Thursday, January 31, 2013
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?
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ReplyDeleteHeroes can come in all different shapes and sizes, as evident by the role of Johnnie Gray in The General. The protagonist successfully rescues his lover from enemy lines, and does so in a very unconventional, and quite frankly, unrealistic style. Because the actions and success of Johnnie seem nearly impossible to occur in real life, I feel that the film was not intentionally created to mock real military heroic ideals nor was it created to redefine the qualifications of a hero. I believe that the role of Johnnie was created for pure entertainment value; his antics serve the purpose of making the viewer laugh and smile. While his actions seem nearly impossible to occur in real life, I am okay with this suspension of disbelief, as it is a film, and was created to entertain.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of the intentions of his character, I still believe Johnnie plays a hero role in the story. In my opinion, whether or not Johnnie’s success was based off of pure luck or actual military keenness, he still saved the day and rescued his train and girlfriend. Furthermore, he demonstrated qualities present in every ideal hero: bravery, resilience, and heart. I feel that because his actions are so blatantly unrealistic, it is clear that he is not mocking real soldiers or their actions.
Nonetheless, I do feel that at times, the film is mocking the notion of war. In scenes such as the chase scenes between the two armies, the ridiculousness of the situation at hand becomes very apparent. The fact that the plot basically reverses itself (first Johnnie is chasing Northerners and then the Northerners are chasing Johnnie), reinforces this idea.
In summary, while I do believe the film illuminates the arguable foolish and ludicrous aspects of war at times, I do not think the role of Johnnie as a hero figure aims to make fun of or degrade the standard ideas of military heroism. In fact, I feel it does the opposite, as Johnnie so desperately tries to be the conventional hero, but is so clearly not.
I couldn't agree more with Annie.. In the film by Buster Keaton, Johnnie Gray is portrayed to be a small but resilient "solider." Even though he wasn't named a solider until after all of his successes rescuing his girlfriend and engine, he still portrayed many aspects of a true hero. Heroes are men and women who risk their own lives for the greater good, especially their home land. The heroes we first think of today are the soldiers that fight over seas to keep us safe. Johnnie Gray does the same for the Confederates, obviously his actions are way more unrealistic and based purely off luck, his motives and characteristics resemble a true hero. In many scenes of the film, Gray is found in situations where his own life is at risk, and with many "close call" situations he escapes without a bruise on his body. Johnnie also never finds himself in hand on hand combat, the one time the Union soldier awoke from being knocked out on the engine, Gray was able to knock him out with another piece of wood. I wouldn't say it was his actions that resembled a hero, even though he was fighting for the things he loved, it was his characteristics and emotions that he expressed. As Annie said, he showed bravery, resilience and heart, all which are necessary for a hero to succeed.
DeleteRegarding the mockery of the armies, I definitely think there were some points in the film that were mocking the intelligence of the army but were strategically used. For example, when Johnnie is chasing the engine when it was first stolen, the Union army was scared to fight because they thought they were going to be heavily out numbered. Once they realized there was only one man, they didn't find it necessary to just stop and fight them, instead keep going with placing obstacles in an engine race. Another example of this was the reverse situation when the Union was chasing Johnnie and Annabelle and the train track was broken by Johnnie, it took the Union at least 10 men including some high ranked men to figure out how to fix it. I believe this was poking fun at the military ways but doing it in a comedic way, since the film was a comedy, I think it was perfectly acceptable.
All in all, Johnnie might not be the strongest or most intelligent man in the Confederate Army, but he is able to utilize his luck and use his pride to be a true hero!
