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(here is part 4 of 5 on leadership in an interconnected world. This particular post is an excerpt of a longer study I have done on storytellers as heroes and the ones who shape our identity and ideals) In a world increasingly interconnected by visual media and web technology, emerging personalities and heroic personas will often arise in the midst of stories told that withstand the test of time. We are saturated with information, what remains in our minds amidst the onslaught of email, web pages, scrolling television updates, film clips, and advertisements will be personas that we not only resonate with, but who reveals the longings deep within that shape us all. Understanding that “in a world of networks, individuals, companies, communities, consumers, activist groups, and governments all have the power to be shapers,”[1] two artists have emerged above the rest in the cinema and theatre respectively. William Shakespeare continues to be the standard by which theatre is judged hundreds of years after his death, while the films of Steven Spielberg have so captivated our culture, that he is the single biggest money making filmmaker in history. The pervasive use of English as an international language has not only served to disseminate the works of each artist, but also helped each to shape the way people see the world. Since our own identity as English speaking people can be verbally attributed to Shakespeare and at least in part, if not more, visually attributed to Spielberg[2] (who reframed our fears of swimming as well as our curiosity in alien life forms) we do well to remember that our identities are “formed in relation to other identities,”[3] and if our political context is changing, so will our perception of the heroic. W.E.B Dubois, reflecting upon what a black person should do with their freedom, said that new independence ushered in an era “which must mean a time of intense ethical ferment, of religious heart-searching, and intellectual unrest.”[4] And quite possibly, we are living in such times of ‘intellectual unrest,’ when the heroic is being redefined by a new nationalism and a new interpretation of our nation at the same time. Yet, we as a culture must also understand that Spielberg’s images and stories are here to stay and now serve as reference points not only in cultural literacy, but also in our own identity and personal exploration. “Few among us are qualified to testify as to whether God is dead, or alive, or wandering somewhere in exile….Some authors are indeed dead, but not William Shakespeare.”[5] And no actor will feel accomplished in the modern era without at least a working knowledge of Shakespeare. Our identity as film goers includes a literacy of Spielberg and our identity as English speaking people includes a literacy of Shakespeare. Spielberg and Shakespeare, though, are not simply linked artistically in terms of influence, but it’s in their own search for the heroic, that also links them to one another as well as to you and to me. In Shakespeare’s The Life of Henry the Fifth, the King makes his famous battle cry speech at Agincourt, calling us to the heroic journey by imploring that “he which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart,”[6] but we will not leave, we will press on in search of ourselves in the hope that quite possibly, other people will recall “our names, familiar…as household words,”[7] remembered as significant. Finding meaning, honor, and significance is worth fighting for and worthy of our own internal and external scars. Maybe it’s no surprise then, that Spielberg’s most acclaimed visual production outside of the cinema borrows from King Henry’s call to arms at Agincourt where “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers,”[8] are remembered by the next generation, not because we found ‘rest’ intellectually, but because we fought side by side for what we thought was right. And in doing so, became heroic.[9] Today, in the midst of an information age and unprecedented technological opportunities, the political context isn’t as clear domestically and the murkiness breeds a hesitant heroism that is in search of itself. We are at war, but are not sure who we are heroically rescuing and therefore, Shakespeare not only provides a refuge, but also Spielberg allows us to escape, at least until we can find some more solid footing. In the absence of a mission as clear as Saving Private Ryan, we may simply be left trying to save ourselves with trusted friends, bands of brothers, who remind us of clearer days. In our ongoing search for heroism in the 21st century, stories do shape us. Stories have influence and storytellers can create a common language for us all if we would listen.
-bo
[1] Thomas L. Friedman: The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Anchor Books, New York City, 2000, p. 206. |
