Tuesday

Yesterday (or earlier today) I mentioned that Kurt Russell was the perfect John Carpenter hero. Recently I've been thinking about who our heroes are. It's as revealing as anything else about the age we live in. What type of man, or woman, do we see as representing us in every situation, accomplishing what we cannot accomplish? The first step is the subconscious creation of the character by the author, but it must then be popularly embraced by the general public. Recently I've talked a lot about John McClane from the Die Hard films, and two days ago I mentioned Indiana Jones (his fourth movie being filmed as we speak). These men (and Carpenter's Kurt Russell) are rather nonchalant. They get themselves into bad situations, but somehow escape it with relaxed humour and an easygoing effort. Then we must also consider Jason Bourne, and the recent incarnation of James Bond. They're extremely tough, but they also have a new sensitivity and awareness. Spider-Man is interestingly played by Tobey Maguire. Can we consider Harry Potter? Or is he just a children's role model? The tough, all-action heroes Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger played are no longer relevant. It seems we want a conscience and an intelligence, as well as hidden strength. They're almost anti-heroes. I won't try to speculate on why, or what this all means. But it's an interesting aspect of modern cinema to look out for, to watch for when it changes again, and see what events it might be in reaction to.