In The General, I believe that Johnnie Gray is considered a hero based on “dumb-luck”. The answer to whether or not Johnnie is considered a hero differs from the audience and the characters point of view. To the audience, Johnnie is viewed as a lucky man whose mistakes turn into successes, but to the characters within the movie, Johnnie is viewed as the ultimate hero who successfully rescues the damsel in distress while defeating the Union army in the process. While doing so, the idea of military heroism is put to shame as Johnnie makes the Union army a fool time and time again. The satire targets the idea of war, generals, and high ranked military officials. The war is made to look pointless and dumb as the chase scenes are over-exaggerated time and time again. This redundancy is supposed to look pointless and embellish the stupidity of war. I would argue that Johnnie may be somewhat of a hero to the characters and audience but he is not the only one. Anabelle, the damsel in distress, also puts on quite a show while saving Johnnie from disaster numerous times. Her roll as the stereotypical woman of the 1800 and early 1900’s is portrayed well, but also she is sometimes seen as the hero by helping Johnnie defeat the Union army. Anabelle’s roll as a hero does redefine the stereotypical type casting of woman when she saves Johnnie a few times in the film, although in contrast she is still seen sweeping the floor of the train and throwing away wood because it had a hole in it. Overall, I think that heroism as a whole is defined as a courageous action, not always thought out, no matter the consequence. I would say this because during the entire movie Johnnie would think before acting, but consequently this proved to be his strong point, as his mistakes would often turn into an accomplishment for either himself or the Confederate army.
ReplyDeleteIn Buster Keaton's The General, the protagonist Johnnie Grey becomes a unique type of Hero that, through the challenges and struggles in the narrative, reaches success not through ability but through persistence. In most hero driven stories, the protagonist is either an extraordinary being (such as a superhero) who feels obligated to act heroically whether they would like to or not, or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the protagonist is an extension of the every-man, a normal human being who must climb out of their mundane lifestyle to overcome a nearly insurmountable challenge. In either case, the hero must become brave and resolute and must be highly effected by the challenge in the film in an emotional way. The hero must either recover something important, solve a mystery, solve a murder case, rescue people who are in danger, or, at the broadest level, save all of a society against the plot of the antagonist. In The General, Johnnie Grey becomes a hero at all three levels of general importance: first he saves a possession dear to him, his locomotive engine, then he saves another individual, his wife, and finally saves an entire group of people by thwarting the Union Army attack. I believe Johnnie is more closely resembles the mediocre hero than the extraordinary hero due to his lack of physical and mental ability. Johnnie represents the type of hero that is largely unique to the genres of slapstick and satirical comedy: he is a ordinary individual, lacking in physical eminence, who awkwardly fumbles towards success through a combination of persistence and lucky encounters. It is not entirely important that the upward turn of events is always unrealistic; it is more important to recognize that each success is a triumph for the bumbling little man, who the audience relates to and feels sympathy towards.
ReplyDeleteComedy is notorious for building hero's out of awkward nobody's with train-wreck personalities. While Johnnie does not completely fit this description (he is a well-regarded train engineer with a good family and an easy personality), his character traits certainly represent a big step in the transition from the traditional brave war hero to the dysfunctional fool. The whole idea of slapstick is founded on his physical incompetence such as when he trips over the stairs walking out of his house, struggles to load the huge supply cartons on to the train, and can't quite figure out how to function with a big sword attached to his waist. He is also not the brightest man in the South. He can't figure out how to properly load the canon, he forgets to make sure the train car with the Confederate soldiers is attached to his engine before he leaves to pursue the union generals, and he can't figure out how to get his foot out of a bear trap. What he does have going for him is a very honest and respectable determination to retrieve his train engine. The viewer appreciates this and thus feels as though it is justified when he stumbles into the occasional lucky break. This audience relationship with the hero can be seen in countless comedies that have followed the General. In the Pink Panther, Inspector Clouseou is a bumbling fool who can't do anything correctly from parking his tiny car to finding respectable suspects (he suspects a little Chinese grandmother who cannot speak English for the murder of a French superstar). Clouseau is brought into a high profile theft and murder case by his officer only as a way of diverting the attention of the media. Later, when he stumbles upon some useful intel, he is publically humiliated by his officer and sent to prison. Eventually he gets back on the case and finds the real culprit through a combination of luck and some clever observations (that we would never expect from someone of his intelligence). By this time, the audience feels these triumphs are justified and earned despite being unrealistic.
(continued...)
...This type of down-to-earth heroic tale succeeds in both providing a compelling story and providing slapstick comedy simply because we can laugh at the protagonist's struggles and join him in celebrating his out-of-nowhere successes in the end.
