Thoughts on Adventure

I feel newly inspired. And perhaps I shouldn't share the idea just yet. But no matter, it all comes out soon anyway. Adventure. What is it? Who goes on adventures? Summing it up: aren't all stories about some sort of adventure? Perhaps not every person carries a whip or beats up villains, but it seems to me that an adventure is about achieving a goal; overcoming obstacles. For Indiana Jones, its the typical beat up the bad guys and save the day--like a medieval knight. Superman, Batman, Spongebob Squarepants, parents, professors, so on and so forth. Homer's epics are large stories of adventure but there are other, smaller stories that make the large one's possible. Due to a recent close to home happening, I recall a certain poem I wrote for a poetry class a year ago entitled "The Battle at Marathon". The poem regards a certain male entity who endures a near death experience in order to reach the ultimate goal. Fertility. And it's a small point, but I've been thinking about it. Doesn't the male reproductive DNA go on it's own journey to create larger journeys for everyone. It has to survive, much like Odysseus, who sails the seas running into foreign lands, barely escaping with his life. So, short, simple and sweet, this is an interesting idea I'm playing with for my next short story. An interview... something to ponder, TBA in story form.

Thoughts on Great Ideas

I think I was five when Disney's The Little Mermaid came to theaters everywhere. And I fell in love with the main character, Ariel. Because I thought I was her. No matter that I couldn't swim and that I was terrified of water. She was cool because she had red hair like me and could sing just like I imagined I sang at Bible School. I so loved that movie. And when The Lion King came out, I watched the movie with my mom and brother . . . and loved it because Jonathan Taylor Thomas did the voiceover work for Simba. (JTT was sooooo hot!) And even though Moufasa dies in the picture, it's Disney, and hey, what kid doesn't like Disney?

So as I continue in my reading of Homer's Odyssey, I start getting a funny feeling . . . like I've heard some of the stories in this epic before. Oh yes . . . that's because I have. Famous lines and ideas begin to bombard me as I see they've only been reused in the tales I grew up with. For instance, I initially believed George Lucas to be a total genius when I thrived on watching over and over, the original Star Wars trilogy. "Luke, I am your father . . ." -- okay, this has to be one of the most famous lines in movie history. George Lucas, you plot twister, you. But no, I'm adventuring away with Odysseus and I come to a familiar line . . . Odysseus decides to reveal his true identity to his son, Telemachus and says, "Why confuse me with one who never dies? No, I am your father--" George Lucas, I must say, you are much like Will Smith. You take a great work by a great artist and alter it to be your own. Good job. But it's not just Lucas who does this. It is everywhere. For instance, let's take a look at Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Okay. A very similar theme takes place in The Odyssey. Athena. When she wants to disguise Odysseus, she simply changes him into an old, scary looking beggar. This scene is much like the Queen in Snow White. In order to "deceive" those around her, namely Snow White, she changes herself into an old beggarly woman, dressed in rags. Athena does the same with Odysseus. He goes from riches to rags and back. . . .again and again. Okay, now let's try The Little Mermaid. The sea witch, Ursula, in order to gain power over King Triton (a mixed up mythological image) uses her "cunning" to entrap Ariel. She tells her she will turn the mermaid into a human where she can be with her prince if Ariel gives the sea witch her voice. And Ariel gives it freely. The sea witch uses Ariel's voice to entrap Prince Eric and keep him from marrying Ariel. Ursula, becoming beautiful, in this sense, turns into The Odyssey's siren. She's irresistably beautiful and her singing voice is not to be turned down. And then there's The Lion King; the most obvious connection. When Odysseus leaves Ithaca, suitors from all over take over his home and eat his house out of food, destroying everything. When the Disney version remakes this story, the King dies. However, the hyenas take over the kingdom, destroying the land around them and eating everything they can find.

When Will Smith would steal tunes from Stevie Wonder and other artists, I was upset, thinking his work was unoriginal and I found it appauling. How could someone steal someone else's work? But as I continue, I see it's done everywhere. Animal Ant Farm redid Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, etc., etc., etc. And it seems that everytime someone "borrows" an idea, it's still popular beyond belief. And I love all these Disney movies. And I love Star Wars. . . and it feels a tad odd--I don't want to support things that I feel are stolen but on the same hand, it seems that "borrowing" sometimes builds to bigger and better avenues or avenues that connect with the modern world. And as I'm discovering, it's not all bad to take a great idea and build on it, making more great ideas.

Thoughts on the Odyssey

Just thinking here . . . why is it that I've fallen head over heels in love with Homer's Iliad but I'm struggling to fall in love with the Odyssey? It's not that the story is uninteresting . . . The Odyssey tends to be the story children fall in love with. Odysseus goes on crazy adventures, running into the Cyclops, Polyphemus, his men are turned into pigs and he takes on challenges by the gods. And these were the stories I loved in the ninth grade when Mr. Berger told us all to pull out our English books and begin reading. We read at home and sometimes we read aloud in class. (Of course, I read the name "Nobody" as "Nobdy" . . . but, oh well). And I fell in love. However, today, it seems the other way around. Totally intimidated by the Iliad, I several times took on the task of reading this monster only to make it through book one (if I was persistent enough to even make it through that) And the Iliad was filled with blood pulp and other types of gore. Am I just that sick these days? I'm not for sure. However, in my quest to discover the meaning of "truth", I think I've discovered the reality in the Iliad. People can be very cruel. And although Homer's Iliad is fictional, the grotesque brutality of human nature is very real--it is a story about men backed into corners; men threatened. And although Odysseus is certainly threatened in the Odyssey, I do not see him as being threatened the same way as the characters in the Iliad. Not even Odysseus himself is threatened the same way in the Odyssey as he is in the Iliad. True, his life is threatened, but he puts himself there. It is as though he had such great success in Troy that his head has only grown bigger in the sequel. Much like many ball players I've known in my time, Odysseus is frankly, a cocky s.o.b. He overly believes in himself thinking himself almost invinsible. And perhaps that is why the story doesn't strike me as much. Not because the story isn't good. I still love the adventures Odysseus goes on, but he is nevertheless that cocky basketball player I knew in high school. Both stories are true to human nature no matter what magic the gods possess. And Odysseus' truth is, he's full of himself, making me understand why he's gone from Ithaca for 20 years. But Odysseus, I'm only your cheerleader in the Iliad; I don't mind that your cocky ass has trouble making it home.