Heroic Hollywood: Something We Can Believe In – Again
by Russ Dvonch
There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth writing about.
I’m going to take the boss at his word that the modest objective of Big Hollywood is “to change the entertainment industry. To make Hollywood something we can believe in – again. In order to give millions of Americans hope.” And further: “Until conservatives, libertarians and Republicans…recognize that (pop) culture is the big prize and that politics is secondary, there will be no victory in this important battle.”
But what is it, culturally, that Hollywood can do that will make us believe in it again and give millions of Americans hope? What is it we can do win the battle for pop culture?
It’s nothing Hollywood hasn’t done before. The only problem is, it’s doing far too little of it lately. Which is a shame, because it’s something that Hollywood does better than anyplace on earth.
Hollywood’s gift to America – and the world – is the Hollywood Hero.
Cue laughter from the Left: “How quaint! How primitive! How typical of lowbrow, right-wing culture! We give our Best Picture awards to nihilist movies like No Country for Old Men and Best Actor awards to anti-heroes like Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. No hope for millions of Americans there!”
And yet, when good films come along with good heroic stars, the box-office goes through the roof – The Dark Night, Ironman and Spider-Man trilogy are obvious examples…and conspicuous shutouts for Best Picture.
There is a thirst for heroic characters in America and throughout the world, yet today’s Hollywood elites only seems comfortable with the idea of heroism in a comic book setting. Screenwriters need to relearn the appeal and necessity of the Hollywood hero in every setting imaginable.
If you are a screenwriter or someone who would like to become a screenwriter, you can be the tip of the spear for changing the leftist culture that Hollywood promotes by writing heroic characters that embody traditional American values.
This post, and I hope several more, is addressed to you. I hope to inspire you to write the kind of heroic characters that will push back against the leftist cultural tide that is the reason for Big Hollywood’s existence.
Many of you have probably taken courses in screenwriting and read several of books on the subject. You know about character arcs, emotional beats, and mid-point reversals. Yet, when it comes to putting words to paper, you falter and don’t know where to begin…or how to finish. The trouble is, you may have been taught how to write screenplays, but you’ve never been taught why.
Believe me – once you understand why, you’ll do everything in your power to figure out how.
So let’s begin. But be warned: you’re about to take writing advice from a screenwriter who’s been kicked out of Hollywood.
Screenwriting is an art. Although an artist can use his work to express any idea or feeling he wishes, there are several key ideas that artists throughout human history have returned to again and again. These ideas are philosophical in nature; that is, they are the fundamental questions of human existence that every culture – and every thinking individual – asks:
What is there?
What am I?
What should I do?
All of these are central issues of human existence, which is why they keep popping up time and time again in the arts.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where the artist Michelangelo attempted to answer all three questions – What is there? What am I? What should I do? – in a single work.
Although artworks such as painting, sculpture and music used to answer each of these questions, screenwriting is especially suited to answering the third question; What should I do?
That’s because screenwriting is a dramatic art. A drama is a composition that uses characters to tell a story – usually involving conflicts and emotions – through action and dialogue.
The author of the story uses the elements of drama as his way of answering the question What should I do? for his audience. He uses them to show by example what people should – or shouldn’t – do.
Storytelling that attempts to answer the question What should I do? will necessarily have to deal with ethics or morality, which is defined as the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.
When human beings are confronted with a moral choice, i.e., What should I do?, they act in accordance with their values. A value is something we seek to achieve or hold on to. Each man determines for himself what his values are and how to achieve them, leading to his own principles of conduct, often called a code of ethics or a moral code.
Just as every human being has a set of values and a moral code which guides his actions, the screenwriter creates a cast of characters for his story that are also guided by their values and moral code. For the most part, the clash of competing values and different moral codes between the principal characters is what creates the story.
It’s no accident that these two John Travolta posters share a similar image of face-to-face confrontation between the main characters. The advertising agencies know what the public is looking for. The graphics of these posters promise the audience a clash of competing values and different moral codes of the principal characters. In other words…a story!
By showing how his characters deal with moral decisions and their consequences, the author of a story says to his audience, “This is what you should do” or, in a cautionary tale (such as The Godfather), “This is what you should not do.”
At their heart, screenplays are all about the choices that the charters face.
From the Star Wars saga…
“Join me and we can rule the galaxy as father and son.”
…to The Mask of Zorro…
“Now if you want to kill this man, I can help you. I can teach you how…
how to move, how to think, how to take your revenge with honor and live to celebrate it.”
…to The Matrix…
“This is your last chance. After this there is no turning back. You take the blue pill,
the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.
You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes….”
…the characters of drama are faced with important choices. Making a choice is the essence of drama because it is the essence of human life. Gandalf said it best in The Fellowship of the Ring:
All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given.
Nothing is more important in our lives than deciding what to do with the time we are given, and then acting on our decisions. Our choices are shaped by our values, and our most important choices are shaped by our deepest values.
Yes, we go to the movies for the pretty girl, the big explosion and the booming soundtrack. But the films that we love – the ones we see over and over again – are movies with storylines that touch our deepest values. We know that we need to make the right choices in our lives, and the best movies inspire us to do just that.
Human beings are not born knowing “what to do with the time we are given.” Each man must discover for himself what his moral choices should be. The dramatic arts are a great aid in this most important task because they crystallize abstract moral concepts into a vivid and compelling form – so vivid and compelling that we hold it in our hearts and spirits, not just in our minds. Films like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Casablanca enter our souls because they not only move our emotions intensely, but they move our emotions on the subject that is most important to us…what should I do?
In short, our favorite Hollywood movies inspire us. And they inspire us towards heroic values.
The word “inspire” has several meanings. Inspire means to make someone have a particular strong feeling or reaction. In this sense, the best movies are inspirational because they always provoke strong feelings in us. But inspire also has the meaning of to make someone feel that they want to do something…and can do it.
The best movies are inspiring in both meanings of the word. They not only provoke a strong emotional reaction in us, but this emotion makes us want to do something and believe that we can do it.