DeleteBefore I begin, I want everyone to remember that this is a comedy, and dumb luck is funny. I believe Johnnie Gray planned none of what happened, while he was both lucky and strategic in becoming a successful protagonist in The General. At the start of the movie, Johnnie loses Annabelle, and he spends the movie attempting to find her and get her back. That comes with heroic aspects, as only a true hero would successfully be able to save Annabelle, let alone beating a Union army in the process. However, as I said, this is a comedy and there is a fair amount of luck involved. Gray was lucky on numerous occasions with his train, including hitting the wood off the train tracks and timing his cannon just right so that it would hit the other train. The wood was both luck and skill, but the cannon sequence has Gray getting his foot stuck in the latch while being stuck in its firing path on multiple occasions.
ReplyDeleteThere are heroic qualities involved, but luck is the central reason Johnnie Gray has success. Maybe that means Buster Keaton was attempting to redefine the hero, but I believe he was being somewhat satiric in his ideas of a “southern belle” and the strong man coming to save her. The book Gone With the Wind is a prime example of the dashing man saving the helpless southern women during the Civil War. Keaton kept the bare bones of that story, as he did save Annabelle, but he made it funny and showed how ridiculous and fictional that type of story can be.
Vince has a great point here. Gray was put into a heroic opportunity and didn't even realize it. He wasn't trying to be a hero, but ended up being the hero of the day to get the girl. The slap sick comedy that this turned out to be made the accidental heroism present. A hero doesn't need to be someone who plans to be heroic. Heroism can come at any instant and rarely is planned. The comedic side of this film shows how much his heroism isnt planned; the story line also gives this away as he saves the girl without intention.
DeleteI think that the term "hero" can be defined in so many ways that before I can consider him a hero or not, I must define what the word means to me in cinema. I feel as though the hero can be defined as the protagonist, the character that the audience is rooting for. I also believe that a hero will always do what he or she believes is right. When using this definition of hero, I feel as though Johnnie Gray is absolutely a hero as I found myself rooting for him throughout the film and he always stuck to his guns. It is also important to remember that this film is a comedy so the definition of hero changes drastically from a serious thriller. Regardless of the Genre, Johnnie shows traits that are commonly related to heroes, like pure intentions and a sense for doing what's right. Johnnie follows his heart and is constantly doing what he believes is correct no matter what the opposition is. This can be seen when he single handedly chases after the soldiers once his train is stolen. He could have easily just stayed behind and allowed the soldiers to take care of it but instead he took the initiative and went after the thieves no matter the risk. This certainly appears heroic no matter how clumsy he seemed while pursuing the train. Because Johnnie did what he believed was right no matter how silly he was and because he got the audience to root for him, I believe that Johnnie is a hero.
ReplyDeleteAs far as mockery of the army, I think that the fact that the film was set in the Civil War protects their credibility because they aren't making fun of any current war methods or strategies but rather the strategies used in the Civil War era. This protects the film from any criticism for mocking the army. The actual mockery can be seen a number of times, mostly involving high ranking officers. From not being able to fix a train track, to pointlessly waving a sword in combat, the officers do not seem reputable nor particularly intelligent. I think this adds to the comedic portion of the film and it also glorifies Johnnie, as he is able to outwit even the highest officers.
In conclusion, I believe that Johnnie is clearly a hero because of the traits he possesses and that the reason the army is mocked is because the film is a comedy and the mockery allows Johnnie to appear as even more of a hero.
I feel that Johnnie is lucky and not really a hero. He may be a hero, but it was all displayed through him getting very lucky. Johnnie is definitely courageous, but he is not the classic hero and this is because this was a comedy. I feel the genre of the movie is why he cannot be considered a hero, but be considered a very lucky character who becomes a hero for that reason. The vast majority of things he did to get at the enemy were pure luck, such as the scene with the cannon as he accidentally fires it into the air, which talks out a dam that help drive back the North. Additionally he doesn't seem like the classic hero because there were multiple times where Lee (his lover) was the one saving him opposed to him saving her. Looking back there are very few examples of Johnnie actually doing something that he planned to do he seems to spend the majority of his time on the battle field fooling around and getting very lucky, such as in the scene where he flings off the blade of his sword, killing an enemy soldier. Johnnie is technically a hero, but only due to dumb luck.
