Thursday, September 14, 2017
Heroes Anyone?
In the movie The General Johnnie Gray, a simple engineer, tries to win the heart of his girlfriend by enlisting in the army. Although he is refused, he eventually takes on a group of Northern soldiers who hijack his train. Not only does he rescue his beloved Anabelle (and General), but he also helps defeat a Northern army in battle. Yet, his methods are hardly standard derring-do. Is Johnnie just lucky or a true hero? Does this film endorse standard ideas of military heroism or make fun of them? Or does this movie redefine a hero? What does this movie tell us about heroism (or related concepts of machismo, chivalry, or militarism)?
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Johnnie Gray is not a true hero in The General because of the common interpretation of a hero. His overwhelming luck that the director portrays through the concept of humor proves this because whenever he attempts to do something heroic he ends up having bad luck. It is only when he does not expect to do something heroic that heroism is portrayed. Johnnie was unsuccessful in being a hero for the vast majority of the film and he could have died many times if it was not for his outstanding luck that saves him every time. His ability to not die is essentially, what creates the hero aspect of the film in the sense that his actions that he takes to achieve his goal do nothing but make fun of other heroes and their methods. Johnnie’s actions are nothing more than a joke for this film. To make a heroic action possible, the hero needs to know that they are doing something heroic. When Johnnie was in the process of doing something heroic, he often had no idea that he was being a hero. This movie does nothing for all heroes but make fun of them. The creator of The General purposefully made Johnnie seem like he had good luck because he wanted to change the way that a hero’s story is told. By changing the way that the hero’s story is told in this film, the audience is meant to interpret Johnnie as a hero by themselves. Normally, the audience would see Johnnie as a clumsy fool. The film tells us that a hero can be shown in many different ways and opens our eyes to different interpretations.
ReplyDeleteJohnnie Gray’s perseverance qualifies him as a hero. It is true that Johnnie’s incredible actions were facilitated by incredible luck that defied the standard derring-do, however, it is important to note that actions must be motivated from intentions. Without any intentions, no action would proceed. Johnnie’s perseverance was very clear throughout the film. Perseverance is defined as “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success” (Google). Johnnie Like every other man, truly wanted to serve the army. Even when he was rejected initially, he tried again pretending to be a different person. Furthermore, when his train was stolen, he was determined to chase it back, despite facing many obstacles such as roadblocks, split tracks, and even gunfire. Ultimately, when he realized his fiancé was in danger, he risked his life to save her. All these actions demonstrate incredible perseverance, where he is determined to do all three things despite “difficulty or delay”. His perseverance is what enabled the lucky conditions to be of his use. If one was extremely lucky but didn’t do anything, there is no place to actualize this luck. Johnnie’s perseverance outmatched all other characters, allowing him to succeed in the end. Heroes are admired by people not solely because they possess superior physical abilities, but rather their perseverance to accomplish something. For example, conventional superheroes such as Batman or Superman are not admired solely because they are rich or powerful, but rather that they both have the perseverance to help others despite any difficulty. Heroes are like batteries, people like them not solely for their power, but more so for their lasting perseverance.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe the Johnnie Gray is displayed as a true hero in The General. It may seem that The General makes fun of military heroism by suggesting that you don’t really need to have any form of knowledge in strategy or skill to win a battle or promote your rank. However, the way that Buster Keaton portrays this character in a comedic fashion redefines the meaning of a hero by showing that you don’t have to be the strongest, fastest, or best-looking to save the day. When we first see Johnnie in line to enlisted, before he gets denied, he is juxtaposed to another man who is taller and bigger who later gets accepted. Then, when Johnnie sees a man around the same size as him accepted, he begins to question what these other men have that he does not. What makes him a hero is that although he does not have what it takes to be a soldier on the outside, in the inside, he has one of the biggest and determined hearts in the whole South. When he discovers that his loved one is missing, he makes it his priority to get her back to safety, despite his close encounters with danger. This persistence is a true testament to Johnnie’s chivalry, although he is not in possession of outstanding military skill. The fact that The General is in the comedy genre is the reason why I believe that Johnnie can be seen as just lucky. However, besides the comedic acting and tone, Johnnie’s attitude and perseverance is what makes him a true, but redefined, hero.
