In Warhammer 40K lore, there is some loose evidence that the Orks are able to control reality through belief. The most commonly cited example is that Orks believe that red is a fast color, so they paint their vehicles red and, then their red vehicles do go faster. True 40K lore aficionados will dispute this idea of and Orky gestalt field, and I am not going to argue with them. However, the idea of belief shaping reality is important to American Gods and I like thinking about the implications.
In American Gods, various ancient gods in America are present but severely weakened due to lack of belief. They are under siege by beliefs in modernity. These modern institutions are given physical manifestations; Technology is a pimply nerd. As beliefs change, I want to think about how these manifestations would change over the years.
The ancient gods of American Gods are probably pretty set in stone. If anyone is still worshipping Anubis or Aphrodite, I imagine they are worshipping the traditional view of those gods. They were worshipped in certain manners for thousands of years, at this point nothing is changing. However, the modern world changes at an extreme pace. So when ideas like Media are given a manifestation, how secure is that manifestation?
Social media has almost taken over the internet. American Gods was written back in 2001, years before Facebook was even released. In the book, Technology was a greasy, insecure loser who raved about the power of digital information and fiber optic cables. I am trying to remember if that is how most people saw computers and the internet two decades ago: the domain of fat virgins. Would 2023 Technology look like an Instagram model or TikTok influencer? The book is about worship and how large groups interact with an idea, not the fundamental underpinning of the concept. Compared to how many of us that enjoy wasting time with content creators online, how many people regularly really think about the engineers making the internet work?
American Gods was vague on the meaning of ‘worship.’ There are a few scenes where humans are encouraged to purposefully worship. However, people do not bow down in front of their computers and chant hymns. Perhaps worship in this sense is a practical worship. People use their computers and cars every day. Does that mindless use multiplied millions of times over count as serious worship? If true, I would love to see an American Gods manifestation of the NFL. Of all the American institutions, very few have the cachet as football. Is is a coincidence that Sunday services end before lunch so people can get home for the game? I don’t know, but I also don’t think churches want to test their popularity by directly competing with the NFL. I bet many priests and pastors would be unpleasantly surprised by their congregations.
The Keasy Depot 