If the main character is courageous and determined, then we walk out of the theater feeling courageous and determined, too. If the main character finds love, we believe that we can find love, as well. If struggle and sacrifice achieve a happy ending, then we resolve to struggle and sacrifice to achieve our own happy endings.
In this sense, movies that inspire us make us want to emulate the main character of the story, that is, to strive to equal or match what the character accomplishes.
But more than that, there is an underlying moral theme to most Hollywood movies that accounts for their ability to inspire and emotionally connect with audiences world-wide.
When it comes to the question What should I do?, Hollywood says there are a thousand-and-one ways to answer that question. But, no matter what…
Doing the right thing is worth the struggle.
Life is a struggle. Acting morally can often make the struggle harder for you. But in the end, if you want the good to prevail and receive its blessings for yourself, your family and your nation, you have to do the right thing.
The struggles of life can be discouraging. Art is an antidote to discouragement. People need the encouragement that art offers, in particular, the encouragement that drama offers. We need to know that our choices have meaning, that our choices can make a difference in our lives. We need to know that acting morally is worth the struggle. And that’s what Hollywood movies do. That is the inspiration they give to the audience.
Nowhere are these ideas better expressed than in an amazingly audacious yet moving scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
It’s the scene near the end of the movie where, at the ruins of Osgiliath, Faramir and the Hobbits escape from the clutches of a Ringwraith and his fell beast. Under the spell of the Ring, Frodo attacks Sam, nearly plunging his sword into Sam’s neck before coming to his senses. Totally dispirited, Frodo’s resolve weakens. (In the following, I speak of Tolkien as the author, but the filmmakers altered the material and context.)
FRODO: (slowly and with despair) I can’t do this, Sam.
SAM: (getting up slowly) I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are.
Here, I think Tolkien, through Sam, is summing up the basic problem of human existence: none of us asked to be born into this world, and yet here we are. For good or bad, fair or not, all of us must confront this basic fact of reality…we’re here in this world, and only for the time we are given. And as Gandalf says, while we are here we must decide what to do. There is no escaping our need to make choices.
We can choose to do what we know is wrong, or we can choose to do what we know is right. And our decision to do the right thing can demand a great struggle that may lead us to lose heart and give up the fight to do the right thing. In this scene, Frodo is at the point of giving up…his decision to do the right thing by casting the Ring back into the fire has caused him great hardship and he is losing heart. He wants to stop struggling.
What is Sam’s response to Frodo’s loss of spirit? Sam could answer Frodo is any number of ways, but look at how Tolkien chooses to have Sam reply:
Sam stands and leans against a wall, looking out into the distance.
SAM: It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
Out of all the possible things Sam could say at this moment in the story, Tolkien has him speak about…stories.
That Tolkien chooses this moment in the story to speak about…well, stories themselves…indicates the importance he places on the subject at this critical point of the plot, where Frodo says he can’t go on. This is something Tolkien wants us to pay attention to. Stories have something to do with Frodo and his struggle.
Tolkien has Sam look out into the distance as he speaks…not at Frodo. That’s because Sam is not thinking about the present moment. He’s thinking about the past. His own past. He’s remembering the stories he heard in his youth. The “great” stories…”the ones that really mattered.”
The stories that mattered were about darkness and danger. The great stories were about struggles so intense – against forces so strong – that it seemed impossible that the hero would win. How is it possible for the good to win when evil seems so powerful? And even if victory is achieved, was it really worth all the suffering? When listening to the story, the outcome is in doubt…and a happy, Hollywood ending seems impossible. This is what Frodo is thinking now. And those are the stories that Sam is remembering now. He continues:
SAM: But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.
Tolkien is making several points here. First, that Sam has learned from the stories that the darkness can be overcome, no matter how bleak it looks. There can be a happy, Hollywood ending. In Sam’s childhood stories, the heroes won, and the darkness passed. And when the light returned, it illuminated life making it dearer. The stories where the hero prevailed – where light overcame the darkness – are the ones that mattered to Sam. They “meant something.” These are the stories that he remembers now in a time of crisis, not stories where men failed and heroic struggle was useless against the darkness .
Second, even as a young boy, when Sam really didn’t understand intellectually the full meaning of the stories, there was something in them that touched his spirit. This may be Tolkien’s way of expressing the idea that sometimes we understand things emotionally before we understand them intellectually. Dramatic stories can teach us their lessons by our emotional reaction to them. Even at an early age, human beings can understand the necessity for light to overcome the dark, even if they are not intellectually capable of explaining why. That’s why it’s important for the young to be exposed to heroic stories, even though they may not have a clear idea of why it is necessary to struggle against the darkness. They will feel it in their spirit all the same, as Sam did. Now, as an adult who has experienced light and darkness first hand, Sam at last understands the importance of the stories of his youth.
SAM: But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something.
These stories of Sam’s youth were all about one thing: what should I do? And the answer was: struggle to do the right thing. Struggle forward, even when it is tempting to turn back, as Frodo is tempted now. Struggle forward, because there is something you hold on to that that makes it worth the struggle.
FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?
SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
Or as another not-so-famous writer once said: doing the right thing is worth the struggle, because it will restore the good.
The purpose of those stories from Sam’s past are for just this moment – when Frodo and Sam are tempted to turn back, they find the strength to continue because of what the stories promise. These stories provide the inspiration necessary to continue. It is an inspiration carried not only in their minds, but in their hearts. Tolkien was confident enough to be able to say to his readers, “Just as it was critical for Sam and Frodo to be inspired by stories, it is critical that you find inspiration in theirs.”
Tolkien knew that men need inspiration. We need to know – in our hearts and minds – that, no matter what the difficulty we face, doing the right thing is worth the struggle.
This is the message of Hollywood movies and this is why we love them. But what, specifically, is the right thing to do?
That’s the message of the Hollywood Hero.
I’ll write about the Hollywood Hero next, if you want. Let me know in the comments below!
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112 Comments
I'll write about the Hollywood Hero next, if you want. Let me know in the comments below!
Please do!
Dvonch, you magnificent eloquent bastard !
A guy I know likes to say, "America needs heroes. It's our job to give 'em to them."
