I'm a fan of time travel. Anyone who knows me at all will know it's one of my favorite ideas. That being said, Safety Not Guaranteed is not about time travel, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that fact. Thank goodness Netflix put this movie in my "Top 10" because when I originally saw the trailer, I wanted to see it. The entire plot hinges on an add posted as follows:
"Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. P.O. Box 91 Ocean View, WA 99393. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before."
The main character, Darius, (played by Aubrey Plaza) carries this light-hearted but insightful film with her quick-witted delivery and charm, and ultimately serves as a vessel for the audience to truly experience the story.
For most of the film Darius joins the poster of the ad, Kenneth, (played by Mark Duplass) on what seems like strange and unimportant hijinks, however after potentially committing some crimes the stakes of this story begin to rise, and depth of character is discovered.
Again, I need to say this movie is not about time travel...
The supporting cast completes a couple of different character arcs that truly help propel this story into an area that I think most films never honestly have the courage to explore, and that is the human heart. Nostalgia fuels this story, along with wrinkles of regret, however, hope is the surviving theme here. Hope of a future for people who have honest scars that ache from past hurt. Yes, it is a comedy, but these moments of elation arrive in perfect cue; with the moments of pain. Not to sound too sentimental, but this movie reminds me of a quote from Walt Disney:
"For every laugh, there should be a tear."
With honest performances delivered from all actors, witty dialog, intelligent directing, and a great story; Safety Not Guaranteed has found its way into my favorite movies of the past few years.
I recommend this story for anyone who wants to go on an adventure of the heart.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Allies/Friends/Enemies
Some of these posts about my trip to Alaska were written in present tense, meaning, they are relating to the current time and place I was in at the time. I'm going to do my best to create a bit of a backdrop every time I feel it is necessary, starting here.
When I flew into Anchorage, I was a day later than expected. As I said in my post about Threshold Guardians, my flight was delayed. Since that happened, I missed a connection with one of my friends who was joining me on this trip, Mark. Mark and I were supposed to meet in Anchorage and ride to Valdez on ferry. Some delays are meant to happen and despite being completely lost and unsure of how I was going to make the 300 mile trek to my destination, I was relatively calm.
That first night in Anchorage I found myself in a hostel, and that is where this story takes place.
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Meeting Allies
Meeting friends, allies and enemies, I've already been blessed with friends. While staying at the hostel last night I was fully encouraged by the men I shared a room with. They asked to hear what brought me to Alaska, and I gave them the short version. We swapped stories and talked about each of our adventures. One of the men called himself a healer. He visited a healer a few years back and said he was cured of all pain. He has come back to share his experience and heal others. The man, named John, spoke of something he called the "reptile brain." There are four functions of this primal brain: fight, flight, freeze and fall. When we experience fear our body is stricken by one of these reactions.
"if we are attacked by a tiger," he posited, "our primal reaction is either run, or fight. Now a days we are not attacked by tigers. Instead we experience these natural reactions in places they were not truly meant to be found."
"where do we experience these reactions?" I asked
"in high school, I had a crush on the girl. She was beautiful. I was virtually dumbfounded in her presence. That out of place fear cost me that relationship."
I shook my head in acknowledgement. I had experienced this exact situation.
He spoke about how fear should not dictate our lives, that we miss out on incredible experiences because of this fear. These thoughts echoed in my mind and heart. We can't be afraid to face our fears with courage. If we become petrified and do nothing when the challenges of life rear their frightful face, we will never grow and learn, which is a natural part of life. Refusing change only creates change for the worse. That is what I learned from John.
Another man I met, frank, was a landscape architect. He was contracted to work in Anchorage from Portland. He told me about his family, his passion for his sons was clear in his eyes. Through his stories about his sons I realized the importance of family, something that has been resounding in my heart over the last few months.
Frank could not spend much more time away from his family. Though he saw the importance in working to support those he loved. Struggle is at the heart of everyone's story. Frank taught me that struggle is worth the price if you are doing so for others. Right now, I'm not sure my struggle is sacrificial. It's personal, but even as I thought about this, I realized Frank was sacrificing for me. He fed me lasagna for dinner, and in the morning made me two breakfast burritos. I thought about the other people who have sacrificed for me lately; my parents, my roommates, my close and dear friends. All of these people were enriching their own stories helping me.
