Who knows what makes someone extraordinary? In today's society, we throw around the word so carelessly that it has essentially lost meaning - "Today's chicken tortilla soup tasted extraordinary!" Really? You deem the almost daily and redundant chicken tortilla soup worthy of a word that means 'exceedingly exceptional?' Perhaps I should have eaten a bowl, but to revert back to my original point, does anyone nowadays really know how to denote something as extraordinary? Because I do. I learned the true meaning of extraordinary through my favorite character, General Allan Quatermaine, in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The 2003 film depicts a crumbling world that direly needs a group of gentlemen to save it from an immensely powerful magician that desires to rule the globe. I have chosen this flick as my favorite of all time, not for solely the content of the movie, but for the context in which I saw the movie as well. "If you can't do it with one bullet, don't do it at all" declares Quatermaine after a young hothead unsuccessfully discharges an entire cartridge at a single enemy. The elderly sharpshooter, and leader of the gang, at first glance has no extra-normal powers or abilities. Yet, as the movie progresses, he becomes my favorite character and I begin to designate him as the most extraordinary person in the film. Whilst he does not have vampire characteristics, or immortality like others in the film, the man possesses the most hardest to attain virtues on the planet: patience, sympathy, courage, and sacrifice. The mere fact that he still fights with those at the peak of their physique impresses me, but the way he does it astounds me all the more. In the film, Quatermaine teaches viewers the value of patience through his way of nearly allowing opportunities to pass before seizing them at just the right moment. Furthermore, he teaches his audience the importance of showing sympathy even to foes when they find their lives in his hands. Finally, the sniper demonstrates true courage and sacrifice when he walks into the onslaught of enemies and dies for his friends and country so that they may lead better lives. I have a great fascination with the General and often times find myself trying to mimic his calm, cool, and collected personality in times of pressure or danger. Secondly, I place this film at the top of my favorite movies list because of the context in which I first saw it. I remember it being a late friday night the week after my 12th birthday. My father and I sat in our den waiting for my mom to go to bed, he had told me earlier that he had a surprise for me that she would not have approved of. Once she checked out for the night, my dad made me promise that I would not tell my mother of the rated R movie we would soon watch. I can still feel the excitement that this minor rebellion stirred inside of me. I felt special because my father had placed a certain amount of trust in me and clearly believed that my maturity level had reached a point to where I could handle the movie. This said a lot, because as a little kid, I notoriously had frequent nightmares, therefore I remember with pride when he deemed me worthy to watch the violent motion picture. I believe that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen contains great actors and plot line, but the appeal goes so far beyond just that ergo, I must place it atop my list.
When I first saw the film, I too held a deep respect for Quartermaine; however, I picked the Invisible Man as my favorite for his comedic value and my childhood desire to have the power of invisibility. But I would have to say your choice, Adam, comes as a close second. I shallowly valued Quartermaine for his shooting skills and admirable choice of not using "easy," automatic weapons. Your post, though, opened my eyes to the much more important qualities that make him extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteYou want to know who else is cool, calm, and collected? Dan Dreiberg. No, I jest. Your description of this character immediately pulled me into the story. I confess that I set out on my blog exploration tonight with the goal of acquiring several more movies to watch, and yours seems quite intriguing. I especially love the personal anecdote involving your affection for the movie from a young age. It demonstrates your dedication to the film, while so many of us change our preferences as new movies come out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adam in that nowadays, people tend to toss adjectives, such as extraordinary, around so frequently that the original word slowly loses meaning. I see a direct correlation between people who overuse these adjectives and people who post every second of their lives on social networking, but that deems a whole other topic. I reprimand Adam however, for uncovering the ending of his favorite movie. Halfway through reading his post, I looked forward to chilling with my older brother and father, watching The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
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