Friday, September 23, 2016
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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ReplyDeleteWhile Johnnie Gray’s methods in saving Anabelle were unconventional, they were still heroic. The definition of hero is someone who “who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Johnnie definitely courageous; he was behind enemy lines chasing a train full rival soldiers. He spent days doing this beating any obstacle that was thrown at him in order to save his girlfriend. While luck may have been involved he still successfully overcame all of the complications and difficulties he encountered. On the contrary, there also may not have been very much luck involved because he had to solve his problems very spontaneously which required lots of skill. An example of this is when he jumped off the moving train, picked up a log on the track and threw it at another log to launch it off. He also jammed the train switch to further delay his pursuers, and lit the bridge on fire. Also, he had one major outstanding achievement; successfully passing behind enemy lines in order to rescue a hostage and halting the oncoming enemy army. He is also recognized and idealized for his outstanding achievements. He is promoted to a high level position in the confederate army so his counterparts look up to him. Also the film does not really exhibit the common ideas of military heroism. It displayed them as thoughtless individuals who did not think through their plans very well. One example of this can be seen when the soldiers are trying to figure out how to fix the bent switch on the tracks. The movie cut back and forth between Johnnie and the soldiers, showing how long the soldiers spent trying to fix the train tracks. At one point another man comes in to the scene and fixes the track with ease. Compared to Johnnie, the soldiers were much less successful in overcoming obstacles. When the soldiers finally passed the broken tracks they encountered the burning bridge. The army general decides the bridge will easily be able to support the oncoming train, but it does not and the train falls into the river.
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ReplyDeleteSometimes Lucky Heroes are better than Good Ones
ReplyDeleteEvery hero is brave, bold, and a little bit lucky. Buster Keaton’s, The General is a picture-perfect example of a story about a lucky hero. People laugh out loud watching the movie due to the comic and fortunate events pertaining to the main character, Johnnie Gray, during his quest to retrieve his steam engine, which inadvertently becomes a rescue mission as well as a covert operation for the war. In Johnnie’s adventure he can be defined as both lucky and a true hero. His righteous and noble motives combined with his outstanding bravery aligns with the common definition of a hero. Though he is a hero at heart, Johnnie lacks the necessary skills and wit to complete his gallant pursuit, but his unexplainable luck is able to more than compensate for his absence of training. These well timed fortunate accidents make the film both comedic and interesting, but raises conflicting questions about military standards. At the end of the movie Johnnie is rewarded with the position of lieutenant for his achievements in rescuing a civilian and being a vital part of winning a battle, but both feats were attained through luck. This is sort of making fun of the military's ideals because he is being rewarded for his strokes of luck, but also instills the positive principle of being praised for his courage. Though Johnnie Gray had no skills in rescue or spy missions he is heroic in his will to try, which makes him a hero, not a good hero, but a lucky one.
Sometimes Lucky Heroes are better than Good Ones
ReplyDeleteEvery hero is brave, bold, and a little bit lucky. Buster Keaton’s, The General is a picture-perfect example of a story about a lucky hero. People laugh out loud watching the movie due to the comic and fortunate events pertaining to the main character, Johnnie Gray, during his quest to retrieve his steam engine, which inadvertently becomes a rescue mission as well as a covert operation for the war. In Johnnie’s adventure he can be defined as both lucky and a true hero. His righteous and noble motives combined with his outstanding bravery aligns with the common definition of a hero. Though he is a hero at heart, Johnnie lacks the necessary skills and wit to complete his gallant pursuit, but his unexplainable luck is able to more than compensate for his absence of training. These well timed fortunate accidents make the film both comedic and interesting, but raises conflicting questions about military standards. At the end of the movie Johnnie is rewarded with the position of lieutenant for his achievements in rescuing a civilian and being a vital part of winning a battle, but both feats were attained through luck. This is sort of making fun of the military's ideals because he is being rewarded for his strokes of luck, but also instills the positive principle of being praised for his courage. Though Johnnie Gray had no skills in rescue or spy missions he is heroic in his will to try, which makes him a hero, not a good hero, but a lucky one.
