American Vulcan: Mythology of War and Xenophobia in American Gods

Luis Alberto Pérez-Amezcua; Jorge Bladimir Ramírez Guerrero

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Chapter 13 American Vulcan

Mythology of War and Xenophobia in American Gods

In: Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero

Authors:

Luis Alberto Pérez-Amezcua

Luis Alberto Pérez-Amezcua
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Jorge Bladimir Ramírez Guerrero

Jorge Bladimir Ramírez Guerrero
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 319–336

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004744264_015

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Abstract

We would like to suggest that TV shows are the best new mythophors. American Gods is probably the best example, since it is a piece of work capable of taking myth to any part of the world on-demand. This chapter aims to determine the way in which showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green introduce the character of the Roman God Vulcan in the sixth episode of the drama television series (“A murder of Gods”) in order to criticize the cult of war in the United States in the hyper capitalist system and the risks that this worship involves. The myth of Vulcan, God of the Fire and the Forge, is also re-elaborated in a structure that points out the Mexican and Latin American immigration into the United States and the economic system based on factories that demand sacrifices. The audiovisual narrative serves as a reminder of the xenophobia still present at the border, where a gang of American vigilantes kills a group of people (accompanied by a Mexican Jesus) trying to cross the Rio Grande with bullets manufactured by the Vulcan factory. From a myth-criticism point of view, the chapter demonstrates that Vulcan is appropriated by American showrunners to reveal Western and, more directly, American concerns surrounding the industry of weapons and the culture of discrimination. We propose Vulcan is viewed as an instrument of memory—although symbolically—to remember the profound roots of violence.

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Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero

Series: New Research in the History of Western Philosophy, Volume: 12

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004744264

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 21 Nov 2025

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Chapter 13 American Vulcan

Mythology of War and Xenophobia in American Gods

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Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero

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