Heroes
Ξ March 1st, 2008 | → | ∇ Uncategorized |
Recently I’ve been watching Heroes, a TV series about ordinary people developing superhuman abilities and their coming into terms with themselves.
I watched a few episodes from the files downloaded by my brother in Australia and then watched the rest on DVD.
What struck me and kept me interested was not the acting or the writing. Sure the acting is quite good and the writing can be smart sometimes. The plot itself chugs along at an interesting pace while the time travelling aspect of the plot is tied together nicely throughout.
However, the thing that struck me most was the theme of hope, humanity and heart. The show deals with ordinary human beings developing superhuman powers to do ‘heroic’ acts. But it is not the superordinary acts that inspires and commands respect. It is the simple act of sacrifice, love, courage and compassion.
Heroes are not what powers they have but what they do. Ordinary heroes walk the street, inspiring people to better themselves, inspiring people with their strength of character, showing people that there is always a better way, never take the easy way out.
Another theme of the movie is the evolution of mankind. The heroes are not just ordinary human beings developing superhuman strengths. They are the next step in the evolution of human genes. They are a natural order of progress.
With this theme also comes an evolution of the old generation to the new generation. Where the old generation forsook their ideals and sacrifice others for the ‘good’ of humanities’ future, the young generation sought to sacrifice themselves for their ideals, freeing humanity to make their own future.
The difference here is immense. By the nature of believing in others, in trusting that humanity at large will make the same selfless choice to serve others first, inspires hope for a better future. In deciding to sacrifice oneself for an ideal, one sets an example for others to follow. If one breaks down in despair and decide instead to sacrifice others for their own ideals, they are already damned.
It is interesting to see the similarities between Heroes and the world today. There is a wave of change today. People are asking that the politicians not do things in the interest of ‘good’ or the many. Instead, they ask that the politicians look within themselves to identify the ideals they should sacrifice themselves for. They should not impose their own interpretation of ‘good’ upon others, rather, educate and let humanity have a choice. This portrayal of idealistic politicians is striking chord with voters everywhere. The senator David Palmer in the series ‘24′, The candidate Nathan Petrelli in the series ‘Heroes’, they are a reflection of what people hope to see in senator Obama, Abdullah Badawi. They may look weak, naive. But the alternative is despair and the same cycle of lies and selfish interest.
Good guys are never thought to be able to finish first. Maybe so, but perhaps it is not who finishes first that counts, it is who that had inspired humanity to greater heights of love, compassion, courage, in their finishing that counts.