ReplyDeleteIf all that is considered is the simple facts alone of what a hero is such as; saving the day, saving the girl, getting to be with the beautiful girl in the end, getting a reward/recognition, then yes Johnnie is a true hero. He helps defeat the northern army and wins over the girl’s heart. Failure after failure, he still has ambition to go after what he feels is right. Going off that, he shows military heroism. Even though he was not enlisted in the army, he shows his true compassion and work ethic by not giving up and in the end of all the hard work he has put in, he finally becomes a Coronel. The army recognized his true dedication and hardship of earning that position. Sometimes in the military when a soldier acts on their gut feeling, they are punished but in the long run they are the true heroes that saved the army. Johnnie does not redefine heroism; he just shows a different viewpoint on heroism. He shows the regular hero defeating the enemy, but he also shows the amount effort as an imperfect human being he puts in, in order to defeat the enemy. Through this movie, we see chivalry by Johnnie finding Anabelle and returning her to the South side showing his heroic gentleman side. We see a type of machismo when he puts on his coronel jacket, from the smile on his face to the body expression and language he shows true pride. The audience gets all these aspects from the movie clearly depicting Johnnie as a hero despite his humorous falts.
ReplyDeleteIn the film The General, Johnnie Gray is not a hero but simply a clumsy every man who reacts to the situations he is presented with but is seldom in control. If Johnnie gray were a hero, it would likely make the film less funny because many jokes rely on the fact that he is not heroic. Most notable is the joke at the end of the movie where the confederate general takes the jacket from Johnnie; the audience expects that this is done because he does not conduct himself like a soldier. The general then rewards him with a general uniform. This is funny because the audience was not expecting a misfit like Johnnie to be rewarded by the general, if he had been heroic throughout the film, people would expect him to be rewarded and thus the joke would not be funny. A good example of Johnnie not being in control would be when he fires the cannon at the northern controlled train. Alone this action may seem heroic but it becomes apparent quickly that the entire situation is out of his control. The cannon is aimed by the train tracks and happens to fire at the correct instant so that the projectile lands near the northern train. In order for him to be classified as a hero, he would need to be consciously causing things like this instead of passively benefiting. However, like before this action would not be funny to watch if he had fired the cannon correctly.
ReplyDeleteIn The General, Johnnie is not a real hero because all of the “heroic acts that he commits are accidental and are more for comedic effect. He often attempts to do something heroic but fails. He only succeeds after something unexpected happens which makes his plan work. For example, when Johnnie gets out of the train to remove obstacles from the track he is almost hit by the train and just barely makes it onto the front end. Then he proceeds to make very lucky attempts to get stuff off of the track. Another example is when he is hiding under the table during the Union meeting he did not mean to be there as a spy would he just lucky. This moves the plot along and provides funny moments, but it does not make Johnnie a hero because the situation just fell into his lap he did not actually have to work to fix the problems. A third example is during the battle when Johnnie is attempting to fire a cannon at the Union soldiers. The first few rebels are killed by a sniper but then Johnnie launches his sword on accident killing the sniper. This proves that Johnnie does great things but never on purpose things simply happen to him because they are funny for the viewer. Overall the movie makes fun of the idea of a traditional military hero who is able to do everything and save the day because Johnnie saves the day on accident. Many heroic tropes are almost mocked in the movie like saving the damsel in distress. This movie overall challenges the idea of what it means to be a hero while also being hilarious and having some amazing practical effects such as the dam breaking.
ReplyDeleteInstead of endorsing standard ideas of military heroism, The General, a spoof of standard rescue movies that idealize stereotypically masculine traits, argues instead that heroism should be defined by bravery and stamina, as demonstrated by Johnnie Gray. At the start of the film, even though Johnny Gray is repeatedly denied from enlisting into the Southern army, he shows his heroic quality of determination as he sprints after the train when it is stolen, realizing only later that the few members of the Southern army that had at first pursued the stolen train along with him had fallen far behind and given up. In this instance, Johnny Gray, a man who is unable to enlist in the Southern army and fulfill expected roles of militarism and chivalry, outperforms those who do and successfully catches up to the Northern spies in the end because of his persistence, not because of his physical power. Furthermore, even though Johnny Gray seems to stumble into lucky situations (for example, he ends up at the home base of the Northern spies and is able to obtain all the information regarding their plan of attack), without his innate sense of bravery, he would not have dared to rescue his belle and hijack the Northern supply train. Therefore, it is fair to say Johnny is a true hero, because his personal character traits were essential in turning lucky happenstances into successful results. Additionally, this film redefines heroism by placing more importance on wit than brute strength, as, near the end of the film, Johnny Gray sets a booby trap for the Northern-controlled train pursuing him by bending the train tracks to divert the train. A move that takes Johnny Gray only a few minutes to set up stymies a squad of Northern military men, who seem to embody every aspect of traditional heroism (strong and masculine), showing that wit outperforms muscle as a quality of success. While failure to some degree is practically a staple of comedy films, Johnny Gray’s comedic bumbles should be taken as a mockery of conventional expectations of heroism, because it emphasizes that a character can lack machismo and fail to be suave but still accomplish their mission by using qualities such as intelligence, persistence, and bravery – qualities that can come in the form of a seemingly small man who initially can’t even enlist in the army.
