Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons

Time to look at holy beings in media!

Some of my favourite creatures are angels. Constantine (2005) shows the interaction between a select few humans, and the war between powerful angels and demons. What's interesting is there is no good/bad, but rather power intentions between the two creatures. Even John Constantine is of selfish intent and despises both creatures. 

What's interesting is the colour scheme for heaven, holding soft blue and orange hues. Both Heaven and Hell are shown as is commonly known in Holy scripts - a beautiful cloud haven and deathly fiery land - but looks very similar to a man-made city. I personally find these interpretations of heaven and hell very cliche. What's slightly fresher is the show of angels and demons.

Angels are shown to be more uncaring than a human would originally perceive, and the demons are of unique design too. But even still, the demons are one visual creature, grotesque, show nothing but bad intentions (while angels seem to have good and bad), why is it that these demons cannot talk or share their desire? The Devil for a change however is clad in white.

Heavenly Garden in Tekken TTT2 (2012)

Contrasting the above, Fallen Garden in Tekken TTT2 (2012)

Paradiso in Bayonetta (2009)

"The Farplane. The place that unites the living with their memory of the dead" - Yuna, Final Fantasy X (2001)

"The Garden" is the core of Heaven in TV series Supernatural (2005) The idea that Heaven is actually one of flourishing nature and connected to the Garden of Eden is an over used concept. Instead, a fresh twist would be ideal, but must also have the good interest of humans (as Heaven is supposedly the grand resting place/the highest achievement after life). Why is it that humans have created Heaven to look like either a garden, clouds, or Earth? Where has this imprint come from? Do other cultures/faiths impact how different Heaven is in different medias?

One of the first levels of Supernatural's Hell

El Shaddai (2011) features unique artwork all with heavenly and warm glowing colours. The concept for good/evil is not apparent and instead it is Light creatures mixed up with what is right/wrong. The Angels you are to retrieve (therefore making you 'good' and them 'bad') are of bright, light and warm colours. So is the human/playable character. How does this effect the players perception and judgement of the angels? Who is truly the 'bad guy' here?

The good/bad of angels and demons are always debatable. Angels never seem to be of caring towards humans, but this does not mean they don't particularly empathize with humans. It is just that an angels faith to God or higher powers are unquestioned and therefore they can come across as cold and uncaring. This is the case with Castiel (Supernatural), the Composer/Joshua/CAT (The World Ends With You), Angels in Bayonetta, The Angel of Death (Hellboy II), Metatron (Dogma), Gabriel (Constantine) and so forth. Why has this become cliche? Could a creature of pure heart and one that existed for the good intentions of humans exist? What if they governed like public servants, or has their higher status/divinity corrupted them?

All of the angels above are shown in light colours, minus The Angel of Death from Hellboy II, which is a fantastic representation of dark, horror and twist ugliness to portray a neutrual stance character. This method is seen rarely in demons however, as I struggle to find demons whom have slight to pure good intentions that are of no selfish act. Examples I can instantly name would be Lilith and Crowley (Supernatural) who both had separate selfish agendas, or the Reapers of The World Ends With You. The anime Chrono Crusade shows a young demon boy aiding good in hopes of redeeming his bloody past. Hellsing, Kuroshitsuji, and XXXHolic are other animes featuring demon-esque characters who help to aid humans but they are all plagued with dark secrets or secretly wish the humans to fail. Devil May Cry's Dante kills demons and inadvertently helps Earth/humans, but again that is a by-product of his selfish desire of revenge, or money.