Friday, January 20, 2012
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? What does this movie tell us about heroism?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In “The General”, Johnnie Gray, a simple train conductor and engineer, ends up on the front lines of the Civil War. Throughout the film, Johnnie is caught in many precarious situations; yet always seems to have luck on his side, always finding a way to evade the omnipresent danger. However, while Johnnie is not the standard hero that one can find in a modern day Hollywood film, I would argue that Johnnie is a hero. The beginning of the film shows Johnnie being denied acceptance into the Southern Army – recruiters believe that he better serves the South as an engineer. Johnnie is devastated, and things only get worse as his girlfriend proceeds to leave him, as she only is interested in men willing to serve. However, Johnnie’s moral compass prevailed and he continued trying to find a way to serve the South and defend the Southern ideals that he fervently believed in. In his quest to find his girlfriend, Johnnie faces insurmountable odds. However, somehow, he always overcomes them, which may come, as a result of all the luck he was experiencing. Although, Johnnie was always escaping danger, his persistent willingness to move forward and find Annabelle proved to be heroic. One of the most significant examples of Johnnie’s luck proving to be heroic was when the Confederates and Union were fighting near the river. Late in the scene and battle, Johnnie somehow ends up behind a cannon. He proceeds to load and aim the cannon, yet right before the cannon shoots, he knocks into it and redirects it straight up into the air. Through dumb luck, something that Johnnie experienced throughout the movie, the cannonball landed on a dam and its subsequent blast broke the dam and caused a major flood. This wiped out most of the Union soldiers, and the remaining ones quickly retreated. For his heroics he was promoted within the Confederate Army. This proves that you don’t have to be the strongest or smarted person to be a hero.
ReplyDeleteHeroism is definitively one of the major themes at play in Buster Keaton's comedy, "The General" which came out in 1926. Keaton plays the passive Johnnie Gray, a small town railroad engineer during the civil war. He finds himself in a jam when the love of his life, Annabelle, gets captured by Union soldiers during a rest stop. Johnnie then must chase after the soldiers and regain the love of Annabelle who dumped Johnnie after he was rejected from the army. A specific instance when Johnnie shows extreme heroism is when he sneaks into the house where the meeting between the Union generals is taking place. He hides under the table and then sneaks into Annabelle's room and rescues her from the Union soldiers holding her captive. The film magnifies the idea that anyone can be a hero, the only trait one needs is bravery. When Johnnie was rejected from the army, he walks by large, burly men who are ready to fight. Johnnie does not have the physical attributes overpower his foes but what makes him a hero is his ability to outsmart his enemies and his overwhelming bravery which ultimately gets him his girl, and a spot in the Confederate Army. Johnnie Gray is one of the first heroes in American cinema and as time has gone on, the word, hero, has taken a completely new meaning.
ReplyDeleteBuster Keaton is definitely a great actor and he single handedly changes the definition of heroism with this slapstick comedy in The General. His theatric performance, unwavering courage and odd ways of overcoming challenges defies the convention of what we define as a hero. Nonetheless, he still comes across as one because of luck and successful foolish ways. From this combination we derive the pleasure of comedy and an 'all's well-ends well' ending of the movie.
ReplyDeleteIn this movie he has two loves: his girlfriend and the steam engine. However, it initially seems that he cannot pursue both. First of all the army denies him to enroll and secondly , his girlfriend decides not to speak to him because he is not going to fight in the civil war. This presents him with a dilemma, should he forget the girl because he cannot enlist or should he finagle his way into the army just so that he can impress her? He does none.
As we continue watching what seems to be a 'natural' cause of events, we learn a lot of things about Jonnie Gray. First of all, he doesn't give up when the train gets stolen by northerners and he has this stoic character about him despite of all the preposterous and shocking events that surround him. His consistent indifference does not only provide us with his priceless, blank-expression, but it also helps him deal with many situations of what we may consider as very stressful pursuits. At the end of it all, he still wins over both of his two loves- he becomes a hero and successfully sways our conventional definition of what a hero is. Thumbs up to Keaton, his take on heroism is definitely a breath of fresh air and it still appeals to audiences today.
