Tuesday, March 22, 2005
It's a Hero Thing
Have you ever pondered a seemingly meaningless question?
Here’s one for you: Why do all men cry during the movie “Field of Dreams”?
It’s true – I can admit – we all cry, even the big burly guys. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to impress you.
But, why? What silent chord in the subconscious of all men resonates sympathetically to this movie?
First, let’s consider what FoD is really about… and, no, it’s not just about a baseball field and a deranged, schizophrenic guy. It’s about heroes – all types of heroes. The sports heroes little boys worship in their youth, the heroes we worship in our idealistic college days, the great, but unheralded mentors we meet during our careers, and, lastly, most importantly, it’s about our fathers.
We worship our dads, sure enough… and it doesn’t matter if he was a good man or not. We worship the man he was (or is), failing that, the man he should have been (and may yet become). We search, each of us, for a comparison in ourselves. How do I measure up? Am I as good a man? A better man? How may I emulate him? Or, how may I distinguish myself?
It seems to follow, then, that the outcome of all this hero business is self-examination and the search for a hero in one’s self. But, there’s a problem with using the conscious mind to reason about what subconscious is up to: It doesn’t work. That subconscious mind is a wily little bastard and illogical as hell. So, you have to feel for it instead. With that in mind, the thought, “Am I a hero?”, although a powerful question indeed, always seemed insufficient to elicit the emotional response to the movie that is evident.
I’ve pondered this for as long time, and it wasn’t until I noticed this quote, that things came into better focus: “I believe there’s a hero in all of us. A hero that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and, in the end, allows us to die with pride.” (Points to any movie hounds out there who can tell me where this came from)
A powerful sentiment, and an interesting corollary to my thoughts on heroes, to be sure, as it equates the hero in one’s self with the meaning of self… the meaning of self, yes, but also the meaning of one’s existence. Ah, now we’ve hit something truly worthy of the subconscious mind getting all worked up… an eternal question: the meaning of life. And, it would seem that the answer to this question, at least as presented in the vehicle of the movie “Field if Dreams”, wins the emotional approval of the subconscious mind.
It should be noted that, up to now, I’ve been using men a reference for my musings, which is only proper since I’m male. However, I think it safe, at this point, to open my reasonings to include all persons.
The synthesis of all these notions might be stated like this: Our heroes give us meaning. Their lives give meaning to our lives. We, in turn, are heroes, and our lives give meaning to lives of others. Therefore, we, each one of us, are the meaning of life.
Hmm. I guess my meaningless question was not so meaningless after all…
Here’s one for you: Why do all men cry during the movie “Field of Dreams”?
It’s true – I can admit – we all cry, even the big burly guys. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to impress you.
But, why? What silent chord in the subconscious of all men resonates sympathetically to this movie?
First, let’s consider what FoD is really about… and, no, it’s not just about a baseball field and a deranged, schizophrenic guy. It’s about heroes – all types of heroes. The sports heroes little boys worship in their youth, the heroes we worship in our idealistic college days, the great, but unheralded mentors we meet during our careers, and, lastly, most importantly, it’s about our fathers.
We worship our dads, sure enough… and it doesn’t matter if he was a good man or not. We worship the man he was (or is), failing that, the man he should have been (and may yet become). We search, each of us, for a comparison in ourselves. How do I measure up? Am I as good a man? A better man? How may I emulate him? Or, how may I distinguish myself?
It seems to follow, then, that the outcome of all this hero business is self-examination and the search for a hero in one’s self. But, there’s a problem with using the conscious mind to reason about what subconscious is up to: It doesn’t work. That subconscious mind is a wily little bastard and illogical as hell. So, you have to feel for it instead. With that in mind, the thought, “Am I a hero?”, although a powerful question indeed, always seemed insufficient to elicit the emotional response to the movie that is evident.
I’ve pondered this for as long time, and it wasn’t until I noticed this quote, that things came into better focus: “I believe there’s a hero in all of us. A hero that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and, in the end, allows us to die with pride.” (Points to any movie hounds out there who can tell me where this came from)
A powerful sentiment, and an interesting corollary to my thoughts on heroes, to be sure, as it equates the hero in one’s self with the meaning of self… the meaning of self, yes, but also the meaning of one’s existence. Ah, now we’ve hit something truly worthy of the subconscious mind getting all worked up… an eternal question: the meaning of life. And, it would seem that the answer to this question, at least as presented in the vehicle of the movie “Field if Dreams”, wins the emotional approval of the subconscious mind.
It should be noted that, up to now, I’ve been using men a reference for my musings, which is only proper since I’m male. However, I think it safe, at this point, to open my reasonings to include all persons.
The synthesis of all these notions might be stated like this: Our heroes give us meaning. Their lives give meaning to our lives. We, in turn, are heroes, and our lives give meaning to lives of others. Therefore, we, each one of us, are the meaning of life.
Hmm. I guess my meaningless question was not so meaningless after all…
R.T. Lemur 8:38 PM
3 Comments:
The Cat guesses Spiderman.
I've always been fascinated by the whole guy crying at Field of Dreams thing. It's always at the last scene when the dad says, 'do you want to play catch' or something.
I can't think of a girl equivalent movie...will have to think about it
I can't think of a girl equivalent movie...will have to think about it
My guesses for girl equivalent - Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, when she prays to the Goddess near the end then goes up and has sex with her husband. 2nd vote is Steel Magnolias, when Chelsea dies - I liketa died when Weezy is on the bench at the funeral, you're sobbing then laughing all at the same time.