Darth Vader, Lord Voldemort, Saruman, The Joker, Carnage, brain-craving zombies, and blood sucking fiends are generally straight forward. In movies, books, and comics the goal is always clear: Blow up the Death Star, kill the bad guys, defeat the darkside, toss The Joker in Arkham, restore order, and maintain balance. Then throw a kegger and celebrate with the Ewoks. The path is never simple or easy, but at least you know what must be done. There’s no second guessing. The hero’s job is to defeat the bad guys.
There isn’t any long exposition about what needs to be done, how to do it maybe, but never a question of what to do. There are always twists and turns along the way, and unexpected conflict but in the end, good triumphs over evil. And the bad guys are clear too. They might as well be wearing black hats and Tee-shirts saying ” Hi! I am the villain in this piece. I will do all I can to make everyone’s life hell and generally fuck up your day!”
Unfortunately life is not like this…at all. Life is messy. Real people have deeper motivations and back stories. It’s difficult to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Who are the evil forces in your life? There is no Death Star to blow up, no Ring to melt in the fires of Mt. Doom. No, life is not so simple. You have to unclutter things and find your own goals. They might change a thousand times. You might think you want to storm the castle, but later change your mind, and in real life, that’s supposed to be OK. Life isn’t scripted, so there’s far more trial and error. So choose your path for now… But unlike in the movies, you’ll likely take a fork in the road and go to a different place than the one you started towards.
On a side note: Can you imagine what would have happened if halfway down the Death Star trench Luke had decided that Leia was a bitch and this rebel lifestyle was too demanding and he really, really wanted to be a moisture farmer after all?
(photo by: Matheus Sanchez )
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Tags: Arkham, bad guys, black hats, darth vader, death star trench, evil forces, ewoks, good guys, lord voldemort, motivations, second guessing, twists and turns, villain, zombies