When I was younger, my parents sheltered me from a lot of things in life. Intentional or not, I cannot recall; for all I know, I could have bit them in the arm and thrown my
tinker-toys across the room if they ever suggested a
camping trip. Suffice to say that I never really stepped into the wilderness before I was 16, I never watched any
scary movies, and I never did much of anything save play with my
LEGO and my
Tinker Toys. Even the concept of
Squash and many other
staple foods were foreign to me until I was 18.
As I started getting older (say, 8-10 years), I began making friends who did not lead such a sheltered life. One of those friends had a penchant for
movies.
I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, loving movies the way he did. He'd pop in a movie and we'd watch it, and he'd start rattling off inside-information and interesting facts about the
movie, the
actors, the
scenes, or how they made
special effects. I imagine his father taught him quite a few things, but as can probably guess, 8-year-olds have a knack for stretching the truth a bit.
But stretching that truth was stretching my
imagination.
The first movie I remember seeing was
Mary Poppins, a few other children's classics, and then...
Predator. Scenes of
horror,
tension,
dead bodies, and... well... my first action flic sent me running back home with tears streaming down my face. I plopped myself down on my comfy and safe sofa and decided to watch some
TV.
With my miniature hands I pushed the remote buttons and happened to come across
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Though just as
horrific as
Predator, I was fascinated by this
Indiana Jones character. Here was a guy who could fly
airplanes, doesn't need guns (his whip would do fine, thank you), goes
adventuring out in the wilderness, is smart, witty, agile, and he gets all the women. That last one got appended when I got a bit older.
When my parents found me watching some poor sap get his heart ripped out of his chest on screen I was sent to my room, where I resumed
day-dreaming about this wonderful man.
I grew fascinated with
Indiana Jones, eventually buying the whole trilogy and sharing the experience with others. It remains one of my few purchased movies, alongside a few other Harrison Ford goodies. I have Jones movie posters adorning my living room, reminding me of what I can accomplish. I'm even currently trying to find a way to become a
pilot - just like him.
By the time I was old enough to know that
Indiana Jones starred in other films, just with other costumes on, I started watching them too - movies like
The Fugitive and - you knew it was coming -
Star Wars. Being a young computer-loving geek this was just getting better and better.
Let's summarize. Here is a fellow who has touched more trees than I ever had. He fearlessly takles
the outdoors and the unknown contained within. He has no use for high-powered gadgets or weaponry; he makes up a novel approach using his current posessions and surroundings. He rarely takes a life needlessly. He looks super-cool with his fedora and little satchel (it's not a purse!). He is humbled and respects his father, and still has conflicts with him as I still do.
Han Solo shares the same wit and snappy retorts; he is also very talented with technological things (the
Millenium Falcon for instance) and he was a "cowboy" of the
Star Wars universe. Who can't like him?
Indiana Jones is what I thought I could make my life, if only I had been in the right place at the right time.
Han Solo, I figure, is also a little boy's dream - commanding a starship and not being one of those up-tight military types who just barks orders at
Chewy. No no, Han is cool enough to fly the damned crate himself. As for
Harrison Ford himself, his acting inspired me to try my hand at acting as well. I even wore my Indiana Jones fedora in a
High School musical production as a tribute. Just the fact that
Harrison Ford went from being a
carpenter "in the right place at the right time" to being the actor with more gross movie money in his pocket than any other actor just inspires me further. No matter how low I feel right now, luck might come along and help you out. I might just ask for a role in a movie one day and someone might just say "yes."
I'm still waiting for someone to say "yes," and I do know now that some people can go their whole life waiting. Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and Harrison Ford have all improved my life so much that I figure I win either way. Making a movie would just be a bonus.
Thanks, guys.
Note: This is node is written as part of We Could Be Heroes: tes's Everything2 Heroes Quest
Note: The above was blatantly and intentionally cut-n-pasted from Bacchon's Calvin node.