"The Usual Suspects": A Modern Day Odyssey

In Bryan Singer's 1995 film "The Usual Suspects," the fine art of storytelling is utilized in order to give the storyteller power. The narrator, who is appropriately named Verbal, weaves a web of words, drawing his audience into his story. This not only gives him the power over what his audience is thinking, but it also established the narrator as a friend, someone who can be trusted. In "The Usual Suspects," the narrator is a crippled, …

…Much in the same way as Verbal wove his words to catch the detective in a net and ultimately come out on top, Hephaestus wove a net of iron to capture his wife and Ares in bed together. Although Hephaestus was not renowned for his way with words, he did use his talent with the forge and his seemingly low position, as well as his brains, to outsmart his opponent and get what he wanted.