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End of the War Hero
JD JohannesEvery morning I go to the gym and run on the treadmill. Every morning I am subjected to at least a dozen commercials for the new anti-war movie 'Lions for Lambs.' Despite spend several million dollars on advertising and marketing, 'Lions for Lambs' will flop--just like 'Rendition' & and 'Valley of Elah.' They will flop because the human psyche, especially the American variety, prefers real heroes--like the original hero of the Valley of Elah, a young shepherd named David who killed Goliath then cut off the giant's head. In the latest round of war movies the heroes are not the Soldiers and Marines who every day fight and defeat a vicious and barbaric enemy--the heroes are reporters, lawyers and activists. And since every story requires a villain, the real enemy--Mohammedan Jihadists--are replaced by neo-cons, politicians, Soldiers and Marines. This substitution of the traditional mono-myth away from a hero who faces physical danger and conquers an enemy is a result of cowardice of the modern story tellers. The human mind craves the same narrative--this was illustrated by Joseph Campbell...also, we all want to be the hero. But when confronted with a real life situation--like the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and larger war on terror few will step up to be heroes. The many who do not have the ability to step up fall into two categories--those who acknowledge their inability to be heroes and those who do not. Being a hero is not a job for everyone, many accept this and give credit to those who are willing to take the challenge. But there is another group for who the sting of their own cowardice is too much to bear. They are not willing to accept that they cannot be heroes. They cannot accept that, even if they were younger or had the physical ability to confront a violent villain, they would shrink from the challenge. To alleviate their guilt they invent a new villain--Halliburton, Cheney, neo-cons, politicians, military officers, Soldiers, Marines--in short, anyone who will not physically harm them. This substituted version of the traditional hero myth allows anyone to be a hero, but it does not fulfill the craving for a true hero--especially when so many know the true enemy. The anti-war films are failing and 'Lions for Lambs' will fail as well, because even though they follow the arc of the myth our brains are seemingly encoded to crave, they do not encounter the reality of this point in time. These films are only marketable to a segment of society who desires the substitution myth to assuage thier guilt--but even then, getting the choir you want to preach to pony up $10 to hear your sermon is a losing proposition. The first block-buster Iraq War movie will be about the battle of Fallujah or another life and death struggle showing Marines or Soldiers as heroes. This movie will follow the traditional monomyth with the heroes confronting a villain with violence and prevailing. But this movie will come out of nowhere. It will not be backed by a major studio or star name-brand actors. And only then will the war hero return. Posted by: Steve White 2007-11-11 |
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