When I thanked Frank and John for their advice and encouragement, they said to me in a reassuring voice: "you will pass it on when it's your time." My greatest hope and fear is that I will be able to sacrifice for others when the time comes. These allies I met have given confidence, but I can only ask God to give me open eyes to see when that chance comes.
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This post is slightly misleading because of the title. There is no talk of any "enemies" in it at all. I named the post that at the time because it's one of the steps on the Heroes Journey. As far as enemies go, this summer was very interesting. Perhaps "enemy" is not the best term either. I'll be writing more in depth about enemies in a later post, hopefully sooner rather than later.
For more info on The Heroes Journey, please read this.
The Hero's Journey
Just as a reference for this project, I'm posting the twelve steps of the Hero's Journey so you can have a basic understanding of what each step means. These are all excerpts from a book called The Writers Journey. I'm refraining from spinning these steps in my own words, in order to keep them as simple as possible.
The Ordinary World
This is where the hero is from, the original setting. It is the normal, mundane world. It is vital to any good story to have at least a peak into this usual place, in order to contrast the vastly different special world, the strange new world the hero is about to enter.
Call to Adventure
The hero is posed with a problem, challenge, or adventure. After this calling the hero cannot remain in the ordinary world. This call to adventure establishes the stakes of the story and makes the goals of the character clear.
Refusal of the Call
This step is all about fear. The hero is afraid of the new unknown world and circumstance, and is not committed to the journey yet. The hero must be brought into this new world, this is where the next step takes over.
The Mentor
The mentor is the teacher of the hero. A parent-like relation is established here. Tools, physical and metaphorical are given to the hero. The mentor is unable to complete the journey with the hero, because the hero must take up the responsibility of the journey alone.
Crossing the First Threshold
This is when the hero is fully committed to the journey. He takes that first step into the story, and the action takes off from here. The hero agrees to face the challenges of the journey here.
Tests, Allies and Enemies
After the hero fully commits to the journey, he must face new tests, and meet new people who will become either allies or enemies. In this step we see the stakes of the story deepen as it is enriched by others.
Approach the Inmost Cave
The hero arrives at the gate of the villain. The Inmost Cave is where the object of the quest is hidden; its where the main character will find what he is seeking. This step is mostly about preparation; the Inmost Cave is considered the most dangerous place in the special world.
The Ordeal
This is where the hero's fortunes hit rock bottom as his greatest fears are realized. The hero faces the possibility of death(physical or metaphorical) and is brought to the brink. It is the "belly of the beast." The Ordeal changes the hero as they realize their flaws, and are reborn through the pressure of this step. In this step, the hero often appears dead to the audience experiencing the story.
Reward (Seizing the Sword)
The hero takes possession of that which they have been seeking. The Reward is knowledge or power that will equip them to defeat the enemy or bring healing to the Ordinary World. This is where the protagonist earns the right to be called a hero.
The Road Back
The hero faces the consequences of The Ordeal and is pursued by the forces disturbed when retrieving The Reward. This stage is where the hero makes the decision to return to the Ordinary world, however, the hero knows there are more tests ahead.
Resurrection
Here, the hero who has been in the special world must be cleansed or reborn in order to return to the Ordinary World of the living. It is often the second life or death moment, almost a replay of The Ordeal. Its kind of like a final exam for the hero, who must see if they have actually learned anything from the lessons of The Ordeal.
Return with the Elixir
The hero returns to the Ordinary World, but the journey is meaningless if they don't bring back some sort of elixir, treasure, or lesson from the special world. The Elixir is a magical potion with the power to heal the Ordinary World, restoring any damage that has been done.
There you have it. Those are the twelve steps of the Hero's Journey. I understand that some of them are pretty heady sounding, but trust me, they make sense. I've experienced them first hand, and so have you, even if you haven't realized it.
The Ordinary World
This is where the hero is from, the original setting. It is the normal, mundane world. It is vital to any good story to have at least a peak into this usual place, in order to contrast the vastly different special world, the strange new world the hero is about to enter.
Call to Adventure
The hero is posed with a problem, challenge, or adventure. After this calling the hero cannot remain in the ordinary world. This call to adventure establishes the stakes of the story and makes the goals of the character clear.