Once upon a time (now how's THAT for an opener?) the idea of the Hollywood hero was a cultural no-brainer.
It was John Barrymore as the 'Thief of Baghdad', or John Wayne in 'Stagecoach', Lee Marvin in 'The Dirty Dozen'
or Connery's Bond in 'Dr No'. They were great in their seminal roles, that they were heroic was a given…
since the early oral histories heroism was easly definable; strong in both mind and body, and propelled by a code of ethics and an honest morality.
We saw these things as good and noble and worth emulation…
Now, of course we have the conflicted anti-hero working for the corrupt CIA. NSA, whatever. Over and over and, well, you know. There is a reason that 'LOTR" and the 'Star Wars' series resonate so well, it is classic myth at it's finest. We will one day return to the noble archetype…
Great article.
Obvious recent non-comic example: Liam Neeson in Taken. Pure motives, no apologies.
Fantastic article!
Great piece! Very inspiring. If Hollywood can get back to making those kind of movies again…
More, please.
Now I know why I despised No Country for Old Men: There was absolutely no inspiration, no heroism. All was nihilism. I was told it presented the relentlessness of evil once it gains enough power. That was supposed to cow me into feeling unenlightened and thus too stupid to appreciate the brilliance of the film. Now I know as well why I have watched lighter films like Armageddon and Independence Day over and over – heroism. Simple and I need not feel stupid or guilty.
Sruggled to read it throroughly, but then it's late. Derbyshire says all pop culture is crap.
But inspiration needs to be generated and the churches aren't that good anymore.Hope there is veracity and proof in this media. How do we (the old farts) tell them ?? That's the conundrum. These kids can't figure out how to date !
Exactly. Even Tommy Lee Jones' character, the supposed hero, exuded weary hopelessness at the idea of ever gaining ground against evil.
I don't care how "unrealistic" it is to expect the guys in the white hats to win, justice to be served, the guy to get the gal, and everyone ride off into the sunset. I don't care if it's formulaic, juvenile, lowbrow, or trite. If I want depressing reality, I'll turn on my television and check out the news for free; I see no reason to pay $15 for the dubious privilege.
Yes please, please, please write more. Don't make me beg. This is already better, more useful and more inspirational than any screenwriting book I've read.
Sir, this is brilliant. On so many levels. I have always loved that part of the Two Towers (and wherever it is found in the book). Keep on writing.
Please write more. I'm trying to write some poor stories myself, and this helps me focus on what my characters are doing. Trying to portray the "capitalist pig" as the hero isn't always the easy thing, and it's been some years since that writing degree in college.
Beautifully written, and yes, more please.
If we're going to influence culture, first we have to take the engines of destruction away from the debasers. I say we grab our pitchforks and torches and head for the Hollywood studios. Trap the monster in his lair.
the peasants with pitchfork routine- showing up at Dreamworks with torches ablaze… "Give us the head of Spielberg!" they shout. An aide comes out and timidly offers David Geffen's head instead, but the crowd will not hear of it…
"No Country For Old Men" was such a waste…100 minutes of build-up and then 20 minutes of random cynicism. I'm glad now I didn't pick up the book. After watching it, I thought about "Fargo", a far-superior Coen Brothers film that balanced out the derangement of the crooks with the morality of Frances McDormand's character.
"Fargo" is something I can watch over and over again. Can't say the same for "No Country".
Enough of the rant. Great entry, Russ.
I'm a Lutheran, but for plain old gospel pulpit thumping enthusiasm, I'll take an old-fashioned Baptist preacher any day in the week. Luther himself was like that. Today's Lutheran pastors generally sound like group therapy facilitators on downers. Then as soon as we can get parents back into churches with real, live pastors we can bring the kids with us. It won't cure the problem, but it's a start. As for the general culture, let's go after the leaders tooth and nail. Old military saying, when you've got 'em by the ballz, their hearts and minds will follow. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Looking forward to the next installment. Eagerly.
Thank you, thank you for this article. Thanks, first of all, for acknowledging the goals of this website because I was starting to doubt them. I hope to see many more articles like this one!
And thank you for the topic, because, yes, yes, yes, I love the hero! I'm not picky about my heroes either – I like them standard, tragic, flawed, reluctant, quiet, flashy, adventurous, ass-kicking, *anything*, as long as they're doing something good. I think I may love characters above all else when it comes to elements of drama, and it is harder than it should be to find characters to root for. Even on the show Heroes, no one seems to do anything actually heroic!
And a small note to end:
One problem I do have with this site is that I don't think many of the people here are all that well-exposed to current pop culture. They don't recognize the heroes that are out there in fictional-picture-land because they don't watch anything. I know the prevailing sentiment is that everything on TV or in the theaters is crap, and that opinion is probably more valid than mine (and I mean that, because I'm easy to please). But that means the characters and stories that might appeal to our ideals don't get the support or recognition that I was hoping this website might provide. Maybe not in the main articles, but in the comments at least. Honestly, I'd love a message board.
perhaps the dear lady could educate us all on what in the mainstream of Hollywood presents an honest depiction of heroism?
This reminds me of one of my favorite GK Chesterton quotes: Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.
I watched No Country without really knowing what the punch-line was and I liked it until it got to the point in which you realized that there was no heroic ending, and it just seemed like an exercise in futility. How is that entertainment? My tastes are often seen as low-brow but I don't care. Like a lot of people I like my entertainment to be inspiring not depressing. I'd like to see a resurgence of "Dirty Harry" style cop movies. No more dirty cops. Just the good guys cleaning up the streets.
I watched No Country without really knowing what the punch-line was and I liked it until it got to the point in which you realized that there was no heroic ending, and it just seemed like an exercise in futility. How is that entertainment? My tastes are often seen as low-brow but I don't care. Like a lot of people I like my entertainment to be inspiring not depressing. I'd like to see a resurgence of "Dirty Harry" style cop movies. No more dirty cops. Just the good guys cleaning up the streets.
Please write more. Hollywood no longer understands values. The old movies were full of values that mattered, the values of character not politics. Hollywood cannot resolve the internal conflicts of its belief system, elitism by moral superiority. Suffering is reduced to a political cause. Individuals are either villains or victims. If individuals can triumph through character, then our system isn't rotten and Hollywood cannot feel superior to it.
