As I am getting more visitors from people who don't know me (family and friends are great, but one hopes for a wider audience) I have decided to occasionally post information that may be relevant to those trying to put my comments in a wider context. I have created a category called About the Author, and I hope to populate it with quirky stuff that tells the reader something about me.
The DVD last night was Luc Besson's Leon, archetypal European homage to a certain genre of films. Leon is the hitman, Nathalie Portman the obligatory damsel in distress. Great movie.
The reason I mention it is that my wife didn't understand why I loved the movie, and understood even less my explanation. I told her it showed a man acting rightly.
I grew up unhindered by the presence of men in my life--father working, women teachers, etc. I tried to figure out what a man should be from the media--books, tv, movies, etc. But the books and movies I chose were mostly westerns and science fiction, and the men were all self-confident, with clear (and very fixed) moral compasses, quick of decision and often of trigger. Not much help to a confused kid.
It was only when reading books and seeing movies about criminals who were trying to change that I was able to see any shades of grey that resembled the fog around me. So I learned ethics from criminals. Explains a lot, maybe. But Leon, a mafia hitman, acted rightly under stress. Leon learned to read in the month before his death. Leon loved and was loved by a 13-year-old girl without in any way taking advantage of the situation. Worse heros are out there.
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