Refusal of the Call
This step is all about fear. The hero is afraid of the new unknown world and circumstance, and is not committed to the journey yet. The hero must be brought into this new world, this is where the next step takes over.
The Mentor
The mentor is the teacher of the hero. A parent-like relation is established here. Tools, physical and metaphorical are given to the hero. The mentor is unable to complete the journey with the hero, because the hero must take up the responsibility of the journey alone.
Crossing the First Threshold
This is when the hero is fully committed to the journey. He takes that first step into the story, and the action takes off from here. The hero agrees to face the challenges of the journey here.
Tests, Allies and Enemies
After the hero fully commits to the journey, he must face new tests, and meet new people who will become either allies or enemies. In this step we see the stakes of the story deepen as it is enriched by others.
Approach the Inmost Cave
The hero arrives at the gate of the villain. The Inmost Cave is where the object of the quest is hidden; its where the main character will find what he is seeking. This step is mostly about preparation; the Inmost Cave is considered the most dangerous place in the special world.
The Ordeal
This is where the hero's fortunes hit rock bottom as his greatest fears are realized. The hero faces the possibility of death(physical or metaphorical) and is brought to the brink. It is the "belly of the beast." The Ordeal changes the hero as they realize their flaws, and are reborn through the pressure of this step. In this step, the hero often appears dead to the audience experiencing the story.
Reward (Seizing the Sword)
The hero takes possession of that which they have been seeking. The Reward is knowledge or power that will equip them to defeat the enemy or bring healing to the Ordinary World. This is where the protagonist earns the right to be called a hero.
The Road Back
The hero faces the consequences of The Ordeal and is pursued by the forces disturbed when retrieving The Reward. This stage is where the hero makes the decision to return to the Ordinary world, however, the hero knows there are more tests ahead.
Resurrection
Here, the hero who has been in the special world must be cleansed or reborn in order to return to the Ordinary World of the living. It is often the second life or death moment, almost a replay of The Ordeal. Its kind of like a final exam for the hero, who must see if they have actually learned anything from the lessons of The Ordeal.
Return with the Elixir
The hero returns to the Ordinary World, but the journey is meaningless if they don't bring back some sort of elixir, treasure, or lesson from the special world. The Elixir is a magical potion with the power to heal the Ordinary World, restoring any damage that has been done.
There you have it. Those are the twelve steps of the Hero's Journey. I understand that some of them are pretty heady sounding, but trust me, they make sense. I've experienced them first hand, and so have you, even if you haven't realized it.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Stepping Into The Adventure
Wow, it has been far too long since I last wrote here. I left this blog with the hopes of people reading my silly thoughts about my hero's journey this summer as I fished. I let myself down, because I really wanted to use this as a platform for helping me write. However, right before leaving for Alaska I dropped my computer. Broke it! I haven't even checked to see if the hard drive is salvageable yet and I have all my projects on there. When I dropped it I decided it was a good idea to be in Alaska without a crutch like that. I'm virtually glued to a screen all day long anyway. Alas, I still wanted to write. But the prospect seemed difficult if I had no way to save the writing.
Well, I did write. The entire summer. In my bunk, after exhausting sixteen hour days of fishing. I would try to formulate thoughts into coherent paragraphs, and write them in my phone in notes. I wrote more than eight thousand words. Thank goodness for this escape too, because I had very little personal space. Living in close quarters with anyone is difficult, but inject yourself into a dank, smelly, showerless 48 foot boat for three months. I think you'd want some sort of outlet.
Mine was a mixture of these writings, prayer, reading, and sleeping. All of which happened in the confines of a 3x7 foot bunk. I would not have made it out alive if it weren't for those things.
I need to revisit all of these writings before I post them due to the intimate nature of my thoughts. I also need to speak with certain people to ask them if I could write about them. I may change names...But I will post everything I can. It was a process; an exploration at applying the heroes journey directly to my own story. And the results are incredible, honestly. I cannot believe how accurate the twelve step journey was to my life. I don't think my story is incredible, really, just the fact that all twelve steps fell perfectly into place.