Off the top of my head, after a long day, I can give two great examples on tv, my current favorites are NCIS (top rated, in season 9?), and Eureka on Scifi (catching up on Hulu before the next season starts).
NCIS has Mark Harmon's Gibbs, who goes by his gut and looks out for his people in different ways, David McCullum's Ducky the forensic scientist plays off Jethro nicely. Both look for justice for the dead, and hold the military they pursue at a higher level of expections. The rest of the cast is excellent as well….black and white, good and bad—and the team of good guys even features a former Israeli intelligence officer!
Don Bellesario gave is JAG, and Magnum PI—-I will watch anything he produces.
These are the good guys.
Off the top of my head, after a long day, I can give two great examples on tv, my current favorites are NCIS (top rated, in season 9?), and Eureka on Scifi (catching up on Hulu before the next season starts).
NCIS has Mark Harmon's Gibbs, who goes by his gut and looks out for his people in different ways, David McCullum's Ducky the forensic scientist plays off Jethro nicely. Both look for justice for the dead, and hold the military they pursue at a higher level of expections. The rest of the cast is excellent as well….black and white, good and bad—and the team of good guys even features a former Israeli intelligence officer!
Don Bellesario gave is JAG, and Magnum PI—-I will watch anything he produces.
These are the good guys.
Eureka is a town where geniuses who work in a undergrown, government sanctioned, private business R&D facility with close ties to the DoD live. The sheriff is always reminded that he is not as smart as these great thinkers, but every week he saves their bacon. And science is sometimes great, sometimes not. Some great starting points for philosophical discussion can be found in this plot of this quiant and charming show. It deserves more viewers—-excellent writing and acting. Check it out ….new episodes don't start until summer, unfortunately.
The military is not presented as a bunch of militaristic crazies looking for the next great doomsday device—at least not in the episodes I have seen. They are just looking for better ways to protect people.
Let me sleep on it—- they are hard to find, but they are out there.
I've never read such elegant analysis that cites films I have actually seen and can relate to.
I agree. NCIS is one of my MUST SEE tv shows. It is hard to find shows where the hero is worth watching. Mark Harmon brings an easy acessability to his performances which tend to reel me in.
Great piece. However, the makers of The Lord of the Rings movies butchered a lot of the heroism of the original source material with PC revisionism. If you want the real heroism of The Lord of the Rings, read the books.
"Taken" was a movie after my own heart. I have a 16 year old daughter and I am afraid to think what I would do in the same situation. He actually played a hero DAD…imagine that, Hollywood thinking a DAD would do some serious violence to those that hurt his loved ones….inconceivable….Liam Neeson was very cool in this movie…..prayers out to him and his family for the loss of his wife……
Thanks, this was a valuable read for me. It helped me realize that I needed to flesh out my antagonist, which I knew, and helped me to see *how*… which may seem really strange since this is about heroes rather than villains. Ha! This: "… the clash of competing values and different moral codes between the principal characters is what creates the story." See… I was right on there with the moral code and internal struggle of my heroine as she tries to do what she knows is right, but I failed to see how the villain should embody an external mirror for her internal conflict. So, yay!
I do enjoy Eureka very much. I'll be disappointed if Sci-Fi drops it. I agree that there are some places where you can find heroes. I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity they gave the Nathan Stark character in Eureka! I never liked him very much, but he wasn't exactly the villain I thought they were setting him up to be at the start; in the end, Nathan was just a different kind of hero, IMO.
There's another argument that even a Hollywood liberal will respond to (even though he's too PC to admit it.): Make a quality movie with a traditional American hero…you'll make lots of money.
Oh, great point, I should keep that in mind.
This is highly inspirational. Looking forward to your next article.
Thank you so much for this! Sam's speech in TTT is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time. I can never listen to it without crying, and I'm crying as I'm reading this now.
I will pass this on, and I look forward to the next part.
exactly! Just rewatched the episode where he created A.I. but had become emotionally attached to the being….and I like how he went out in style, even though I root (sp) for Allie & Carter, his character was complex, like the rest of the cast.
Sci-Fi network has a link to the cast appearing at one of those sci-fi "cons" and it sounds like it will be back, though IMDB lists episodes to run in July 2009—-ten months after the "mid-season cliff hanger" so, keep hoping!
I agree. It's not that No Country for Old Men didn't have a happy ending. An inspiring movie can have a bittersweet ending, like Lord of the Rings, and a cautionary tale is free to have as sad an ending as they want. The problem was that this wasn't a cautionary tale; the hero, Tommy Lee Jones' character, seemed to do everything right, and still lost. The result is a pointless, depressing movie that contributes nothing of value, and which nobody wants to see again, unless they're that twisted breed who roots for the villain, or the artsy type searching for meaning in the amphigory.
Stories… I tell stories, and I tell them very well. Those stories that mean so much, that inspire and encourage us, that give us a bright example, with the stories of our ancestors as brave and decent and hardworking people, who saw the great experiment of these United States as a shining experiment, a brilliant city upon a hill. I wrote about the first party of California wagon-party pioneers, who got themselves stuck in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1844, lost and almost starving in the snow… and yet, they managed to pull together, to survive and endure. (It's called "To Truckee's Trail", BTW) In my other series, about the German settlers in the Texas Hill Country (The Adelsverein Trilogy) … a group of German immigrants are essentially dumped onto the frontier and left to
sort out their own future… they held out, build new lives for themselves, against all the forces arrayed against them – the frontier itself, their own inexperience with the wilderness, with raiding Indians, against Confederates and bandits… and in the end, they became Americans. Some of the readers so far have absolutely wept at what happened to some of my characters … for some of them made hard choices, and others came to hard ends. But they made us who we are.
I would so like to see Hollywood acknowledge that some day. If not with my stories, than any other which would tell the same.
