Honor

I just finished watching Batman: The Dark Knight for the uncountable time.

I'm reminded of such anti-hero movies as Taretino's Pulp fiction or Resevior Dogs and Micheal Mann's Heat amoungst others that force the audience to identify with a bad guy and the morals and ethics that they may (or may not) display.

What strikes me is that in every case these movies, and others, display a level of morality or ethics well beyond what is displayed by other films.

It is almost like there is a deliberate effort to make the audience identify with these characters. These people display characteristics that are above reproach, regardless of the actual character traits of the person being portrayed.

My question is this...what image is the viewer meant to be left with?

In every case we identify with the characters because of thier morals even though these people are outside/beyond the law.

What do we see?...

Intense loyalty, strong moral dedication to thier cause (even though the cause is criminal) and an ethical conviction that rivals anything presented by other forms of entertainment.

My point?

Why are the best traits of humanity being portrayed by its worst members?

I have not always been the type of person that deserves respect; I have been places that nice people don't go and done things that nice people don't do...but I always knew where the line was and I always backed off before crossing it.

I have been in situations where I was face-to-face with my demons because the situation was, again, straight out of the movies...I have actually walked down an abandoned railway line in the snow surrounded by the stereotypical crimminal, revisiting past experiences/events in my mind to debate if this was my moment of reconning.

Again...my point?

Why does Hollywood choose to display the best possible traits in the worst possible situation?

I fear that the world I live in has become so corrupt that only those who live outside/beyond the law are the ones who actually respect what our existence is supposed to be. Our lives have become so preverted that the only real examples of true character are displayed by those who choose to live outside society's rules.

This is my first aimless rambling post, but the question is still valid.

How did we come to this?

Simple, the world is corrupt to it's core.

As I see it,honor is about sticking with a core set of beliefs,and never wavering from them.Americans today are what I would describe as "comfort addicts",Europeans more so.As soon as the going gets tough,a comfort addict will crap out on their beliefs with extreme prejudice.When we see a politician do this,we call it "flip-flopping".It is as simple as this:if people can be socially pressurised to flip flop on an individual level,then control of that population is a cakewalk.If you dont want to be a spineless dude,or dudette,then never flip flop,regardless of how uncomfortable you are made to feel by others.All of histories heroes,and on the flip side all of histories genocidal wack jobs have never flip flopped.

Originally posted by [davinci]



...I have actually walked down an abandoned railway line in the snow surrounded by the stereotypical crimminal

I don't know about the snow part but I live in those types of conditions since the beginning but i'm fortunate to still be alive today.

Honor is getting rare now a days.

reply to post by bobennenwevun


I agree with you almost to the end.

I think that personal honor is represented by the choices that a person makes given the conditions/situations of thier life.

The question still remians though, why are our best possible traits represented by those we are least likely to identify with?

reply to post by [davinci]


You believe movies.

Your reality is now hollywood stupid style

reply to post by litterbaux


I didn't say I believed movies friend.

Walk down the main drag in your city, at night assuming you feel safe enough to do so.

I live in a small city, and all you'd here see are gangsta wanna be's.

I've got an acquaintence who fell for the image and tried for the life...the last I heard of him he had left the province because he got caught up with REAL gangsters and found out the hard way that there is no glamour.

Just a bottomless pit and an anchor.