It was savagely difficult to make it through the entire summer. Even knowing "what would happen next" didn't help. I am a different person since this adventure, but as the everyday life creeped back into mine, I forgot my change and I sort of slipped into the comfort of being home.
But just as I forgot my life was a journey, some amazingly devastating events stopped me and my family in our tracks. Yet, these road blocks, these terrible things have reminded me, I'm not the same and I need to remember that. But not only that. I need to do something about it.
Here are the twelve steps of the heroes journey. This was my outline as I sailed the Prince William Sound this summer.
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Ordeal
Reward
The Road Back
Resurrection
Return with the Elixir
This was no simple task. It was painful. Some days I would only write small samplings that are barely worth reading back, but I will arrange them as coherently as possible so you can understand them. I sincerely hope my journey will help you with yours. You need to know that your life is not worthless. Seeing your life as an adventure will help you see that.
I will post infrequently, but I will do it. Hopefully twice a week. I'm excited to share this journey with you.
Well, I did write. The entire summer. In my bunk, after exhausting sixteen hour days of fishing. I would try to formulate thoughts into coherent paragraphs, and write them in my phone in notes. I wrote more than eight thousand words. Thank goodness for this escape too, because I had very little personal space. Living in close quarters with anyone is difficult, but inject yourself into a dank, smelly, showerless 48 foot boat for three months. I think you'd want some sort of outlet.
Mine was a mixture of these writings, prayer, reading, and sleeping. All of which happened in the confines of a 3x7 foot bunk. I would not have made it out alive if it weren't for those things.
I need to revisit all of these writings before I post them due to the intimate nature of my thoughts. I also need to speak with certain people to ask them if I could write about them. I may change names...But I will post everything I can. It was a process; an exploration at applying the heroes journey directly to my own story. And the results are incredible, honestly. I cannot believe how accurate the twelve step journey was to my life. I don't think my story is incredible, really, just the fact that all twelve steps fell perfectly into place.
It was savagely difficult to make it through the entire summer. Even knowing "what would happen next" didn't help. I am a different person since this adventure, but as the everyday life creeped back into mine, I forgot my change and I sort of slipped into the comfort of being home.
But just as I forgot my life was a journey, some amazingly devastating events stopped me and my family in our tracks. Yet, these road blocks, these terrible things have reminded me, I'm not the same and I need to remember that. But not only that. I need to do something about it.
Here are the twelve steps of the heroes journey. This was my outline as I sailed the Prince William Sound this summer.
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Ordeal
Reward
The Road Back
Resurrection
Return with the Elixir
This was no simple task. It was painful. Some days I would only write small samplings that are barely worth reading back, but I will arrange them as coherently as possible so you can understand them. I sincerely hope my journey will help you with yours. You need to know that your life is not worthless. Seeing your life as an adventure will help you see that.
I will post infrequently, but I will do it. Hopefully twice a week. I'm excited to share this journey with you.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Plotting Your Journey
I think that while you are living life, sitting on a plane or driving on the highway, those are times where you as a character should plot your next move. Decide what you will do next in order to reach your goal, or maybe you just need to make a goal. When you write a story you don't want to waste the characters time, or rather, the audiences time. We may not have a room full of hundreds of people waiting to see what's next, but we do have a creator who wants us to chose what is right. He is the greatest audience of all. He may know the ending, but we don't. I think that fact makes watching humanity exciting for him. He knows redemption will come. He wrote it down before time began.
God invented our stories in the quiet nothingness of infinity. When we feel we are in the black holes in between action we should be planning for the future. Not that relaxing or waitig is bad, or detrimental to our lives. Sometimes we are forced into a period of waiting. But neglecting an opportunity to prepare and reflect is a loss on our parts. Anything less than being proactive and we are wasting our own time.
Threshold Guardians
The call to adventure was Alaskan salmon fishing. I answered, terrified but eager. Now I walk through the threshold of every new door, everything a new adventure. In new adventures there are opposing forces, both internal and external, that pose as threshold guardians. These guardians enrich the journey, teaching the hero something about the world, and themselves. One of my first obstacles was my plane delaying, the guardian was the ticket lady.