I guess I will be a voice of dissent: I am a conservative who liked No Country for Old Men. I thought that it did a terrific job of showing what happens when you take something that doesn't belong to you. Josh Brolin's character took money that did not belong to him, and it led to a cycle of escalating violence and deepening evil. Instead of walking away and being content with what he had earned on his own, he took what wasn't his and suffered the consequences. I will admit the last scene leaves me puzzled also, but I don't let that take away from the rest of the movie. Even Javier Bardem's character, the representation of pure evil, by the end is suffering physically; he doesn't get off entirely scot-free.
When I saw this movie in theaters, three of my friends and I stood in a rainy parking lot at midnight for twenty minutes discussing and debating the meaning of the movie. This never had happened with any other movie I had seen in a theater, and its not a bad thing when a movie can get you do that. (continued…)
I don't deny that far too many of today's movies are too nihlistic, that they show America's institutuions, as well as people of faith, in a negative light. The scales have tipped way too far in that direction. Since 9/11 and since Obama's ascendancy, I too have longed for more depictions of America in a positive manner, and have grown weary of waiting for "gotcha" moments. But even if a movie does not necessairily reflect my values or the way the I think the world should be, if it can be done in a responsible or thoughtful manner, than that is a good thing.
Reminds me of the song "Hero" by Steve Taylor, which you can listen to here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL1i3C2nn5w (although you do have to put up with the 80s synthesizer).
Reminds me of the song "Hero" by Steve Taylor, which you can listen to here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL1i3C2nn5w (although you do have to put up with the 80s synthesizer).
Very well said, Mr. Dvonch, and right on track with what I've been saying for quite a while now: audiences are hungry for heroes. Thanks for the inspirational piece!
Very well said, Mr. Dvonch, and right on track with what I've been saying for quite a while now: audiences are hungry for heroes. Thanks for the inspirational piece!
I'm glad I came across this article. Thanks for the great read! That scene in LOTR II always makes me weep. Sam is the true hero in my opinion. He is oblivious of his strengths, as true heroes are. How many times have we witnessed the scene where the hero simply says, "just doing my job" as if everyone acts in this fashion? Sam is solid in his faith, and in his beliefs and when Frodo stumbles spiritually, he steps up and unselfishly gives Frodo strength through his hopeful message. I confess that it always makes me feel better when I view that scene. It's what I feel inside, and I do believe that good triumphs over evil, and that right is worth the fight. The Bible is full of heroes and that hopeful promise.
I would add 2007's 3:10 to Yuma as a movie to avoid…it was a poor remake of the one released in 1957. No Country reminded me of it, with no resolution and the villains outdo the hero. Watch the original…much better.
Yes, that would be great! And this was a fantastic post –
Funny, I was planning to do something along the same lines as your article (The current lack of heroes in mainstream culture today, and how to bring them back. In fact I was timing it to be the counter piece to my previous 'when heroes fall' themed article.) Extraordinary, really, how things happen together. The quantum field is very much alive and resonating.
I think you've gone way beyond what I could have offered so I'm glad you beat me!
Bravo! Well done, sir.
Great post, Russ.
I think one of the great unheralded heroes of the silver screen of the past 50 years is Homer Bannon, in the 1963 film, "Hud."
Melvyn Douglas won the Oscar for Supporting Actor in that role as the stoic conservative foil to Paul Newman's ethically-challenged "if it feels good, do it" character of Hud Bannon.
I don't think it's summed up as succinctly in the book as in Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson's screenplay. But that one speech reflects a lot of things that were said by Sam, and other characters, throughout LOTR.
I think you are way off base with that statement, Mary. If you will notice, when John Nolte, or ToTo, or any of the other reviewers posts about Movies out now, there are usually very long threads of people who have either seen the flick, or know enough about it, to not want to see it. As for what's on tv, I've never seen a more knowledgeable group of people blogging their thoughts and opinions of what is good and what is crap, anywhere. Are you suggesting that because some of us don't agree with the content, and choose not to watch certain programs we are uninformed?
It's funny, Schizoid, but I'd had a similar piece in mind too, and like you, I'm glad Mr. Dvonch beat me to it and saved me from embarrassing myself. You're right about the quantum field…
Great article. I have so many interesting stories, but, alas, no talent to write them. I wish I had half the talent of Mr. Dvonch, and a great many people here at BH.
It is not that we currently lack heros. It IS that the liberal culture wants us to despair. They want us to believe truly that all our heros are villans in order to enslave us to their will and way of thinking. They use movies such as No Country For Old Men and laud them as excellence for that very reason. To see such an advancement of evil and to be left with despair and hopelessness. We have made it clear with our movie dollars what we like and want to see and we are ignored. The Dark Knight is one of the best allegories of George W. Bush I have ever seen.
George W. Bush is a hero. Is there a conservative or a republican in congress who will dare advance that? Rush Limbaugh is a hero. Ann Coulter is a heroine. Sarah Palin is a heroine.The culture has been cowed by the overarching, evil, nonsensical and browbeating rhetoric of the left. Many hollywood products of today reflect that.
We need brave souls on the homefornt to bolster and join forces with our forces on the battlefield.
For this is a battle as crucial as the one overseas. As an aside: I hear they are to film Atlas Shrugged. If so, perhaps that would be a good beginning.
Nihilistic amphigory. Thanks, I finally have the perfect description of that movie.
I wish you were right. But the reason I think that so much of everything on TV or in the theaters is crap is that I've voluntarily subjected myself to the torture of watching a great deal of it. I rarely form opinions of things I have neither seen nor heard. I suspect that this is true of most of the posters on this site.
Hey Russ!
Keep writing sage.
As soon as sag gets it's act in gear and agrees to a contract, you'll have another "conservative film" to quote. we're still fighting the good fight!
First, take Rick Berman and everyone involved with ST:TNG; DS-9; Voyager, and Enterprise and put a bullet in their brain pan. You can hang on to Patrick Stewart because he at least redeemed himself (or was that predeemed) himself as Gurney Hallock.
Then turn the whole dam franchise over to James Cawley and those guys at Star Trek: Phase 2. That would bring back the greatest of all American heroes; James T. Kirk.
Hey! I was a recording studio synthesizer programmer in the 80's! Some of those sounds are mine! LOL!
