|
||||||||||||||||||||
Editorial: Hail The Aging HeroBy Rafe Telsch: 2008-05-18 17:40:11
The epic poem Beowulf, one of the earliest known narrative works, ends with an older version of the titular hero taking on a dragon – a beast more foul than those he encountered in his younger days. The elderly king no longer has the strength of his youth and has to resort to using weapons instead of his bare hands, and the fight ends in Beowulf’s death, but the hero completes his last fight, saving his people and setting the stage for older heroes for ages to come.
This week Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hits theaters, featuring an almost twenty-year older hero than we’ve grown accustomed to in Indy’s prior journeys. Like Beowulf, the archeologist may have lost some strength and dexterity over the years (something they are acknowledging in the movie from what we’ve seen in the commercials), but that doesn’t make him any less of a hero. You’ll never know that by reading the reviews, which I’d dare wager will mention the hero’s geriatric status at every opportunity. Indiana Jones isn’t the first hero to transcend the age barrier. He’s not even the first one to do so in 2008 – a year that has already featured John Rambo returning to the screen for the first time in twenty years, compared to Indy’s nineteen. John McClane and Rocky Balboa are other recent contenders for the aging hero awards. So with the company Indy is keeping, why are we making such a big deal over age? I can get that a lot of people don’t want to see their heroes get older. After all, one of the great things about movies is that they capture a moment in time for all eternity. Thanks to film, people like James Dean, River Phoenix, and Heath Ledger will always be remembered as young men, as will the characters they’ve played. We never have to wonder about Sam getting old in Casablanca or Ferris Bueler after high school, because their stories end with the character frozen in that one moment in time. For the three adventures we’ve known for decades now, Indiana Jones is a younger man, so a sequel has to age the character, or we would have had to accept a replacement actor playing Indiana Jones, just to keep the hero young. I think that probably would have drawn more complaints than an older heroic figure, but many lose that perspective when they see a grayed Harrison Ford don the classic fedora. An older hero gives us a chance at reflection and perspective. The aging protagonist can serve as a reminder that the ideas that make up a hero change as we age - look at Clint Eastwood’s gunfighter in Unforgiven, for example. He can also remind an audience that evil doesn’t disappear just because we get older, and we have to keep up the good fight regardless of age – Superman may be eternally young, but Superman Returns reminded us almost thirty years after Richard Donner originally brought the hero to the screen of why we need someone like the last son of Krypton. All of this is good to remember, but at the same time age shouldn’t affect whether we like Indy’s latest adventure – as Indiana Jones himself said over twenty-five years ago, “It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.” After seeing what Indy has been through before, we should all be amazed the heroic archeologist can still pick up his whip, let alone lead us through one more adventure this summer. RELATED: indiana jones, harrison ford, Clint Eastwood, superman
Comment on “Editorial: Hail The Aging Hero”Note: This website is not meant for use by minors. The views expressed in the comments section below are not our own. This section is intended for discussion of the topic in the post above. Disagreement is encouraged, however comments which attack, insult, or threaten the author in a personal manner won't be published. Similarly, comments that we deem to be poorly worded, or wildly off topic will also not be approved and may be mocked. For free, uncensored, unfettered, and possibly dangerous discussion visit our forum.Leave a ReplyMAIN SITE NAVIGATION
HOME l ABOUT US l l SEARCH l MOVIE NEWS l MOVIE REVIEWS l MOVIE PREVIEWS l DVD REVIEWS l DVD NEWS l SOUNDTRACKS l FEATURES DATABASE l TELEVISION l MUSIC l GAMES l CELEBRITY l TECHNOLOGY l RSS 2.0 FEEDS l MESSAGE BOARDS l LIVE CHAT l SYNDICATE US l LINKS | CB STORE | MUNCH MONSTER This site is operated by Cinema Blend LLC. For advertising inquiries, contact Gorilla Nation. CinemaBlend.com is a private, independently owned website which is intended only as entertainment. The views expressed on this website may or may not reflect those of its owner. Don't take us too seriously. Made in Webta Labs 
|
|
May 19th, 2008 at 07:53
Yeah, it's nothing to do with age with Hero's, to me a great Hero is timeless! and that's all that counts. unfortunately we seem to live in an age that is ossessed with age and looks. if they can still pull it off , who care's about age.