While she was helpful, she was stressed, everyone in the terminal was. Several flights had been delayed and as a result tension seeped from every humans pores. When I finally was able to speak with her, I did everything I could to keep a calm temperament. I realized the situation was rough, she needed no more guff from me. I let her do her business, attempting to help me get to Alaska. While it took close to a hour, I remained calm, feeling the fire from a growing line of angry passengers behind me. I was tempted several times to snap. Not only at the lady, but the impending crowd breathing down my neck, cursing with rage that they were another few hours behind from their busy schedule. The tension was high, and to say I was stressed would not be far from accurate. I'm not blowing my own horn here, because I think there is very little difference between externally showing anger, and internalizing it. My only victory here was my ability to bottle the pressure.
Finally, the wait was over. I passed the guardians test of patience: I was given a free night stay in a high class hotel and a meal while I waited until the next day for a flight.
In truth, I didn't ever realize this until I was already in the hotel, eating my free food. Traveling alone offers the solace of reflection. It's exciting, but lonely. One of my goals has been to view life more like a story, I have forced myself to look at things differently. So far, less than a day in my new journey, I'm glad I did. Yet I know this little victory only furth opens the door for more obstacles. Some of which, I'm bound to fail. That will be the true test of my meddle. Can I fail with grace, ask for forgiveness, rise again and work harder to pass the test? Writing these questions frightens me. Paralyzed at this thought, I prepare for my next guardian, test and failure
While she was helpful, she was stressed, everyone in the terminal was. Several flights had been delayed and as a result tension seeped from every humans pores. When I finally was able to speak with her, I did everything I could to keep a calm temperament. I realized the situation was rough, she needed no more guff from me. I let her do her business, attempting to help me get to Alaska. While it took close to a hour, I remained calm, feeling the fire from a growing line of angry passengers behind me. I was tempted several times to snap. Not only at the lady, but the impending crowd breathing down my neck, cursing with rage that they were another few hours behind from their busy schedule. The tension was high, and to say I was stressed would not be far from accurate. I'm not blowing my own horn here, because I think there is very little difference between externally showing anger, and internalizing it. My only victory here was my ability to bottle the pressure.
Finally, the wait was over. I passed the guardians test of patience: I was given a free night stay in a high class hotel and a meal while I waited until the next day for a flight.
In truth, I didn't ever realize this until I was already in the hotel, eating my free food. Traveling alone offers the solace of reflection. It's exciting, but lonely. One of my goals has been to view life more like a story, I have forced myself to look at things differently. So far, less than a day in my new journey, I'm glad I did. Yet I know this little victory only furth opens the door for more obstacles. Some of which, I'm bound to fail. That will be the true test of my meddle. Can I fail with grace, ask for forgiveness, rise again and work harder to pass the test? Writing these questions frightens me. Paralyzed at this thought, I prepare for my next guardian, test and failure
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Avengers, Joss Whedon, and Our need for Stories.
Joss Whedon has had a following since the 90's. The man knows how to tell a story. That being said, I had very little interest in his work until well after most of it came out. Not a fan of Buffy or Angel and I caught on to Firefly about 9 years to late. I did jump on the Dr. Horrible wagon relatively fast, but that was during the writers strike, and I think the internet blew it up so quickly that I had to see it.
Since I started using Netflix about a year ago, I have discovered there is an over-saturation of terrible TV and movies out there. There are plenty of gems out there as well, but be honest for one second, do you watch every single title that pops up on your screen from Netflix?
That got me thinking. I've watched the entire Firefly series several times over the last 12 months, and it is not the first series that I've done that with. Avatar: The Last Airbender(the animated series), 30 Rock, Scrubs, Arrested Development, and soon I'll revisit Lost, are just a few titles that I've seen many times over. I love revisiting a favorite series once and a while, but where are the new shows that explode on the screen and capture the audience? I look over the titles on Netflix and I am found wanting. I'd like to be immersed into a new adventure of character and plot. I'd kill for something like that. Which brings me to Joss Whedon and his new movie, The Avengers.
Holy Cow was that movie good. Often, I'll head to theaters to watch a blockbuster with high hopes, only for them to be dashed on the rocky shores of poor plot and weak character development. For the Avengers, that was not the case. All the main characters had great motivation and development. Something I did not expect. As a matter of fact, I went into the theater expecting a Spiderman 3 syndrome of too many pots and not enough hands to churn them well. I was especially surprised with the Hulk. Often times he has been portrayed, by good actors, as a meat headed monster. Joss did an amazing job of allowing Bruce Banner to actually build into the Hulk.