I do know what you mean, though, and it's actually a kind of hell for me when I listen to music of the 80's: "Oh, that's a Yamaha DX-7… that's a Fairlight CMI right there… ooooh, listen, a Synclavier!" ;^)
This is my favorite post yet at Big Hollywood, Mr. Dvonch!
Checking the logs, the most plays for DVD's in my collection are for the LOTR extended DVD's at over ten each, with the Star Wars OT second, and various John Wayne DVD's after those and my boxed set of the Indiana Jones OT intersperced. But, I must admit, that I loved No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood when they were on my premium satellite channels… but I never bought the DVD's.
OK, the Alien Quadrilogy has gotten several plays from me as well. LOL!
I loved There Will be Blood as well. Sure he wasn't a hero but I have to ask… so? That's not what the movie was about. I think Daniel Day Lewis turned in a masterful performance and deserved that Oscar. As for No Country, I still haven't seen it but a friend of mine saw it and did NOT like it at all. He felt the ending completely undid everything else that happened (he couldn't say much without spoiling it but I believe him).
As for heroes and good stories on TV, I have to toss my hat into the ring and recommend Chuck and Reaper (good vs. evil, our lead character always tries to do good despite his hellish circumstances, etc.).
Unfortunately, it looks like ABC Family cancelled this show but it's coming to DVD this summer: The Middleman. It's sort of a Get Smart meets Men in Black type of show and the lead character (as described by the show's creator) is a "Dirk Squarejaw" – a deliberate throwback to the type of heroes people on this site love to talk about. He's a western-watching, milk-drinking, former Navy Seal who doesn't curse (in humorous contrast to his partner) and always does the right thing.
Oh, don't get me wrong, LH. I do think we tend to be a lot less likely to see things we have heard about that are things we would find offensive, or not in line with our values, but I also think we keep up very well with what's going on. Maybe moreso than most folks who just mindlessly go and don't suss out the wheat from the chaff. What do you think? Am I wrong on this?
I enjoyed the piece immensely and the comments as well. I have a story of a true hero if anyone is interested in telling it. It is the story of my dad's life, a man who rose from nothing– the son of Sicilian immigrants in the 1920's — to success in the country he loved. My dad lived a long and valuable life — contributing to his family, his community, his church and his country. He died protecting the woman he had loved for more than 60 years. I have told his story simply on the internet, though I lack the skills to write a screenplay. My dad lived a wonderful American life, one that we all strive to live. He was a just, kind and intelligent man. His life was ended by an evil woman, though in my heart I know that my dad won his battle with evil. My mom survived to live several more years. Go to his life story at: http://www.iannarino.us/fordad.php. There is much more to the story than I could tell on the website. Please respond if you are interested in the story and would like to work on telling it.
After all that I wrote, I gave the wrong url — my dad's story is at: http://www.iannarino.us/fordad/francescoshomepage... You would think I would remember the url.
Except that the "heroic" quote used in this article was not in the books. I guess the "makers" didn't butcher everything. Funny that Dvonch, a screenwriter, wouldn't give the screenwriters credit for the writing.
The trees in OC lean north because Hollywood sucks.
Excellent piece! Please write more!
As an occasional (and often reluctant) consumer of Hollywood, I have long maintained the same thoughts you expressed…but you fleshed them out so beautifully.
Anti-heros? Had my fill; won't waste my money of anything that undermines the tenuous hold I have fighting off the evils and the ennui of the world. Give me something that, through analogy and metaphor, uplifts me and helps me use my time on earth "for the good."
American history is full of heros from every age of its existence, and every type of person. Further, it is my belief that the hero is, archetypically, more American than any other culture on earth because we do (did?) possess moral clarity, the gumption to take on evil, and the grit to see it through.
Were I a Hollywood studio elite, I'd put my money on these stories, and tell all the moral relativists and hand-wringers to find their own funding. Then I'd go make movies people wanted to see.
This URL doesn't work.
we will observe said show- thanks!
This URL should work. http://www.iannarino.us/fordad/francescoshomepage... I am sorry for the mistake. Too many tears in my eyes I guess. I still miss him.
Don Bellisario is former military- that's why he is unique. Will agree that some of these programs are less offensive; still many of the problematic Hollywood stereotyping (Blonde men are always evil, the faithful are intolerant, etc.) are extant in such shows. Still, if you have to watch something they'll do. By the way Mark Harmon is a very nice chap and not one of the Hollywood 'pinheads'…
Am very much looking forward to the hero article. These figures goes back into the remote past. Mythic elerments are there for the using.
One thing I have found about 'characterization' is that the hero is always defined by his choice of actions.
Too many young writers get bogged down into trying to portray their character's inner selves, and flesh them out, by grim deep dialogue full of significance.
Your hero's character is portrayed by what he will or will not eat when starving, for instance.
It's working now, thank you.
Agreed. I know Sam makes mention of being in "the great stories" sometime, I just can't remember where.
You're right, Hawk. I'm Rom Cath (that's what my dogtags say, anyway). I remember very well the liberalazation of mass from the old latin infused ritual to the new age, guitar-mass thing (yes, they started singing Kumbaya…..I'll never forgive them for that). It's not enough to simply lay off things on the church. Parents have to be involved more. I would never force feed religion down anyone's throat. That is counterproductive and, I think, goes a long way to explaining the left's war on religion. It is there for the taking and it is your choice. The brimstone Baptists always turned me off because of that. Point being, a hero doesn't always have to do heroic things. Just give me someone who tries to do the moral thing. That is what I get out of religion. It may not work out, but make the attempt. If children can do that, we would all be a lot better off. OK, I'm rambling……
I think you made some great points, 98; I send my children to a Catholic school, and it is amazing the number of parents who think that the school should teach them morals and values (which is does, since we can bring those elements into the lessons still, unlike our public school counterparts.) But everyone plays a role, and if a parent does not want to parent, they should not have kids.
When my son gives me "but so & so can" I tell him that so&so's parents aren't doing their job. Parenting is the best job I will ever have, but it's work—worthwhile work, but you have to work at it. Being liked is not an objective —primary concerns are is my child safe, healthy and whole—I tell him that happy does not make the top three (though I want him to be happy).