Johnnie Gray is portrayed as someone who is oblivious to his surroundings, and is blindly brave, almost the point of stupidity. He has very good intentions in wanting to save Annabelle Lee, but he charges into the heart of battle with no idea of what he is doing. He was refused when he tried to enlist, but that was because they thought him better suited for engineering, which is what he did. As a train engineer, his job could prove crucial to the war effort. What the viewers see, however, is a man leaving his regular post as a train engineer and chasing experienced enemies into the opposing army. He is very lucky, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be considered a true hero. The outcome of almost everything in The General is due to blind luck. As viewers can see, early on as Johnnie is chasing the group of soldiers who took Annabelle, he accidentally fires a cannonball at the enemy train. Had there not been a turn at the right moment then the cannon would have fired into the back of Johnnie’s train. Another example of luck is when Johnnie Gray is waving around his sword in the battle near the bridge. His sword blade is not attached to the sword hilt, so when he waves it around it flies off. This is a recurring occurrence until the final time, when he waves his sword and his blade impales an enemy soldier who had been firing at Johnnie and his comrades. Examples like these of luck are littered throughout the film, which just shows that the outcome was based on luck, rather than the experience. Experienced soldiers being beaten by skill shows that the army and soldiers were satirized. The enemy soldiers don’t seem to know how to fight against Johnnie as he his chasing them on the train, and towards the end during the final fight near the bridge Johnnie’s army doesn’t seem to know how to use a cannon. This comical effect of soldiers not knowing how to do their job can also be seen in modern day movies. The easiest example would be to look at any Star Wars film. The soldiers, called the Storm Troopers, have awful accuracy with their weapons, allowing the protagonists to fight many of them at once easily. Going back to The General, Johnnie being lucky does not necessarily mean he is not a true hero. The idea of a true hero, in film at least, is someone who saves the day because he has true, pure intentions, and perseveres to defeat the “bad”. Johnnie chases his enemies down and wins his army the battle. He is someone who showed valor and loyalty even though he lacked the skill and proficiency.
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ReplyDeleteI don’t like to use the word “luck” but from my knowledge of the movie and my view of it, I truly can say Johnnie Gray’s defeat of the Northern Army in battle was indeed luck. It’s luck in that sense of “the way the cookie crumbles.” Johnnie ended up saving his girlfriend and battling an army but was able to accomplish it with so many luck ways. Examples like being able to maneuver the train despite obstacles being in the way, not crashing, keeping his distance from the army that was after but when in close contact, having something that was there in the moment to keep him distant so the army men on the train behind him couldn’t get ahold of him. These different fortunate acts were just things that happened to work out for Johnnie and thankfully he was able to save his girlfriend and inform his people of the Northern Army that was planning an attack on them also. But I don’t think that’s what we should as viewers get out of it. That can be the literal view but the inside take we should get out is how Johnnie’s heroism helped him in spite of hardship. His determination to find his love and even when things weren’t going his way, made a way out of no way. His efforts to manage his train, go out alone, search for his love, and return home with her show what kind of person he truly was. A person of great nobility, fortitude, love, and hope. And that’s a moral of this story. There are many that Johnnie explores and reveals that can connect to Military Heroism, but the ways I described are only a few that tie in the role of being a soldier.
ReplyDeleteJohnny Gray, the hero in buster Keaton’s movie The General, cannot under any circumstances be considered anything other than lucky. Everything he means to do ends up working to his advantage, and even things that should turn out disastrously for him turn in his favor. The most obvious example of this is when his foot becomes caught in the connector between his locomotive and that of the cannon car. His foot miraculously gets caught allowing the cannon aimed at the back of his train to detach at the perfect moment to not only avoid killing Johnny, but also be aimed almost perfectly at the union soldier’s train. If this isn’t luck I don’t know what to call it; after all isn’t luck just when coincidence goes our way. Johnny Gray may be lucky but this doesn’t make me think of him as any less of a hero. He may have gotten lucky quite a few times on his way but he was still the only person attempting to foil the enemies plot. It would be different if there were multiple others trying to foil the plot and the only reason he succeeded over them was because of his luck. If that were the case we could not call him more of a hero than any of the others. I am a believer in the saying that, “luck helps those who help themselves” and because Johnny Gray was the only person out on the tracks braving the enemy and setting himself up for success I don’t think we can take away his status of hero for a few instances of luck.