Overall, the movie wove the headlining heroes stories together very well. Setting up sequels, and adding depth to rather weak franchises. My hope is that Joss stays on for the sequel, because I fear great stories switching hands.
I'm certain we need great tales to soak up and divalge in, because we look for them so intently. When we find a bard that we can give our full attention to, storytellers like Whedon, Nolan, and Spielberg, we cling to their work for dear life. We trust these few to continue to give us great fables that one day our children will love. Think about it, I'm sure you have a favorite show or two. I believe the reason we have these love affairs with series is because they tell us fundamental truths about ourselves. We project ourselves as the hero and live through their experiences, seeing ourselves in the good traits they have. When we see a villain we hate, it can be because it is our worst nightmare of what we could become. We may not be a manipulative demi-god who throws the world into jeopardy by opening portals at the opposite end of the universe, but maybe you know a person who craves attention so deeply that they are willing to do terrible things for it.
In the end my desire for better stories on Netflix comes down to my desire to experience the world through a new perspective that can speak some truth, and mystery, about life. I tip my hat to Joss for his exceptional telling of The Avengers. I'm officially a Whedon fan now, hoping for great things to come from him. The most important lesson I learned as a writer, is that exciting characters and stories can be made even out of old, well known archetypes. It rejuvenates me for the drive to invent new characters as a result. If they can do reboot old characters, you can create new ones.
Since I started using Netflix about a year ago, I have discovered there is an over-saturation of terrible TV and movies out there. There are plenty of gems out there as well, but be honest for one second, do you watch every single title that pops up on your screen from Netflix?
That got me thinking. I've watched the entire Firefly series several times over the last 12 months, and it is not the first series that I've done that with. Avatar: The Last Airbender(the animated series), 30 Rock, Scrubs, Arrested Development, and soon I'll revisit Lost, are just a few titles that I've seen many times over. I love revisiting a favorite series once and a while, but where are the new shows that explode on the screen and capture the audience? I look over the titles on Netflix and I am found wanting. I'd like to be immersed into a new adventure of character and plot. I'd kill for something like that. Which brings me to Joss Whedon and his new movie, The Avengers.
Holy Cow was that movie good. Often, I'll head to theaters to watch a blockbuster with high hopes, only for them to be dashed on the rocky shores of poor plot and weak character development. For the Avengers, that was not the case. All the main characters had great motivation and development. Something I did not expect. As a matter of fact, I went into the theater expecting a Spiderman 3 syndrome of too many pots and not enough hands to churn them well. I was especially surprised with the Hulk. Often times he has been portrayed, by good actors, as a meat headed monster. Joss did an amazing job of allowing Bruce Banner to actually build into the Hulk.
Overall, the movie wove the headlining heroes stories together very well. Setting up sequels, and adding depth to rather weak franchises. My hope is that Joss stays on for the sequel, because I fear great stories switching hands.
I'm certain we need great tales to soak up and divalge in, because we look for them so intently. When we find a bard that we can give our full attention to, storytellers like Whedon, Nolan, and Spielberg, we cling to their work for dear life. We trust these few to continue to give us great fables that one day our children will love. Think about it, I'm sure you have a favorite show or two. I believe the reason we have these love affairs with series is because they tell us fundamental truths about ourselves. We project ourselves as the hero and live through their experiences, seeing ourselves in the good traits they have. When we see a villain we hate, it can be because it is our worst nightmare of what we could become. We may not be a manipulative demi-god who throws the world into jeopardy by opening portals at the opposite end of the universe, but maybe you know a person who craves attention so deeply that they are willing to do terrible things for it.
In the end my desire for better stories on Netflix comes down to my desire to experience the world through a new perspective that can speak some truth, and mystery, about life. I tip my hat to Joss for his exceptional telling of The Avengers. I'm officially a Whedon fan now, hoping for great things to come from him. The most important lesson I learned as a writer, is that exciting characters and stories can be made even out of old, well known archetypes. It rejuvenates me for the drive to invent new characters as a result. If they can do reboot old characters, you can create new ones.
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