged most if not all of his best clothing, his lawn chair, his pillows, a blanket... amongst other things... which makes me wonder how it is he could salvage all of this, plus his wife, and still make it ashore. But it does explain a lot in how he's Greed and she (being his wife) is Sloth. With all of that stuff he salvaged... don't you think that he could have had the kindness to at least share a tiny fraction of things to the others? Nope. Yeah, he too would have been voted off, and all his riches would have been divided between the others.

The Professor, with his vast intellect, superior knowledge, and slightly more sophisticated vocabulary, usually set himself apart from the other members of this island of hell, by working on one of his many plans to get the others off the island. You would think that The Professor was the voice of sanity... but in all actuality, he too like all the others represents a sin... and his, is Pride. For all the reasons mentioned above... The Professor clearly thinks that he is indeed better than the others. He is smarter than everyone else... (Maybe perhaps combined) and he always seems to keep himself very clean, while everyone else seems to be unkempt. The Professor also works on his ideas for the most part, alone... thus symbolizing his "holier-than-thou" attitude.

The Skipper actually represents two of the seven deadly sins. First is Anger (or Wrath), I mean, let's face it... The Skipper is always yelling at poor ol' Gilligan (Though the true reason why this might be so... will be featured later.) because of his bungling. But The Skipper only yells at Gilligan, which may mean that The Skipper has bipolar disease, or an anger complex that is triggered by Gilligan's stupidity. It is not known the reason behind The Skipper's Anger just towards Gilligan... when this Wrath subsides when he's around anyone else BUT Gilligan.

The second ailment of The Skipper, is Gluttony. Let's face it... out of all of the members of the S.S. Minnow... The Skipper is the most rotund. this is because the Skipper enjoys eating. Perhaps the source of his Wrath, comes from his Gluttony. He's angry because he's fat... He's fat because he's angry... and poor ol' Gilligan, the skinniest male character has the take the brunt of The Skipper's projection. The Skipper also likes the women (with the exception of the Millionaire's wife.) to a point of Gluttony. (Moreso Ginger than Mary Anne.) Gluttony is liking something far too much... and when it comes to food. The Skipper fits the bill more than perfectly.

Lust, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Pride, Wrath, and Gluttony... those are the seven deadly sins. So... if all seven of the deadly sins are covered already, what exactly does Gilligan represent? The answer is obvious. Gilligan is Satan. And there are two reasons for this. First... Gilligan is the one who somehow always manages to bungle up or foil their plans to escape the island. Second... has anyone else wondered why Gilligan always wore that red sweater?

Makes you kind of think of what other shows features a bungling Satan, and other sins...