Wanted Undead or Alive:. Джонатан Мэйберри
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Название: Wanted Undead or Alive:
Автор: Джонатан Мэйберри
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Эзотерика
isbn: 9780806534336
isbn:
In They Bite,4 authors Jonathan Maberry and David F. Kramer explored the darkness from the point of view of the monster, tracking the creatures from folklore and myth, through urban legend and into pop culture.
This companion book takes the other view by examining who (and sometimes what) stood against the coming of the darkness, who defended the helpless against the night predators, and who chased away the ghosts and exorcised the demons. We’re talking about the good guys, the heroes, the vampire hunters, exorcists, ghost hunters, priests, witch doctors, and other often unsung heroes in the never-ending battle between good and the darkest evil.
Grab a stake, polish your crucifix, load your pistol with silver bullets, and let’s go hunting.
2
HEROES AND VILLAINS
Scott Grimando, Dragon Slayer
“The Dragon Slayer was done for an Epic Poem I wrote for my book, The Art of the Mythical Woman, Lucid Dreams. The Hero sets out to prove her worth in battle donning the armor of her father who had no sons. Even the dragon underestimated her quickness and agility.”—Scott Grimando is an illustrator and conceptual artist.
HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO
We’ve always had heroes and villains. In the earliest days the hero was the caveman who throttled something and dragged it home for dinner. The villain was the brute in the next cave who throttled the hunter and stole the intended dinner.
From another view, the hero is God and the villain is the devil, and everyone who came afterward and embraced light or darkness are wannabes. To the ancient Greeks a hero was a kind of demigod, a half-breed offspring of a human and a god who was born with special powers or knowledge and who often had the support of a god. That’s not how we use the word today. By modern popular definition a hero is a person who shows courage when faced with a problem. This could be someone showing poise and determination during a fight against cancer or a soldier on a battlefield running to rescue a wounded comrade. Firemen entering a burning building are heroes. So are cops. A lot of people are heroic at different times in their lives, some more visibly than others. There is big, dramatic heroism and small, quiet heroism.
In storytelling, heroes tend to be a bit larger than life. They are the ones who stand up to threats that other people cannot face. Heroes slay dragons or hold a bridge against a horde of foes. Because of stories we tend to think of heroes as having big muscles, square jaws, and a will of iron.
But that’s a skewed view of heroism. If you’re big and tough, well trained and resourceful, then fighting the enemy is not that much of a stretch. If you’re small and weak and have no special training, standing up to danger is viewed as a much grander undertaking. This is, of course, an absurd view, because a few ounces of lead in a sniper’s bullet can plow through a muscular chest as easily as that of a ninety-pound weakling. Heroism is relative; it’s based on the individual’s emotional and psychological makeup—more so than on physical attributes.
The media tends to warp the word, using it for all the wrong reasons. They call sports stars “heroes,” confusing the word with “idols.” Hitting a home run may make fans adore you, but it isn’t heroism. Running into a burning house to rescue someone is heroism. So is standing up for a friend who is being bullied. Or saying “no” in the face of threat and intimidation.
Chris Kuchta, Evil Dead
“In Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness, the conflict between Ash and the Deadites is one of the most iconic examples of good vs. evil / hero vs. villain. It resonates with viewers in both a visceral and epic way, by showing the resolve and determination of the hero, overcoming the forces of evil by severing it at its head. The chainsaw representing the sword and the Deadite representing the classic dragon shows undertones of the classic hero’s journey, but accomplished in a contemporary world. Like Perseus and Medusa or Beowulf and Grendel it will never get outdated.”—Chris Kuchta is an illustrator and art instructor at the Kuchta Academy of Fine Art and Illustration. He has done work on films such as House of the Wolfman and for Blood Lust Magazine.
Heroes are also defined by measuring what they do against what they stand to lose. A mother who stands between her children and a rabid dog is a hero. If she fails, she might lose her life and more critically (to her) the lives of her children. If that same person was faced with the rabid dog when no helpless children are involved, the same situation might end differently. She might lose more easily; she might not find the inner reserve necessary to rise to the demands of the moment.
But we know that the extraordinary can happen. It has happened.
Heroism is also situational, and this is one of the really weird and inexplicable aspects of modern-day humans. On any given street in any big city in the world, most people not only pass one another by without acknowledgment, but they will growl, snarl, and snap if one of the other pedestrians intrudes into the bubble of their personal space to ask the time, directions, or the generosity of a quarter. And yet, let a terrorist’s bomb go off, those same people will often risk life and limb to rescue injured strangers from burning debris.
Many people go their whole lives without ever encountering the kind of circumstances that will allow them to access their inner hero. Some hear the call of the moment and fail through fear, unshakable insecurity, cowardice, or some social bias that makes them withhold rather than reach out. And yet there are those people who are called by the moment, perhaps by the voice of destiny, to step up and show their mettle. Myth, history, and fiction are filled with the everyman who becomes the hero, or the green youth who discovers in his heart an iron resolve. Circumstance can make or break.
The HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001) showcased this beautifully, presenting a variety of characters who, under the intense and varied pressure of combat, discover weakness or strength. That series is probably one of the most accurate, poignant, and powerful presentations of ordinary heroes.
In world myth, the hero’s journey—eloquently described by Joseph Campbell in his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces—is built around this process of discovery. Also known as a “monomyth,” this is a common story form in which the hero-to-be begins in the ordinary world and is drawn into an adventure, experience, or journey during which he faces a series of challenges, tasks, and trials. Sometimes he faces these alone (Indiana Jones, Spider-Man); sometimes he has companions (Luke Skywalker, Dorothy Gale). The process of facing and dealing with each challenge expands the hero’s mind, deepens his understanding of the world, and makes him stronger. Ultimately the hero must face a major challenge, a make-or-break moment that often has a lot riding on it: the hero’s life, the lives of others, perhaps a kingdom, maybe even the fate of the world. The bigger the stakes the more drama in the story.
Some people, in life and in myth, are born to be heroes, and their journey is all about discovering and then embracing their destiny. These characters often have some special gift or ability that gives them an edge so that when they face their challenges they can draw on this inner resource and win the day. That’s the case with Hercules, King Arthur, Wolverine, and Leelu from The Fifth Element (1997). These heroes are often willing to fill that role.
Unwilling heroes may also possess gifts or be chosen by destiny to rise in a time of crisis. Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were unwilling heroes. So was Harry Potter. There is usually a moment, however, when they man up and do what has to be done.
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