ReplyDeleteInterpreting Johnnie Gray as a hero all depends on which aspects of his life we are judging him by. We can judge him by two accomplishments; the defeat of the northern army and the rescue of Annabelle Lee.
ReplyDeleteIf we are judging him on his defeat of the northern army, then of course he is not a hero. Johnnie fought in the war because he believed he was fighting for the right side. This does not make him a hero, it makes him a soldier.
If we are judging him on his rescue of Annabelle, then yes he is a hero. Annabelle was kidnapped and her life was in danger. She needed someone to rescue her before it was too late. Johnnie may have been scared, but he knew his friend needed him. Even though she had acted cold towards him, he still went out to bring her home.
I don’t believe that just because he is lucky he is not a hero. Johnnie still risked his life to save someone he cared about. Also at times he doesn’t just rely on his luck and actually uses intelligence to save Annabelle. Examples of this are when he steals a union soldier’s clothes and when he has Annabelle disconnect the train. However no matter how the deeds were accomplished he still put everything on the line to save Annabelle and that makes him a true hero.
I believe that the film shows us that a hero isn’t a godly figure who can win the most fights or tackle the biggest issues. A hero is someone who no matter how the odds are against them they are still willing to do what is right. Like Annie Artz said heroes are able to come in all types of shapes and sizes. They may be scared but they are braver. But most of all a hero is someone who comes to someone who is in need.
In Buster Keaton’s The General, the lead character, Johnnie Gray, is a small town Southern train engineer who is described as having two loves: the titular engine, and a woman, Annabelle Lee. He tries to impress her by joining the Southern army but is refused and she says she never wishes to speak to him again. Everything changes when a group of Northern soldiers steal his train, with Annabelle on for the ride. Johnnie chases them in his own engine. This reinforces the image of him as a hero; though he is alone and unarmed, he still chases the captors of his loves. The soldiers who try to follow him get left behind. A recurring theme here is the unconventional hero. Rather than the knight in armor who would rescue the damsel through bravery and force of arms, Johnnie often bumbles around in the pursuit. In fact, the military on both sides is satirized and made to look foolish, thus challenging traditional views about the definition of heroism. First is the failure of Southern forces to give chase; next comes the Northern officers making a plan, oblivious to the fact that our hero is literally under their noses. In a role reversal, Johnnie is able to free Annabelle and then steal a train from the very middle of the Northern army camp. The chase back to Southern lines is perhaps more farcical than the first. At one turn, a growing know of Union officers stand around talking about how to fix a problem with the tracks when all that is needed to fix the problem is for a common man with a hammer to take action. Meanwhile, their comrades foolishly fall down with every start and stop of the train. In the end, Johnnie is able to warn the Southern defenders in time for a climactic battle. The Southern Commander is satirized by merely waving around his sword, seemingly doing nothing. The battle is won by an accident, not by the strength of the Southern army, when Johnnie luckily fires a cannon at a dam to release the river on the Northern Forces. Overall, at every turn, the military makes a fool of itself, while our unconventional hero is able to get the job done. This reflects the general attitude of the time, which rejects American involvement in The Great War and consequently does not favor militarism.
ReplyDeleteJohnnie Gray is definitely not a hero. This movie was not intended to depict him as a hero, nor did he do anything heroic whatsoever. It was only because of his luck that he was able to complete his journey on the train and win the girl over. Falling into a lucky string of events is one thing, and being a hero is something completely different. In order to be a hero, one has to deliberately do the right thing, no matter how small the odds of success.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one could argue that the defeat of the union army is a heroic act, but that was not his intention. It was impressive, and a bit funny, but not heroic. The only intention he had was to win the girl over, and it was indicated that he didn't even want to enlist in the first place. Everything that he did was either to save himself or win over the heart of Annabelle.
In the end, it all depends on what you consider a hero to be. If you think a hero can be defined as anyone who accidentally does something heroic, then yes, he is a hero.