‘The Sandman’ A Theology Of Dreams And Death That Might Just Put You To Sleep
(REVIEW) Every society tells stories. And all of them tell stories about what ultimate reality is like. What may be unique about ours is that we tend to not think our shared stories actually reflect reality (except in a deeper “truer than true” sense). A growing number of people don’t believe the accounts of the Bible actually happened. And nobody thinks “Lord of the Rings,” the Marvel cinematic universe or “Harry Potter” ever happened in the real world.
So it’s fitting that many of our modern stories make storytelling itself the center of reality. Enter Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman.” Based on a series of graphic novels by the aforementioned Gaiman, “The Sandman” follows the titular King of Dreams — known as “Dream” — as he tries to fulfill his duties while defending his kingdom and ours from threats sourced in every realm of imagination.
Netflix’s adaptation was a massive hit for the streaming service in its first season and likewise for its second, leading many to be surprised that the show had entered its final season (leading many to speculate that Gaiman’s recent scandals were the reason — speculation Netflix team has denied). But for the benefit of such a definitive end, the showrunners really got to give the series a thesis statement about the way they see the world. And it’s one that’s interesting to reflect on because of the ways it — for good and bad — reflects the stories our modern world is telling.
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It’s easy to see the appeal of Gaiman’s imaginative world. In “The Sandman” mythology, everything imagined is in some sense real — from God to Satan to the Greek and Norse gods to “Lord of the Rings”-style (at least in part) elves. Through Dream, we’re able to explore — and in many cases challenge — the characters and stories that have shaped our imagination with a sort of postmodern self-awareness that these are stories reflecting on stories and what stories mean in our lives.
However, the main issue with “The Sandman” is how boring it is. For a show about gods and fantasy creatures and a protagonist who is the literal embodiment of imagination, most of the show is spent with characters just talking with each other in front of what looks like green screen.
These conversations get quickly repetitive, as they go over the same musings about the nature of death for the 10th time or how arrogant Dream used to be but now has changed. They don’t explore the vast areas of hell, the dreamworld, elves or anywhere else, but merely use them as backdrops for the characters talking to each other. They will often set up exciting battles (like Dream taking on the Corinthian or Dream Vortex) or rivalries — only for those to get sidelined or resolved with a deus ex machina.
There are a few storylines that work and do pay off in the end. Dream’s battle of wits against all the gods and fantasy creatures for the key to hell expands the mythology and works with a relatively satisfying ending. At the same time, his relationship with his son Morpheus is teased and also developed.
Religion vs. spirituality
What’s most interesting about “The Sandman” is not the show itself, but what it says about religion and spirituality. The show has plenty to say about death and faith in ways that fit exactly in with many trends of our modern day. In this way, “The Sandman” is itself a time capsule of modern-day dreams about our life and how the world works.
For starters, “The Sandman” reflects our world today in that it doesn’t deny religious beliefs, but mixes and matches them and subordinates them under the banner of imagination. Ryan Burge has often pointed out that most modern people who leave church are not strictly speaking becoming more secular, but simply turning less religious. More people today believe in an afterlife in America than did in the 1970s, but fewer people are going to church. As a result, modern American society is simply rejecting organized religion and trust in its formulation of God and reality, preferring to mix and match notions of God and spirituality that please us.
Because it reflects this “mix and match” view of spirituality, it’s fitting that the show so fully embraces the moral superiority of women. As I’ve written before, men and women are drifting apart on faith, with Gen Z men more likely to be “religious” (going to church and accepting religious dogmas), while women are more likely to leave the church and become "spiritual” by embracing New Age practices.
“The Sandman” regularly embraces women and traditionally feminine personality traits as wiser than men and masculine traits. Most of Dream’s storylines come in the form of being challenged in his moral stances and behavior by the show’s many female characters such as Death, Dellerium, Lucienne, Joanna Constantine and Nada), then apologizes and follows their instructions. Even when this comes from a male character, it tends to be in favor of following tender feelings of the heart (which are associated with love) and against strict adherence to rules and duty (which are associated with cruelty when pitted against tender feelings).
Turning death into a dream
Its portrayal of death also falls in line with modern secular sensibilities. As I’ve written recently, this year’s Hollywood films talk a lot about death with a great deal of consistency. The main message: Death is inevitable so we need to embrace and enjoy life before it ends. The people who suffer the most from death — and cause others to suffer as well — are those who refuse to accept its inevitability.
“The Sandman” embraces this view. Death is portrayed as a kind, wise, lighthearted young woman who loves people and loves life even as she guides people beyond it. At times, “The Sandman” goes even further — arguing for death’s necessity. One character refuses to come back to life when offered the chance by the new Dream, giving a speech about how death is what gives life meaning.
Although dying is associated with being forgotten, the characters argue that stories are the answer to death. One character says as much, arguing that telling stories leads to legacy. This is the importance of dreams and its connection to death. You see, death is necessary to give lives meaning and dreams are necessary so those who once lived are not forgotten. There are, however, problems with this modern death myth. The notion that accepting the permanence of death is necessary for optimal happiness is dubious given that religious people are consistently happier than non-religious ones.
The series’ final episode (arguably its best one) gets closer to the truth in arguing that the solution to meaninglessness and despair about death is found in relationships. The problem is that it never acknowledges the institutions that make them stable long-term like marriage.
As Brad Wilcox notes in his book “Get Married,” couples with children (both women and men ) are the happiest demographic because they are embedded in satisfying relationships with a high degree of stability. Married people who go to church are the happiest and most stable of all because they’re embedded in a series of stable beliefs, duties and commitments. However, duties and commitments are often portrayed as the problem in “The Sandman.”
In the end, the main issue with “The Sandman” is not that what it teaches isn’t true. It’s that, despite its constant insistence to the contrary, it isn’t beautiful. And when a dream isn’t true or beautiful, there’s no point in doing anything but to wake up.
Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at josephholmesstudios.com.