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie The General the supposedly heroic qualities of the military mocked of and the modern ideas of a hero are questioned. Even in movies and stories today, military are viewed as heroic characters with stature and power. But in The General the group of soldiers were outsmarted by a simple train engineer. The scene on the train cart where the water pours over the soldiers conversing was a strong example of the mockery imposed on the military through the movie. Another example was the lack of effect by the north army when attacking the southern soldiers in the water, rather Jonnie Gray was the important factor. Although some of the “heroic” actions performed by Johnnie Gray were luck, they brought a new idea to what a hero can be. A hero doesn’t have to be a decorated war soldier, instead it can be a train operator. Johnnie Gray’s actions in helping the south can essentially be labeled as accidental heroism. Although there were some smart decisions made on his part to evade from the soldiers, luck was on his side. An unlikely hero is a theme that this movie very successfully portrays that is seen everywhere in theater nowadays. Heroes don’t always have to be the soldiers, in fact the better stories seem to be the ones where the importance or power of the likely hero is questioned. The General shines the light on a new kind of hero that hadn’t been emphasized during this time period. The movie is not push for a complete shift in thinking but rather an altering of outcomes that makes the story unpredictable and entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThroughout The General, Johnnie Gray longs to enlist into the military to pursue the role of a hero; however, the film alters the viewer’s definition of what it means to be a true hero. Johnnie, in the movie, is viewed as immature and is belittled by the ideology of what it means to be a “true” hero. Johnnie is clumsy and funny, which contrasts against the soldiers’ sharp and fierce tempers. He is seen as an outcast within his community and is forced to become a hero, his own way. Johnnie’s ability to be brave in the most dangerous of circumstances permits Johnnie to achieve his goals. Johnnie’s ability to overcome adversity throughout his journey was a major element in the success of his mission. He not only was able to sneak into enemy territory and obtain an enemy’s outfit, but he magnificently returned The General back to the North. Along his journey, Johnnie is maintains a large amount of luck which also allows him to complete near impossible tasks. Johnnie knocks many pieces of wood of the train tracks, to allow it to continue it’s motion, without ever needing to stop. Incidents such as this allow Johnnie to successfully rescue his fiancé, and earn a spot in the military. Johnnie not only overcame the stereotype of engineers vs. soldiers, but was able to fortify his newfound marriage with his fiancé. Ultimately, bravery, willingness to overcome adversity, and a whole lot of luck, allow Johnnie Gray to complete his mission in Buster Keaton’s, The General.
ReplyDeleteOver the course of the film The General, Johnnie Gray continues his quest to prove he has what it takes to be a soldier in the confederate army, despite his constant rejection. He strives to be a hero in the film, and from the beginning this seems like a very far-fetched dream. As the film progresses, through the help of being in the right place at the right time and some other events falling in his favor, Johnnie eventually becomes a hero by the film’s end. While luck played some factor in Johnnie’s fate, he is still a hero because of what he did. It could be argued that all heroes need some shred of luck in order to become a hero, as heroic events are so remarkable that they are impossible feats to accomplish without any bit of luck. Johnnie is a prime example of this, as he goes from a simple train engineer to a confederate hero over the course of the film. He very ignorantly and blindly chases the Union soldiers into their opposing territory, and somehow makes it out alive. He is very lucky to make it out considering the circumstances, however what he accomplishes for the South is extremely heroic. While he chased the Union soldiers very blindly as he didn’t know what he would encounter, it was still extremely heroic because of what he risked for his side in the war. While he thinks he is being rejected by the Confederates throughout the film, in reality he just doesn’t realize that he is more valuable as an engineer. This doesn’t deter his motivation, however, as he continues to try and be the hero for the south. In the end, while luck may have played a large role, Johnnie is still a hero, as he greatly helps the Confederates in the war and saves Annabelle from the North. Being lucky and a hero are not by any means mutually exclusive and Johnnie proves this extensively. He gets extremely lucky at times, however a hero is someone who has a goal and puts everything towards that goal, accomplishing it in the end. This is exactly what Johnnie does, as he never loses determination to be a Confederate hero, and in the end it all pays off when he saves his beloved Annabelle and helps the South win a crucial battle.
ReplyDeleteThe General portrays a protagonist who depends on luck and happy accidents instead of skill. Compared to other protagonists, Johnnie Gray finds himself in lucky situations. He is a man who just so happens to find Anabelle when he is under the Northern Generals’ table. Later in the film, he also happens to kill a hostile soldier by just waving his sword around in a panic. While most of his feats shown in the film are achieved through luck, all of these have good intentions. During the chase scene, Johnnie uses the cannon on the back of his train to shoot at the enemy train. After a close call on his first try, he uses as much gunpowder as he can for the second try. Using luck and comedy hand in hand, Buster Keaton create a scene that is both comedic to the audience and presents Johnnie as an extremely lucky individual. His actions in the film were heroic in nature, in which he chases the Northern spies and inadvertently rescues both his train and Anabelle, proving that Johnnie is a true hero, though not in the traditional sense. This film can be considered a satire of the military. The Northern military is depicted to be incompetent and always falling for Johnnie’s lucky actions. The film looks at the hero in a different perspective. Not all heroes are strong, tall, and brave. The film instead depicts heroes who are lucky, but genuine.