Talk about rambling—-but you made good points—-and I agree about Kumbaya!
I think you made some great points, 98; I send my children to a Catholic school, and it is amazing the number of parents who think that the school should teach them morals and values (which is does, since we can bring those elements into the lessons still, unlike our public school counterparts.) But everyone plays a role, and if a parent does not want to parent, they should not have kids.
When my son gives me "but so & so can" I tell him that so&so's parents aren't doing their job. Parenting is the best job I will ever have, but it's work—worthwhile work, but you have to work at it. Being liked is not an objective —primary concerns are is my child safe, healthy and whole—I tell him that happy does not make the top three (though I want him to be happy).
Talk about rambling—-but you made good points—-and I agree about Kumbaya!
No need to feel stupid. In the nihilist construct there are no heros and nothing is affirmed. Only situations that occur and the events that follow. Not to say that I liked the movie that much (it went downhill fast when Woody showed up), it just told a story. When I was in Arizona, Mr. pnuematic device thingy wouldn't get all that far with the general populace. We were generally armed, and quite well, I might add. Trying to affix meaning to everything on screen is a kind of ego exercise that I try not to engage in. I just go to the bar and tell the guy next to me it sucked.
I'd love to see Atlas Shrugged made into a movie. Hollywood rushes to give us a film of The Davinci Code, but Atlas Shrugged has gone ignored for decades. Always rumored to be "in devlopment" but never brought to fruition. The rumors started again last year but to date no release date for the project.
Dear Hollywood, MAKE THE MOVIE ALREADY!
If Sci-Fi drops it.. we'll add another one to the "pitchfork" list.
PS: Fantastic article, Russ.
Ahhh yes, the "capitalist pig" stereotype. Very difficult to alter that perception among the general populace. I despise "coporate culture" so, I wouldn't know where to start.
I think this is why John Wayne is still popular, thirty years after his death. He portrayed heroes and didn't apologize for it. You knew where he stood and the antagonist of the story was in for one hell of an ass-whoopin'. (I give George Kennedy's character from THE SONS OF KATY ELDER as example. Fella never looked at an axe handle the same way, I bet)
At the same time, i liked NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN as a once in a while chance to visit Cynical-NihilisimLand. The totality of evil and people unable to cope with it was interesting. (Of course, I wish Mr. Page-boy Haircut Killer would have gotten his in the end.) I don't want to see every film made this way. In the '90's, with the advvent of PULP FICTION, ubber violent and cynical films were made and they got to be pretentcious and a boor. But every once in a while, I like to dip my toe in for something different. Heroes and Bastards. There is room on my video shelf for both.
Mary, if you will list the examples of current pop culture that speak to you, I think you will find some very good discussion. Folks here are more exposed to pop culture than you may think.
Well, given that my husband works for a multi-national pharma company and has drawn the attention of HQ and has the respect and ear, I have a vested interest in this current wave of class envy and class warfare being quelled somewhat. We are by no means on the level of those at AIG, but he is successful and rising. It's uncomfortable to think that people could wind up hating us for no better reason than that he is good at what he does – microbiology and statistical analysis.
"If you are a screenwriter or someone who would like to become a screenwriter, you can be the tip of the spear for changing the leftist culture that Hollywood promotes by writing heroic characters that embody traditional American values.
This post, and I hope several more, is addressed to you. I hope to inspire you to write the kind of heroic characters that will push back against the leftist cultural tide that is the reason for Big Hollywood’s existence."
This whole premise is shredded by this:
"So let’s begin. But be warned: you’re about to take writing advice from a screenwriter who’s been kicked out of Hollywood."
Lots of talk about writing conservative stories to bring to the masses without any way to make or distribute the work. Before we can change Hollywood and pop-culture there needs to be a viable structure in place to finance, develop, and show the products. Put money where the mouth is first and then this self-flagellation can be made flesh.
Bush, to me, is the prototypical tragic hero. Always tried to do the right thing, took missteps along the way. Who doesn't? Fufilled the heroic goal of keeping us safe, during his watch, and was slammed for it. I do wish he would have stood up for himself more but, so be it. Tough to do when it seems every corner is throwing their Birkenstocks at you. Still, a class act.
I was too distracted when I watched that. I need to rent it again.
Excellent. Big Hollywood is the light in the darkness.
I agree with you and Kit about parents closely working with their kids. It's tough, but rewarding. A few years ago my older daughter (now an involved mother of two boys) came out of the clear blue with: "Ya know, Dad, we never got around to thanking you and Mom for being so tough. When my friends wanted to do something I knew was wrong, I'd always tell them "my Mom and Dad are really strict and they know everything I do. If I go along with this, they'll find out and they'll kill me.' " We were her excuse to stay out of trouble.
I was referring more to the "in loco parentis" thing. They're away from us many hours a day at school, and on Sunday morning there's a chance for them to hear somebody saying with "authority" what we've been telling them the rest of the week and what the teachers haven't been telling them. There is right and wrong, there is good and evil, and your kids need to know the difference. My two older kids went to very good public schools, but my younger one attended Lutheran schools. All three got excellent educations through high school, but the youngest one had a much easier time accepting the rules and ideals that we believed in because she was hearing the same things at school.
This is not to say that good parents can't raise good kids with good morals by working hard at it outside the churches. It's just easier when the schools and churches aren't working against you. As for the preachers, I guess I've spent so much of my life in the academic and legal environments that it's nice to get a little hellfire and brimstone tossed at me once in awhile.
I agree with you and Kit about parents closely working with their kids. It's tough, but rewarding. A few years ago my older daughter (now an involved mother of two boys) came out of the clear blue with: "Ya know, Dad, we never got around to thanking you and Mom for being so tough. When my friends wanted to do something I knew was wrong, I'd always tell them "my Mom and Dad are really strict and they know everything I do. If I go along with this, they'll find out and they'll kill me.' " We were her excuse to stay out of trouble.
