What are you even doing? Reading this blog post? Reading!? Why!?!? Stop it. STOP IT.
Still reading? Well if you like reading sooo much, then surely you've read Fahrenheit 451? It's inevitable that we burn our books and stop reading.
You could just listen to this, you know.
Okay, don't get me wrong. I seriously, seriously love reading and books. Right now I'm reading The Constitution of the United States and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers. Maybe you yawned reading that title. But trust me, you're doing anything but yawning when you read some of these fiery speeches. The Founding Fathers knew how to spit fire! When I read Patrick Henry's oh-so-famous quote "Give me liberty or give me death" in context, I was ready to jump on a horse and charge into battle. But then I remembered that I have the physical capability of a potato and I'm in a country that has already been liberated for nearly 250 years...
My roundabout point is that although I love books, I think most of the moral messages I get are from television shows and movies. So, this blog will be exclusively looking at those quotes that make you go "woah" when you hear them. Of course, I'll provide a literary equivalent to the message so we can see that though the medium is different, these universal messages stand the test of time.
So for this first week, we're looking at Avatar: The Last Airbender. I could have probably made a whole blog about this show, and I'm guessing that almost everyone in my generation has heard of it, if not watched it.
First, I think we need to take a moment to appreciate the artistic vision I had and that I had the audacity to bring my vision to life. *Moment* Okay, back to the real stuff!
Quote in question:"Is it your own destiny, or is a destiny someone else is trying to force on you...It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big question: who are you and what do you want?"
If you don't want to watch the whole clip, begin listening at the 50 second mark.
This moment is just incredibly powerful if you watch the show; if you haven't you can still resonate with the quote. You can hear the passion in his voice as he desperately tries to reach out to his nephew and persuade him.
I think a lot of times in our lives we get caught up in how others perceive us and we can cave into pressure. The reason we can all find this quote powerful, even if it's language isn't flowery, is just because of how much of a wake-up slap it is. It makes you take a step back and wonder if the path you're leading is actually what you want to be doing.
In my experience, I often contemplate what I'm doing with my major when I hear this. I'm a biochemistry major, but I think a part of me knows that I'm a biochem major because I've been told STEM is the best path for securing a job. It forces me to think if this is path I want to take. And I realize that yes, it really is something I thoroughly enjoy. So although I don't change my "destiny" like the Uncle is trying to convince his nephew in the show, the quote helps me to solidify a core value I have.
I think it's absolutely awesome that a kid's show can give this kind of easily digestible language and still deliver a powerful message. Children are kind-of like blank pieces of paper, so it's important to teach them that they need to figure themselves out before a bunch of evil adults tell them how they should live their life.
As promised, I've got a literary equivalent to this idea. Shakespeare's Macbeth has a theme of fate and free will that are constantly at odds. Macbeth is told by the witches that he will become king. Because of A LOT of pressure from his wife, he kills the current king. So, there's this whole idea of Macbeth being influenced by his wife to fulfill a destiny that she wants and that the witches have foreseen. This means that this idea of fulfilling someone else's destiny versus fulfilling your own destiny has been continued throughout the ages. And holy crap do I love Shakespeare, but lack of a hearing and a complex language makes his message much more arduous than of The Last Airbender. Read Shakespeare for your vocabulary and understanding of complex passages, but watch the show for everything else.
So what's your "destiny?" Did anyone carve it for you? Or, did you "look inward" and choose your calling?
Still reading? Well if you like reading sooo much, then surely you've read Fahrenheit 451? It's inevitable that we burn our books and stop reading.
You could just listen to this, you know.
Okay, don't get me wrong. I seriously, seriously love reading and books. Right now I'm reading The Constitution of the United States and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers. Maybe you yawned reading that title. But trust me, you're doing anything but yawning when you read some of these fiery speeches. The Founding Fathers knew how to spit fire! When I read Patrick Henry's oh-so-famous quote "Give me liberty or give me death" in context, I was ready to jump on a horse and charge into battle. But then I remembered that I have the physical capability of a potato and I'm in a country that has already been liberated for nearly 250 years...
My roundabout point is that although I love books, I think most of the moral messages I get are from television shows and movies. So, this blog will be exclusively looking at those quotes that make you go "woah" when you hear them. Of course, I'll provide a literary equivalent to the message so we can see that though the medium is different, these universal messages stand the test of time.
So for this first week, we're looking at Avatar: The Last Airbender. I could have probably made a whole blog about this show, and I'm guessing that almost everyone in my generation has heard of it, if not watched it.
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| Original Image Courtesy of Net Sama |
Quote in question:"Is it your own destiny, or is a destiny someone else is trying to force on you...It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big question: who are you and what do you want?"
If you don't want to watch the whole clip, begin listening at the 50 second mark.
This moment is just incredibly powerful if you watch the show; if you haven't you can still resonate with the quote. You can hear the passion in his voice as he desperately tries to reach out to his nephew and persuade him.
I think a lot of times in our lives we get caught up in how others perceive us and we can cave into pressure. The reason we can all find this quote powerful, even if it's language isn't flowery, is just because of how much of a wake-up slap it is. It makes you take a step back and wonder if the path you're leading is actually what you want to be doing.
In my experience, I often contemplate what I'm doing with my major when I hear this. I'm a biochemistry major, but I think a part of me knows that I'm a biochem major because I've been told STEM is the best path for securing a job. It forces me to think if this is path I want to take. And I realize that yes, it really is something I thoroughly enjoy. So although I don't change my "destiny" like the Uncle is trying to convince his nephew in the show, the quote helps me to solidify a core value I have.
I think it's absolutely awesome that a kid's show can give this kind of easily digestible language and still deliver a powerful message. Children are kind-of like blank pieces of paper, so it's important to teach them that they need to figure themselves out before a bunch of evil adults tell them how they should live their life.
As promised, I've got a literary equivalent to this idea. Shakespeare's Macbeth has a theme of fate and free will that are constantly at odds. Macbeth is told by the witches that he will become king. Because of A LOT of pressure from his wife, he kills the current king. So, there's this whole idea of Macbeth being influenced by his wife to fulfill a destiny that she wants and that the witches have foreseen. This means that this idea of fulfilling someone else's destiny versus fulfilling your own destiny has been continued throughout the ages. And holy crap do I love Shakespeare, but lack of a hearing and a complex language makes his message much more arduous than of The Last Airbender. Read Shakespeare for your vocabulary and understanding of complex passages, but watch the show for everything else.
So what's your "destiny?" Did anyone carve it for you? Or, did you "look inward" and choose your calling?
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