Johnnie Gray’s heroism is definitely unorthodox in The General. He does not have any real fighting skill or even field intelligence when it comes to fighting in a war. He certainly gets in incredibly lucky otherwise there is no way that he would have been able to save the day. However, I believe Johnnie Gray is still a hero in this film. As I said, he has no skill or experience in war but yet he still continues to go after his woman despite the risk of being captured or killed. He displays this courage with quite a bit of knowledge in train engineering and a little bit of craftiness in putting together traps and sneaking around the northern base to save his girlfriend. He is definitely no coward as the other characters believed him to be when they thought he skipped out on enlisting. The quality of courage alone in this film makes him a true hero.
ReplyDeleteThis tells the average joe a lot about heroism, displaying that really anyone can be a true hero. You don’t have to have super powers or be incredibly skilled in anything. It tells us that if you are persistent and don’t back down from a challenge, you can be a hero in your own right. Little Johnnie Gray was able to save the day with half of a train and no army training. The film shows us that if little Johnnie Gray can do it, anyone can.
I think that the main character in the film The General is both extremely lucky, yet does have the heart of a hero. From trying to enlist in the army, to overall helping to push back the Union Army using unorthodox methods I would have to say that he is the epitome of the zero to hero story.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of heroism I believe that this movie shows us that anyone can be a hero. From a foolish railroad conductor to a General in the Confederate Army, this film is trying to bring forth the fact that everyone and anyone can be a hero. An example of this takes form in how the main characters girlfriend is able to hinder the Union trains with rope tied to two trees. In the film the girl is brought forth as a more dimwitted girl, but yet besides her lack of mental capacity she is able to be a hero and in turn help save the day. With the main character as said before, with a little luck, and a bit of quick thinking he is the man of the day.
Hero, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work.
ReplyDeleteWell, lets look at Johnny Gray. Is he the principal male character in "The General?" Yep. He sure seems to be. So by this definition he is a hero.
Ah, the reader says, but this isn't the only definition of a hero. A hero is also: a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability and b : an illustrious warrior (also from Merriam-Webster).
Mr. Reader, you have a valid argument for why Johnny Gray not being a hero. He is definitely NOT a mythological or legendary figure. He is NOT of divine descent nor is he endowed with great strength or ability (unless you call driving a train ability). It can be argued that he is illustrious (notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions [again, Merriam-Webster]), but it is hard to argue that he is a warrior, at least throughout most of the movie.
Maybe dictionary definitions aren't the right way to go. Let's assume for a minute that Johnny Gray IS a hero, OK? Let's define Johnny Gray. He is a man, clumsy for sure, who gets lucky. A lot. His heart is in the right place; he wants to save his train. I'm sure any man who has his train stolen would too. But during his journey (heroic journey?) to save his train, he discovers a deeper meaning and reason to continue his journey: his girlfriend was kidnapped! Later he single handedly, though also accidentally, wins the Confederate Army a battle.
So now we ask a question: Do you define a hero based on his accomplishments, or the way in which he gets these accomplishments. Here, Merriam-Webster offers another definition of hero: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities. This is a definition I can agree with. Johnny Gray is in the end admired for his achievements and (though somewhat clueless) noble qualities.
By this definition, yes, Johhny Gray is a hero.
Johnnie Gray’s antics in the movie The General are undoubtedly memorable and hilarious; but it leaves its viewers with the unusual question looming in back of their minds as to what kind of person does it take to be a hero? History has portrayed a fairly consistent image of what its heroes should look like, most fitting into the “knight in shining armor” category that society effortlessly places the majority of its male members in. Nonetheless, The General goes against the grain and presents the ultimate contradiction to its audience; the foolish hero.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of this film I think Johnnie’s just EXTREMELY lucky to say the least and it’s my belief that this is ultimately what the movie in whole is trying to express. People love a hero. He’s a person within society that’s viewed as cool yet dangerous, mysterious yet liked by all for his numerous accomplishments; he’s a real “guys’ guy”. What the movie’s trying to portray is that no one who IS ACTUALLY a hero plans on being one; it just kind of happens. Let’s be completely honest, a hero is made from a peculiar or compromising situation and a group of irrational yet good hearted ideas that by the grace of god happen to intertwine cohesively rather than blow up in the “hero’s” face as we all know it so normally should. What The General tells us about heroism is that if achieved, yes it is indeed a beautiful thing. However, achieving the title of a hero is more of a roll of the dice than an inherited characteristic.