ReplyDeleteIn the film “The General” the main character Johnnie Gray is a hero. I believe that courage, bravery, fearlessness, etc. are characteristics of a hero and Johnnie shows these qualities throughout the movie. Johnnie isn’t a trained soldier he’s just an engineer but he decided to contribute to the war in a way he knew how. Fighting against trained soldiers took a lot of bravery and it isn’t something he had to do. He chose to do this and was very effective in doing so. Although some may not consider his methods very heroic, he still fought against a northern army with trained soldiers and won. He did get lucky at many different in the movie and things went his way not with the northern army but, if he didn’t have the courage to go fight them, he wouldn’t have been in a position to get “lucky” and beat the army. Just because some things went his way doesn’t take away from the fact that what he did was fearless and heroic. I think that this film sort of redefines what it means to be a hero. Like I said previously, I think that Johnnie is and should be considered a hero but his ways are unconventional in the sense that he was an engineer. Typically in this situation a soldier would usually end up being the hero but he’s still heroic although he’s just an engineer. I believe that through the character Johnnie Gray, the movie shows us that heroes come in many different forms and that you just have to be brave, courageous, fearless, and have a desire to want to help and do work.
ReplyDeleteThe General redefines what it means to be a hero without detracting from those who are or were heroes in the armed forces. By portraying a common character (Buster Keaton) as a hero the director delivers a message that anyone can be a hero. He manages to albeit luckily save the girl, train and foil a bad guy plot in a very lucky series of events. Take for example his luck of being in the Union campaign headquarters when the Generals are discussing their plans or when he manages to find a union uniform to sneak through the lines. Keaton's actions are doable though outlandish because of the likelihood they would never happen. This movie inspires people like Keatons character who consider themselves ordinary and incapable of great feats of man to do things they never considered possible. By redefining the traits of being a hero they inspire the common man. Keaton's character shows you don’t need to shoot a gun or be a perfect gentleman to be a hero. The movie however doesn’t detract from traditional norms of what a Hero has to be. It still shows the southern soldiers to be heroes, bravely fighting off the union soldiers. Keaton does mock them slightly with his antics but overall the traditional are still there. The General redefines what it means to be a hero offering a common man success story. It proves that anyone can do anything they set their mind to all they need is a train car and a little bit of luck and they too can be heroes.
ReplyDeleteJohnnie Gray’s bravery, determination, and luck, revealed that he was lucky numerous times throughout the film, however he was heroic as well. The near end of the film showed the Southern army being warned by Johnny Gray himself, which potentially saved the lives and territory of many southern soldiers that had no idea of the upcoming “surprise attack” from the northern soldiers. Not only did he save many soldiers of the Southern Army but he also managed to slow down the northern combatants which delayed their “surprise attack” as well. Lastly, Johnnie Gray managed to rescue a “damsel in distress” on his return back from the northern region, displaying heroism through saving his southern region, his soldiers, and even his girlfriend along the way. Johnnie Gray was clearly a true hero of the story, but his luckiness also played a role in the film as well. While some viewers could find Johnnie’s luck as just a comical addition to his heroism, his luck also put emphasis on the definition of heroism. While Johnnie was portrayed as a scrawny character incapable of joining the war because of his occupation, being an engineer, it was Johnnie, the incapable character that saved so many characters in the end of the film. The film used Johnnie to portray the message that anyone is capable of being a hero no matter how they appear and what are and aren’t capable of doing. While most of the men in the southern army were much taller and appeared bulkier and stronger than Johnnie Gray, he managed to demonstrate the true characteristics of true heroism through his bravery and willingness to chase after his train, save the “damsel in distress”, slow the northern combatants down, and warn his fellow southerners of the “surprise attack”. Johnnie lacked the physical appearance of the southern soldiers but he didn’t lack in capability. Overall, Johnnie Gray displayed the true values of a hero and his luck helped to emphasize how anyone was capable of being a hero no matter how better or worse their physical appearance was.
ReplyDeleteI think that Johnnie is more a lucky hero, even though he has elements of a true hero. He didn't plan to defeat an entire enemy battalion when he started his chase; all he wanted was to get his train back. As the film goes on, he realizes that there is more to the situation than just a stolen train, and he works to prevent the Northern ambush and supply movement from taking place. Because of this, the film did redefine what a hero is, because it portrayed an ordinary character as the hero instead of creating a superhero-like character. With regards to what this film says about heroism, it is saying that heroes aren't cookie-cutter characters, but instead are people who do things for the good of many. Additionally, The General absolutely makes fun of military heroism. Even in serious, solemn moments, comedic moments are interjected into more serious ones. For example, when the Union general surrenders at the end of the film, the mood becomes very solemn and respectful. This moment is interrupted as Johnnie's pistol goes off, creating a comedic scene. Additionally, the soldiers and generals in this film are not portrayed as the heroic characters that they usually are (or at least were up to this point in history). Instead, the high-ranking military figures become supporting characters as Johnnie takes center stage. Because of all of these points, The General was a major step forward in the styles of film that are central to the art form today.
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