The Hero's Journey

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Jerome-K-Moore
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With this online art community, we have a unique opportunity to connect with our kindred. We must avail ourselves of this experience, for, once it's gone, it may never come again.

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I thought I'd share yet another of my musings from over on Facebook, and invite anyone to share their thoughts, too.

OBSERVATION #55 - OLD HEROES

• On the matter of new STAR WARS movies featuring our favorite characters from the original trilogy - Is Han Solo still such a bad-ass?
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It is an interesting consideration. I do believe that Hollywood tends to think a bit too one-dimensionally when it comes to our iconic heroes. As they age, they seldom grow beyond the stage at which we all became most familiar with them. Captain Kirk is a prime example. Oh, they got it right in the first two feature films (1979, 1982), allowing Kirk to acknowledge the passage of time, the weight of past sins upon him. That was mature. That was realistic depth, and natural progression. But then they quickly lost sight of this, and permitted the character to devolve into a caricature, a self-parodying oldster vainly trying to recapture his youth instead of embracing inevitable maturity, and whatever should come with that. The producers denied him any new texture, any credible development. That's when it became painfully laughable to watch Kirk leap into physical action yet again, battling aliens hand-to-hand like a 25 year-old. This indignity demonstrated that he hadn't learned new ways of confronting conflict, ways that make better use of his wiles and experience instead of the same old violence, awkwardly performed. It was the same with Indiana Jones, unfortunately. This is NOT to say that Indy, or Kirk, or Han Solo cannot retain that part of themselves that dynamically changes the circumstances around them. Nothing can extinguish their vitality. I believe the heroic rogue will always dwell within Solo, roused at a moment's notice. But if his character has failed to evolve beyond the swashbuckling pirate in his later years, at least on the surface, then I will be sorely disappointed in those who have been given the privilege of preserving and guiding this beloved character.

Basically, Hollywood, in its primary pursuit of the almighty dollar, too often forgets (or ignores) that the greatest nobility of our literary and cinematic heroes is in how they should continue to guide us, the same as our true-life heroes. As they boldly confront and overcome various obstacles, setbacks, and villains, metaphorically encouraging us all to be just as brave in our own lives, they must not neglect the most intimidating challenge which we all must face: Time. We may be able to banish our fear of the sneering bad guys and their brutish henchmen, but time is the enemy no one can defeat. And so, what grander call is there for our heroes than the call to show us how to bravely accept change? To provide the shining example of how to grow old with honor, and grace, strength, and wisdom... To show our youth that this is the road we should all walk, marching ever forward, reveling in achievement but never living in our past... Selflessly leading by stepping aside to elevate our children, teaching them that the role of a hero evolves, but never diminishes in its glory, or in its importance. A hero doesn't always need to deliver a roundhouse punch, or swing across chasms, or fire a gun the size of a cannon. What a hero does-- is show us the way, walking the path we all should tread.
© 2013 - 2024 Jerome-K-Moore
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DaveStrong's avatar
DaveStrong
As always Mr. Moore, very insightful.  Very well said.  Is there any way we can get you into Hollywood and start a revolution?