When Johnnie Gray's achievements are listed they would seem to indicate the work of a hero; he rescues his girl, his train, and his country from a surprise attack. When his process of achieving these things is shown however, he seems like little more than an ordinary man who seemed to be luckier than he should have been. There are two things, that while subtle, do distinguish Gray from just anyone. The first is his ability to quickly come up with creative solutions to his problems, like when he smuggled Anabelle onto the Northern supply car in a sack, or thought to knock a wooden beam off of the tracks with one he had just picked up. These cases show a clearly witty nature of the hero, Gray. More importantly than this Gray never ceases to show tenacity when dealing with his problems. Time after time he precedes into situations that seem almost certainly hopeless for him, and that would have given him good reason to turn back. Gray did not have to steal back the General and rush ahead of the Northern army in order to warn the South, but he does so anyways despite the obvious risks. This leads me to conclude that the movie depicts heroes as ordinary people that continue to put themselves in situations where greatness may result, if not without serious risks.
ReplyDeleteJohnnie Gray is certainly an interesting character to say the least. As we all saw, more times than not he just happened to be at the right place at the right time and was rescued by Lady Luck more times than we can count. And, yes, he was quite a klutz. In fact, just looking at him the viewer has to wonder how this guy could ever become a hero or achieve the status of a hero. However, as proved in "The General," looks can be deceiving. In this case, looks were definitely deceiving. Who would've thunk that Johnnie Gray, the train engineer who got rejected when he tried to enlist in the army, would end up becoming the hero of the movie in the eyes of both his lover, Anabelle, and the Southern army? I, for one, did not see it coming at all. But as the movie progressed, I realized that Johnnie Gray really was a hero. As mentioned above in other comments, you don't have to be mythical or have supernatural powers to be defined as a hero; it's what you do that defines you as a hero, no matter how big or small the deed is. When you consider that definition of a hero, it's pretty difficult to argue that Johnnie Gray wasn't a hero in "The General." He retrieved his train from a group of Northern soldiers, he saved his lover from being kidnapped, and he warned the Southern army of the oncoming attack and basically led the army to victory against the North. Oh, and at the end of all that, he became a Lieutenant for the army that previously rejected him. Who cares how he did all those things, he still did it all, didn't he? That's all that matters in my book. He accomplished great things and by those standards I think Johnnie Gray most definitely qualifies as a hero.
ReplyDeleteJohnnie Gray, in my mind, is a true hero who may have found a little luck along the way. He is a shining example of true heroism for a few reasons. The first is because his intentions, the entire movie, were simply pure. All he wanted was to join the army and help in the cause. When he was denied this privilege he continued to support the war effort by being an engineer as the general wanted him to. When he saw his love Anabelle get kidnapped, along with his other love the general (the train), he leaped into action and chased down the bandits who took them. Even though he found a little luck along the way in his efforts to save the girl this does not detract from his heroism. This movie tells us that heroism is something you must strive for in order to attain. Gray persevered through some terrible luck and hardships in the movie. One example is when he was trying to throw lumber on to the back of the train and every piece he threw fell off. Another example is when he switches the tracks so the cart in front of him changes paths only to have it come back into his path moments later. Despite both of these events Gray continues his journey with pure intentions. That is what makes him a true hero and not just an average Joe who found a little bit of luck.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Gray in The General may not be the best soldier and most of his success can be attributed to very good luck, he is still a hero. In The General, Johnny Gray starts out as a simple engineer, and through a series of different situations in which Johnny tries to get his train back, He becomes a respected lieutenant in the Confederate Army. There are many times throughout this adventure where Johnny Gray survives only out of pure luck, but there are several key events that would make him a heroic person even if he weren’t so lucky. The first heroic thing that Johnny did was try to join the army. Even though he was not accepted, he tried to join without hesitation or worry for his own wellbeing. In the beginning few scenes, Johnny is depicted as heroic for willing to go to war and give up his comfortable life for a separate South. Johnny’s second heroic action happens as his train is being hijacked by the northerners. In this scene, John acts heroically by going after his train and continuing his pursuit even after he realizes it is a group of dangerous Northerners, not just some deserters. John’s third heroic action happens in the final battle scene where after his work is done and he has given the southern army the message about the invasion and he is safely reunited with Anabelle and his train, he goes back into the line of fire with no combat experience to help the southern soldiers. Everything between these tree events was extremely lucky and would most likely have ended with Johnny dying somewhere along the way in real life, Johnny would still be considered heroic. Even if he were to die, Johnny had heroic intent throughout the entire movie.
ReplyDelete