Compared to my first post this will definitely be different. Not as in depth. Not as long. Not as personal. Just Different.
MNF
Monday Night Football in a few minutes. Never been a huge football junkie, but I will watch this over other things. Brother is a good high school football coach. Been to few of his games. My brother's family are always dressed up Palmdale Falcon gear and we watch and cheer most games. Angelo, my nephew, 2 years old, is going to be an outstanding player. He likes to hit. He likes to kick. He rather watch college football than Sponge Bob. Its close, but pigskin wins.My Brother and Angelo are watching now.
Favre, the Protagonist
At any rate, Brett Favre is playing tonight. Minnesota versus his old team, Green Bay. Being built up as revenge game, sort of. ESPN announcers are trying to downplay the significance and meaning of the game. However, not really. If not a big football follower, here is a little back story. Two years back, quarterback Brett Farve retired from football. He left Green Bay, played 10+ years for the storied franchise. He's been on video game covers. His the face was the face of the franchise. Won Super Bowls. Perrenial All-Star. MVP this and superhero that. He has a street named after him in Green Bay. Later, it came out that management forced out the Hall of Famer, but he still wanted to play. Played for the Jets, after some controversy, the next year. Then Brett retired, with no plans to comeback--Again. Later this year, close to the end of football training camp and before regular season, after saying, "He's Done. Again" Brett came back, again. More controversy, un-retired Brett came with more controversy. He joined the Vikings. He joined Green Bay's division rival Minnesota Vikings. It's like joining the LA Lakers after playing for Boston Celtics. LA Dodgers then San Francisco Giants. Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Bad. Brett's joining the Viking was so bad that before signing on with the NY Jets, there was a clause that Brett could not play for division rival Minnesota without franchise penalty (Vikings had to give up 4 first round draft picks or something to that effect). Anyways, the Football pundits are trying to underplay the signifcance of this game and this brings me to the reason I write. This post is about Payback. This post is about Struggle. This post is about the Hero's Journey.
Thank You, Film Class
Everyone has had some adversity they faced. Some thing that has gnawed on their soul. Some grade school bully they wanted to beat up. Something that drives you to do more, whether truth or imagined. This blog is about the Hero's Journey. Learned about this concept from a film class. (Didn't need, but thought it would be fun) Little did I realize that this simple concept has been part of me since . . .forever. You, too. Premise goes like this. Hero (or Heroine) is faced with a battle of some unbeatable foe or some terrible monster. Hero loses this fight, then goes licks his wounds and learns new skills in which will topple is unbeatable foe. Before the battle, there has to be some kind of loss. Loss of friend. Loss of mentor. Loss of some great importance. Think Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi in Star Wars. Luke Skywalker and Yoda, Empire Strikes Back. Kung Fu Panda and Rat Sensei. In his deepest despair, our hero finds that intestinal fortitude to fight on and defeat his nemesis. His Arch-Enemy. His grade school bully.
Watch any movie. Read any story. This Hero's Journey is the formula for a guestimated 80% of them. Movies in the theater today. District 9. Fame. Informant. Surrogate. The Invention of Lying. Protagonist lives a certain life. He thrust in some battle. Or the hero has some dream he is fighting for. He loses something--Wife. Family. Home. Dignity. He faces some kind of struggle, real or imagined. He conquers his fear. Pow. Then there is some major loss that test his resolve. Some kind of sacrifice. There is some price paid for this newer, stonger hero-to-be. Boom. He conquers his fears, then his foes. Our hero is whole again and much wiser, stronger, and better somewhow.
Dvds on my shelf. Phenomenon. Celestine Prophecy. Tin Cup. Saving Bobby Fisher. Without Limits. Visionquest. Watch any John Carpenter movie. The eternal struggle is relived again and again and again. There are variations of the players. Variations of the foes. Variations of the lesson learned. Look on your bookshelf. I am sure some of your favorite stories has the Hero's Journey theme in it. Stephanie Meyer's Bella Swan. Anne Rice's Lestat. Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. Margaret Weiss's Raistlin. Look at the Classics. Hercules. King Arthur. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Blog's Mission
What I hope this blog will do is entertain my readers (if I get any). And hopefully she will touch a chord with some of you. Ideally, this blog will pass the message of Hope, Survivorship, and Triumph. Moreover, she will connect and broadcast the belief in the Human Spirit is strong and lives on. As for the post topics, she will cover Heroes (and Heroines), real and fictitious. She will talk about modern mythology and the classic mythological stories. She will talk about books I have read. Movies I have watched. Article I have read. This post will cover movies, magazines, comics, sports figures, political leaders, general news, etc. Mostly, this blog will discuss my personal experiences, observations, commentaries on just about everything that comes to mind that relates to the Hero's Journey. I know I will at sometime face some inner demons. Share secrets that lay hidden. Hopefully, I will uncover ontological truths and find that inner hero in me. I'm sure in time, you'll learn about me and hopefully I will learn about you. This blog will be my own Hero's Journey.
Gotta go now. Vikings 14. Green Bay 14. I would like to see if the Hero Brett Favre will be triumphant in this never ending battle of good against evil.