ReplyDeleteIn the film The General, the protagonist Johnnie Gray is a true hero because of his constant persistence throughout the movie. Johnnie has countless encounters with near-failure and his luck and determination lead to him be a true hero. He originally sets off to save his beloved train from the Union army, but his main focus shifts to saving his true love, Annabelle. She was kidnapped by the same Union soldiers and with a stroke of luck, he was given the opportunity to save her. The endless luck that Johnnie had throughout the movie was simply for a humorous effect. For example, when he found himself hiding underneath a table to hide from Union soldiers and ends up hearing a pivotal plan of theirs. He is then able to convey his message to the Confederacy and foil their plans. While accidental he still persevered and was able to play a crucial role in winning for the Confederacy. Although he is not a typical heroic figure, almost a satirical version of one, he still deserves the title of hero. The humor which played into the movie through the lucky accidents that helped Johnnie’s success was poking fun at a subject that is ordinarily portrayed as very serious. This does not make him any less of a hero, Johnnie got the job done and in the end that is all that matters. He saved his beloved train, Annabelle, and became a lieutenant by doing so. While he might not be your average heroic figure, he is one nonetheless.
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ReplyDeleteIn the film The General, Johnnie Gray cannot be considered a true hero because most of his acts of heroism are pure luck. The comedy portrays Gray’s actions as a joke to keep the audience amused. The director makes it seem like Johnnie’s success in the film is all a coincidence. For example, when Johnnie is trying to flee from the soldiers who stole his train he faces many obstacles like roadblocks, gunfire, and even a burning bridge. When he is challenged with a block in the road or a broken railroad he jumps off the moving train in an attempt to save his journey. These barriers that seem impossible are easily removed without much effort at all. These difficulties are all dangerous threats towards his life, but somehow he makes it through without a scratch even after being hit by the train. Johnnie’s obstacles are unrealistic to make him seem like a hero and entertain the audience, but in reality he puts in no exertion and the work is done for him. Although Johnnie does do amazing things to save the day most of his actions are never on purpose, and it is just luck that everything works out perfectly. The film also makes fun of standard ideas of military heroism. For example, in the end, when Johnnie is rewarded with his new jacket and gets enlisted in the war. This mocks military heroism because Johnnie did not have to work for his position instead it was just given to him for being his clumsy yet lucky self. The movie questions what it means to be a true hero while trying to amuse the audience, and proves that his luck in fighting off the soldiers cannot qualify him as a hero.
ReplyDeleteThe film’s comedic approach of Johnnie Gray’s struggles can be seen as luck, but I believe there is a deeper meaning. The protagonist’s persistence in the pursuit of Anabelle’s kidnappers is unquestionable and only with his determination is he truly successful. Along the journey, challenging obstacles and hurdles present themselves, but he does not give up. There are many scenarios similar to David versus Goliath when it is just Johnnie Gray against an army of Union troops. This may intimidate him, but it does not stop him, supporting the message of resilience. Eventually, Gray becomes victorious with the rewards of respect, a position in the army, and Anabelle. All wishes of Johnnie Gray that came true. This shows that a hero does not need extraordinary strength or intelligence, but rather just a persistent attitude. Johnnie Gray is not the stereotypical hero; he can be seen as a regular person. This is crucial in his character development for no standard hero is depicted as clumsy. This pokes fun at military heroism by demonstrating anyone can become victorious against a powerful force. Especially since Johnnie Gray only became Lieutenant over a strange turn of events when chasing after Anabelle. Though his new military status is portrayed as respectable, the film’s message is not in favor of militarism. In fact, the only reason the protagonist wanted to join the army was that Anabelle told him to. Johnnie Gray redefines heroism in a way that shows one does not need to be superior, extraordinary, or special to become victorious.
ReplyDeleteThe film does not endorse standard ideas of military heroism, yet also redefines what a hero could be in the future of cinema. The entire film is mocking pre Civil War southern ideals, by using Johnnie Gray, a surprisingly lucky person despite his clumsiness. The scene where Johnnie is commanding people to shoot their canons down at union forces only for them to be shot, whilst the bumbling faux soldier, Johnnie Gray, somehow survives a sniper’s fire, and ends up killing him with his faulty sword. This is obvious making fun of the confederate lines, because the only person that was not enlisted into the army is the person that survives, and if a confederate soldier is going to kill someone it would be by accident. This is obviously going against the southern beliefs at the time. On the other hand, this is also the rise of the comedic hero. Despite the film being made in the 1920’s the hero is a confederate soldier. One would expect that the confederacy would be antagonized 60 years after the civil war, yet The General does a good job a making you sympathize with the person. Not only is Johnnie constantly thrown into awkward situations such as being on the wrong side of the fire on a bridge, but he also joins the war for a reason other than slavery. The only reason that Johnnie joins the war is to save his stolen train, which makes it easier to like him because you are not constantly reminded that he is fighting for slavery.
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