Word: heroism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...swish, a swoosh, the snick-snack-snick of dueling blades--the nice thing about swordplay is that it doesn't make a lot of noise. When cold steel is their weapon of choice, men can actually exchange snappy dialogue while engaging in mortal combat. Better still, when heroism and villainy go at it mano a mano, a certain clearly identifiable humanity as well as a certain cinematic grace and fluidity is imparted to their conflicts...
...spectacular stunt work performed by real, as opposed to digitized, people (note especially the spectacular Roman riding gag), is motivated by simple, powerful emotions of an old-fashioned and rather melodramatic nature, which the characters are not shy about expressing. We're talking high romance, pure ideals, dashing heroism here--all the stuff that used to animate our big boyish movies...
...substitutes one part for another. And that's one of the limitations of girl power. Its lure is the image of girls kicking ass, being boylike. But how well does it prepare them to be adults in a complex world? "We're struggling to find alternative models for heroism," says Kathleen Karlyn, an assistant professor of English at the University of Oregon, who is co-writing a book about girl culture. "In order to even imagine female heroism, we're placing it in the realm of fantasy...
...complex than your average action figure. For example, she isn't afraid to hug the Emperor in a burst of emotion. Still, it's noteworthy that one of Disney's most vigorous heroines literally has to disguise herself as a boy. Says Karlyn: "We're beginning to think about heroism in a female way. But we don't have narratives or genres in which we can comfortably fit strong female protagonists...
...September 1989-after years of heroism, obsession, storms, electronic sulks, budget ruptures and challenges in court and at sea-the story was different. Thompson's expedition brought up a large part of the Central America's gold bars, dust and nuggets, valued at nearly $1 billion in 1989 dollars. It wasn't easy money, but it sure is a great story. Kinder tells it in fascinating, exhaustive detail, including the following information: as part of the process of securing rights to a wreck, marine law requires that you file a lawsuit. Against whom--Neptune? Close; you sue the wreck itself...