"There is no good and evil, there is only power...and those too weak to seek it."
-Lord Voldemort
Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Power".
I was watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone over the weekend and there was one quote in particular that really stuck with me. When Harry is facing Voldemort at the end of the movie, Harry is told that "there is no good and evil, there is only power...and those too weak to seek it." This really got me thinking about the current display of power in today's society and how that relates to the conflict between good and evil as seen in the movies.
I feel like it wasn't until recent that villains in movies began to also get back stories and were not bad, just for the sake of being bad. I enjoy watching the older James Bond movies where the villains are pure evil and yet seem to be severely lacking any logical grounds behind their actions. They just want to rule the world. Although I'm sure it would be fun to rule everything in the world, it would be very difficult to keep everything running and oversee things properly without your power getting overthrown by someone else, or your civilization just falling apart. I still don't know how certain rulers in ancient Rome or Greece lasted as long as they had with their country growing so rapidly. In many cases I'm glad we have a democracy with various different levels because a dictatorship or even a monarchy just doesn't seem like a good balance of power. Even with a democracy, the US still has so many problems, but I also think that is because over time politicians are becoming less of a voice for all people and more of a voice for a certain socioeconomic and cultural group.
It's funny really, in many cases the people who should be leading our nation are led to believe from an early age that that kind of lifestyle is not in their future. That is the difficult thing when it comes to power, there will constantly be people trying to get it. Once you are on top, you either have the opportunity to share the power with others (which will then lead to them possibly overthrowing you and them taking charge), or you make it nearly impossible for any other kind of person to reach the top except for others who will want you to stay on the top with them because they are of like minds.
It should be no surprise that a government or major organization has traitors or tyrants in it, the individuals within the organization are groomed to act and think a certain way. They might quickly learn that if they pretend to act this way, they will be launched higher into the ranks at a faster rate and once they have reached a level where they have enough power to make a change, their hidden agenda comes to light and the change will then be forced upon others below them. The process is all very sneaky not really that enjoyable to discuss, but I think that is also why villains have more of a back-story now. As seen in X-men first class, Phantom of the Opera, or even lighter animated flicks like "Megamind", you see the villain come out of the framework from some sort of past injustice or some deeply rooted hatred for a certain person/group of people. There is really no black or white anymore, it is more of a solid layer of gray through the entire spectrum. The hero is simply the person who wins the election or has the power to influence the history books :)
Question Time: What does "power" mean to you?
About the Video: I had to actually check multiple times to ensure I hadn't used this video already, but I don't think there is any better illustration of power and the villain's back-story than the story of "Wicked". If you have no seen the play, make that change immediately, it will change your entire view of the Wizard of Oz. Goodnight all!
I was watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone over the weekend and there was one quote in particular that really stuck with me. When Harry is facing Voldemort at the end of the movie, Harry is told that "there is no good and evil, there is only power...and those too weak to seek it." This really got me thinking about the current display of power in today's society and how that relates to the conflict between good and evil as seen in the movies.
I feel like it wasn't until recent that villains in movies began to also get back stories and were not bad, just for the sake of being bad. I enjoy watching the older James Bond movies where the villains are pure evil and yet seem to be severely lacking any logical grounds behind their actions. They just want to rule the world. Although I'm sure it would be fun to rule everything in the world, it would be very difficult to keep everything running and oversee things properly without your power getting overthrown by someone else, or your civilization just falling apart. I still don't know how certain rulers in ancient Rome or Greece lasted as long as they had with their country growing so rapidly. In many cases I'm glad we have a democracy with various different levels because a dictatorship or even a monarchy just doesn't seem like a good balance of power. Even with a democracy, the US still has so many problems, but I also think that is because over time politicians are becoming less of a voice for all people and more of a voice for a certain socioeconomic and cultural group.
It's funny really, in many cases the people who should be leading our nation are led to believe from an early age that that kind of lifestyle is not in their future. That is the difficult thing when it comes to power, there will constantly be people trying to get it. Once you are on top, you either have the opportunity to share the power with others (which will then lead to them possibly overthrowing you and them taking charge), or you make it nearly impossible for any other kind of person to reach the top except for others who will want you to stay on the top with them because they are of like minds.
It should be no surprise that a government or major organization has traitors or tyrants in it, the individuals within the organization are groomed to act and think a certain way. They might quickly learn that if they pretend to act this way, they will be launched higher into the ranks at a faster rate and once they have reached a level where they have enough power to make a change, their hidden agenda comes to light and the change will then be forced upon others below them. The process is all very sneaky not really that enjoyable to discuss, but I think that is also why villains have more of a back-story now. As seen in X-men first class, Phantom of the Opera, or even lighter animated flicks like "Megamind", you see the villain come out of the framework from some sort of past injustice or some deeply rooted hatred for a certain person/group of people. There is really no black or white anymore, it is more of a solid layer of gray through the entire spectrum. The hero is simply the person who wins the election or has the power to influence the history books :)
Question Time: What does "power" mean to you?
About the Video: I had to actually check multiple times to ensure I hadn't used this video already, but I don't think there is any better illustration of power and the villain's back-story than the story of "Wicked". If you have no seen the play, make that change immediately, it will change your entire view of the Wizard of Oz. Goodnight all!
Take Away:
Tomorrow's Topic: "Complete"