I was referring more to the "in loco parentis" thing. They're away from us many hours a day at school, and on Sunday morning there's a chance for them to hear somebody saying with "authority" what we've been telling them the rest of the week and what the teachers haven't been telling them. There is right and wrong, there is good and evil, and your kids need to know the difference. My two older kids went to very good public schools, but my younger one attended Lutheran schools. All three got excellent educations through high school, but the youngest one had a much easier time accepting the rules and ideals that we believed in because she was hearing the same things at school.
This is not to say that good parents can't raise good kids with good morals by working hard at it outside the churches. It's just easier when the schools and churches aren't working against you. As for the preachers, I guess I've spent so much of my life in the academic and legal environments that it's nice to get a little hellfire and brimstone tossed at me once in awhile.
[...] Read it here [...]
You and our Marine friend got Kumbaya. After years in conservative Lutheran congregations, we moved to a different town and ended up at a touchy-feely ELCA church. The first "hymn" of the day was "I Don't Know How to Love HIm" from "Jesus Christ, Superstar." I wasn't rude enough to get up and leave, but we never went back to that place and we found a more old-fashioned congregation.
98 mentioned the Catholic transition from the Latin Mass. I grew up in big cities where there was always a Lutheran church that had at least one service in German (most of them are gone now). My parents missed the old language, so I'd get dragged to those every once in awhile. I never became fluent in German, so I missed much of what the sermons were actually saying. But hearing a pastor giving a sermon on love and grace in German always sounded more like "you're going to hell if you don't behave." to my young ear. I may not have understood the words, but I got the message.
You're not wrong at all. I watch "a great deal of it" largely because it's in the nature of lawyers (even reitred lawyers) to view and listen to opposing opinions and differing points of view no matter how offensive. There's nothing wrong with having firm morals and decent tastes along with prior information that give a strong indication that a particular movie or TV show is simply not your thing. Considering the massive amounts of trash out there, I may also suffer from a case of masochism. But let's face it, given the amount of genuinely lousy material being churned out, we're all going to get exposed to a lot of valueless "entertainment" just by accident. Ergo, most of the conscientious posters here, like you, are not ignorant of the subject matter they are discussing.
Mr. Dvonch, you have earned yourself an ATTABOY! You are of course right. We are hungry for heros in real life and in the movies. As appropriate for a well written article, you have given me pause to examine the heros that have made life worth it. Hollywood will never tell the stories of the common man that takes what I would consider heroic behavior.
SUA SPONTE!
[...] you? I mean real heroes – not the ultra conflicted twits who only do the right thing by accident. Apparently someone at Big Hollywood does. Nothing is more important in our lives than deciding what to do with the time we are given, and [...]
Please continue the lesson, good sir! I look forwarding to learning more about the storytelling arts.
Hey…don't forget the Mormon Battalion, a group of Saints that basically after being hunted by the Federal Government joined the US Army to help with the War with Mexico. They Marched from Fort Leavenworth Kansas to San Diego (Still the longest Military overland march in US History) They made it all the way only to be released because the War was over by the time they got there.''''''
Do you think you'll ever see a movie about that ….?
Fat Chance
Thanks to everyone for their comments! They are deeply appreciated. I will write more on the subject and post again.
You know, I have been trying to explain to people why Heroes is a total soul-sucking drag this year, especially when compared to the brilliant first season, and I think this article is pointing out a bunch of good reasons.
The first season had a strong focus on good vs. evil; Sylar was an amazing villain, and the motive to prevent NYC from being wiped out was obviously a strong one. They had focused characters like Hiro who idolized the classic heroes and wanted to emulate them. (I know a lot of people viewed him as a shameful stereotype, but I thought he brought a nice shot of joyful levity compared to his super-serious counterparts who apparently lost their sense of humor when they gained their powers.) But this season has gone in crazy places, with everyone shifting their good/bad personas left and right (Example: Syler is suddenly good and bakes? The crap? Is like putting a pink frilly apron on Vader.) I'm not trying to say that characters can't switch sides or be hiding a motive for good under an indifferent/bad exterior, question their quest, or do any of the other things that make up a good plot-twisting story. I'm just saying that you need to care about the characters and what happens to them for a story to be compelling, and by killing what was good, pure, and dare I say heroic in some of the best characters on the show, the writers have almost destroyed my interest in what happens to them. I keep feeling like most of the characters are relying on some sort of "must do good" autopilot setting switched on in their heads to give them motive, instead of doing what needs to be done from some internal drive. (I haven't watched the last few eps so if this has changed my bad.)
Am excited for more posts like this one!
FINALLY! I'm so glad to see (based on all the comments here) that I am not the only one who disliked No Country for Old Men by the ending. In fact, I've now decided that if I hear of any movie being lauded for its "gritty, realistic interpretation of X" or featuring the "anti-hero," I'm not going to waste my money. Life's too short to pay for depressing entertainment.
I'm a little late to the comments, but this is what I hope to see more of at BigHollywood; an exhortation (and even a how-to) to take back the arts and infuse our cinema with real hope, meaning, and inspiration. Keep writing, and I hope other contributors to this blog follow your example.
'No Country for Old Men' was a good example of chilling cynicism wrapped in hip clothing. There is a market for that sort of 'relevance', more's the pity.
Yeah, what was it, when The Abyss was being developed there were at least 5 other underwater movies being considered. Same with Armageddon and asteroid hitting Earth flicks. Funny how that happens.
As for the Hero's Journey in film, I'd say, go for it. As for me, I would have used different examples than Russ anyway, so I probably will still write it.
If Hollywood can produce 200 anti-hero movies a year, BH can afford to have at least three articles on heroes!
"One problem I do have with this site is that I don't think many of the people here are all that well-exposed to current pop culture. They don't recognize the heroes that are out there in fictional-picture-land because they don't watch anything."
How unbelievably condescending. You do not know anything about us or what we do and don't watch.
I think a message board is also a great idea..maybe they can add one into the site somewhere…might be worth asking the powers that be.
[...] my last post, I suggested that “doing the right thing is worth the struggle” is a common inspirational [...]
[...] Heroic Hollywood screenwriting posts are found here, here, and [...]
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