The 21st Century Golem

You may recall my post from a few weeks ago on "talismanic incantations," the modern-day political, social, and religious magic words we use to invoke the outcomes for which we hope. Naturally, after I wrote that post, I saw this very interesting video from the PBS series "Otherwords" titled "The Linguistic Origins of Magic Words."

It gives a very interesting and understandable (for us linguists, especially) look at the history and use of "magic words," and reminded me of a cautionary tale I'd long forgotten about - the story of the golem.

Not to be confused with "Gollum," the tragic figure from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," the golem is a creature formed from a lifeless substance (often mud) brought to life by a human creator using ritual incantations and sequences of Hebrew letters to be a helper, a companion, or the rescuer of an imperiled Jewish community. Many golem stories are cautionary tales of the unintended consequences of evoking mystical powers, as the creature spins out of control and becomes a threat to its creator.

A golem menaces the heroine (of course) in a 1915 film.

There are differing versions of how the magic words are used to bring the golem to life. Some say that the clay figure comes to life when the magic words (called the shem) are written on a slip of paper and placed in the golem's mouth, while others claim that the words must be inscribed in the clay of the monster's forehead; no matter which version, the golem can only be stopped when the magic words are removed - by pulling the shem from the golem's mouth or erasing it from its forehead ... either action being, of course, potentially fatal to the one attempting the removal.

Why am I thinking about golems at this moment, you ask? Well, it occurs to me that we have the 21st-century equivalent of a golem, created from sh ... uh ... mud and animated by a talismanic incantation inscribed on its forehead, that has spun out of control and become a threat to its creators and supporters as well as its foes ...

If only we could save ourselves simply by removing the inscription-bearing hat.

Have a good day. Don't vote for golems ... it never ends well.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo