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The Bhagavad-Gita & Bagger Vance
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A comparison of the Hindu text and the Hollywood movie, originally submitted as an essay for my Eastern Religions course (recycle!).
 Junuh and Arjuna are both introduced to on the verge of confronting similarly momentous tasks. I consider Junuh to be the more complex of the two protagonists, but this complexity is, in my opinion, the result of the Bagger Vance author, Steven Pressfield, needing to place the problem of a Junuh’s participation in a golf tournament in context. Arjuna is a great and capable warrior who abruptly questions his role as a warrior shortly before battle. Yet Junuh’s path is longer and more colorful. Once an acclaimed young golfer, a tour of duty in World War I resulted in his enduring a horrific and devastating experience which saw him return to his home of Savannah as a wholly different individual, taken to a shadowy life of alcohol and gambling. I see Arjuna’s dilemma as simple when compared to the depth of Junuh’s struggle against himself and the sport which he once excelled at, but won’t allow himself to now play. Krishna and Bagger both fill a role similar to that of a guru for their corresponding, confused protagonists. In a sense I conceive of Arjuna and Junuh as broken machines or disabled people who must be rewired or re-taught to operate in the same manner as they had before the disturbance occurred. I especially like the image of both Arjuna and Junuh being surrounded by individuals who are acting just as the two protagonists should: Arjuna has lost the will to fight yet is on a battlefield brimming with warriors while Junuh has lost the will for golf while surrounded by a city frenzied by the tournament. Krishna must dispel Arjuna’s fear of death in battle, which is done by reminding Arjuna that his atman (soul) is indestructible. In his present life Arjuna is a warrior, and his dharma (duty) is to fight in battles without concern for his own death. For Bagger to tell Junuh that his purpose in life is to play golf, and to not concern himself with the disruptive remembrances such as war, will not succeed among audiences unfamiliar with Hindu virtues. Instead, Bagger seeks to inspire Junuh to recover his talent to play the sport like the champion he once was. While Krishna lectures Arjuna at length with reasons for abiding by his dharma, Bagger first ensures a calming presence that Junuh requires to discover his old technique. Thereafter Bagger serves as Junuh’s helmsman, steering him through the turbulence he encounters during the tournament. It is here that I feel the most significant departure between text and film occurs. I hold an image of Krishna and Arjuna having a pep talk much like a coach and his best player right before the commencement of a game, only this time the game is between two massive armies ready to lay waste to one another. The film, meanwhile, must provide more action and wades into the protagonist’s task: the golf tournament. While Arjuna is brought to his senses and then goes to battle, the majority of the assistance provided by Bagger to Junuh occurs during the tournament. When the chore of restoring Junuh’s winning technique is satisfied, the question of how to keep Junuh focused arises. The eagerness of the Savannah citizens to see their local sportsman succeed, especially Hardy Greaves, serves to refocus Junuh’s motivations on winning. It is in this matter that karma is introduced. While it is one thing for an individual to purpose their dharma, in Hindu the emphasis is that the individual performs their dharma in the best possible way. Junuh is not concerned with being a great golfer for the sake of having good karma, but there is a question of which what is most important to him. Is he to be a great golfer by winning by any means or a great golfer by respecting the sport he excels at, even if he loses in the process? Junuh is confronted with this quandary when accidentally he causes his ball to move. He can either risk falling, perhaps irrevocably, behind his competitors by charging himself with a fault, or he could ignore this disadvantageous occurrence and improve his chances to win. That Junuh chooses the former and charges himself for the movement attests to his respect for the sport. By this action he has fulfilled the expectations of Bagger and restored himself to a paramount and respectable player. When I consider The Legend of Bagger Vance to be a retelling of The Bhagavad-Gita I am prompted to respond that it is a decent reinterpretation. Does the film offer an accurate depiction of Hindu virtues like the original text, no it does not. But the film does convey several of the Hindu themes (dharma, karma, and atman) even if this is not its intention. One of the messages I take from the film is that of being true to oneself and not denying talents or enjoyments because life tends to distort and complicate our views. When Junuh deviates from golf he resorts to gambling and drinking, a lifestyle which is hardly productive and healthy. The Gita negatively regards the abandonment of one’s dharma, and in the case of Junuh, Bagger Vance reaches the same conclusion. |
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