The Beauty of Humanity in Art
Dear America,
I have previously mentioned my love for flawed things, but there is something uniquely wonderful about characters in art who exemplify what it means to be human. Just for a bit of clarification, when I say "human" I mean a character in a story who can demonstrate both good and bad with a fleshed out personality. Why I would argue that these are the best types of characters is that they are the most unpredictable and also the most relatable to us as an audience. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm saying we can't have heroes and everyone needs to be an average schlub like me, but I think that if we can't connect to a character, then we can't really grasp the stakes of a story or understand the world it takes place in.
An example that immediately comes to mind for me of a "hero" that exemplifies humanity is Al Pacino's character, Lt. Vincent Hanna in the film, Heat. Hanna at first appears as your typical over-worked L.A.P.D. detective who's burnt out and on the ragged edge, until we go further into the film and see aspects of his life and what drives him. He's had multiple divorces, and the film finds him on the downward spiral of his latest relationship, but instead of just hearing him talk about it, we actually see it first-hand. His wife is sleeping around just to get his attention, while his stepdaughter (brilliantly played by Natalie Portman), is suicidal and actually attempts to take her life near the end of the film. Hanna's own motivations go well beyond good vs. evil as well, since we see in his wonderfully shot meeting with bank robber, Neil McCauley (played by Robert DeNiro), that Hanna views his victims as someone's relative or spouse. He doesn't try to kill or arrest McCauley because he's a "bad guy," but rather he does it to protect victims who he puts actual faces to. Hanna's concern for the innocent victims of violent crimes drives him so much that it causes him to ignore those that he loves most, which at times puts him in a bit of a quandary on how to act and behave.
The opposite for humanity would be larger-than-life characters like Rey (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). In this situation, we have a character who effortlessly surpasses others and almost always knows what to do (and is typically always right). There's no challenge to Rey's character, which causes you to stop caring about the stakes of the film. For me, personally, Rey got to the point of where I started feeling bad for the lackeys she was dispatching because it was clear they had absolutely no chance against her. In her story, the Sith are bad and do bad things because they are bad. No wonder I stopped watching Star Wars after The Force Awakens came out...
I think this element of humanity extends well-beyond the silver screen too though. Characters like Tony Soprano, Peggy Olson, and Hank Moody each have their own personalities and motivations, which is what makes them so entertaining to watch on television. Stephen King's countless characters are even more relatable, as they're almost always fully fleshed out. I'd say that one of the reasons why people found Harry Potter so interesting was that it was because he was your average kid (until the prophecy nonsense) who stepped into a fantastical world filled with spectacular sights and sounds. Harry's absurd world still makes sense because Harry makes sense. What do you think though? Star Wars: The Force Awakens definitely out-sold Heat, so maybe I'm wrong. If I am, at least I can say that it would be a very human thing to be.
Sincerely,
Calhoun
*Heat. (1995, December 15). Warner Brothers. Photo from: https://www.dallasobserver.com/film/the-essence-of-heat-a-look-into-the-soul-of-michael-manns-epic-crime-drama-9439523.
**Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (2015, December 18). Disney. Photo from: https://aminoapps.com/c/star-wars/page/item/fn-1824/mKF0_I0B3YW0bWdGLPn4o410LmZx7L.
I have previously mentioned my love for flawed things, but there is something uniquely wonderful about characters in art who exemplify what it means to be human. Just for a bit of clarification, when I say "human" I mean a character in a story who can demonstrate both good and bad with a fleshed out personality. Why I would argue that these are the best types of characters is that they are the most unpredictable and also the most relatable to us as an audience. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm saying we can't have heroes and everyone needs to be an average schlub like me, but I think that if we can't connect to a character, then we can't really grasp the stakes of a story or understand the world it takes place in.
An example that immediately comes to mind for me of a "hero" that exemplifies humanity is Al Pacino's character, Lt. Vincent Hanna in the film, Heat. Hanna at first appears as your typical over-worked L.A.P.D. detective who's burnt out and on the ragged edge, until we go further into the film and see aspects of his life and what drives him. He's had multiple divorces, and the film finds him on the downward spiral of his latest relationship, but instead of just hearing him talk about it, we actually see it first-hand. His wife is sleeping around just to get his attention, while his stepdaughter (brilliantly played by Natalie Portman), is suicidal and actually attempts to take her life near the end of the film. Hanna's own motivations go well beyond good vs. evil as well, since we see in his wonderfully shot meeting with bank robber, Neil McCauley (played by Robert DeNiro), that Hanna views his victims as someone's relative or spouse. He doesn't try to kill or arrest McCauley because he's a "bad guy," but rather he does it to protect victims who he puts actual faces to. Hanna's concern for the innocent victims of violent crimes drives him so much that it causes him to ignore those that he loves most, which at times puts him in a bit of a quandary on how to act and behave.
The famous meeting between Hanna (left) and McCauley (right)*
The opposite for humanity would be larger-than-life characters like Rey (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). In this situation, we have a character who effortlessly surpasses others and almost always knows what to do (and is typically always right). There's no challenge to Rey's character, which causes you to stop caring about the stakes of the film. For me, personally, Rey got to the point of where I started feeling bad for the lackeys she was dispatching because it was clear they had absolutely no chance against her. In her story, the Sith are bad and do bad things because they are bad. No wonder I stopped watching Star Wars after The Force Awakens came out...
She may be strapped to a table with metal restraints, but this poor storm trooper is doomed**
I think this element of humanity extends well-beyond the silver screen too though. Characters like Tony Soprano, Peggy Olson, and Hank Moody each have their own personalities and motivations, which is what makes them so entertaining to watch on television. Stephen King's countless characters are even more relatable, as they're almost always fully fleshed out. I'd say that one of the reasons why people found Harry Potter so interesting was that it was because he was your average kid (until the prophecy nonsense) who stepped into a fantastical world filled with spectacular sights and sounds. Harry's absurd world still makes sense because Harry makes sense. What do you think though? Star Wars: The Force Awakens definitely out-sold Heat, so maybe I'm wrong. If I am, at least I can say that it would be a very human thing to be.
Sincerely,
Calhoun
------------------------------References-----------------------------
*Heat. (1995, December 15). Warner Brothers. Photo from: https://www.dallasobserver.com/film/the-essence-of-heat-a-look-into-the-soul-of-michael-manns-epic-crime-drama-9439523.
**Star Wars: The Force Awakens. (2015, December 18). Disney. Photo from: https://aminoapps.com/c/star-wars/page/item/fn-1824/mKF0_I0B3YW0bWdGLPn4o410LmZx7L.
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