Light Rambler

I find myself without any grand lesson to leave you with in this blog, so I’m just going to ramble for a while. Perhaps my ramblings will inspire me. Failing that, they might inspire you.

I just finished watching tron Legacy. It is quite an enjoyable movie, albeit not an incredible work of cinema. It also contains some quite fascinating lessons.

“Perfection is Unknowable. It’s impossible and yet it’s right there in front of us all the time.” -Kevin Flynn-

We spend each day of our lives just getting by. We long for an answer to each of our questions, even when those questions aren’t fully formed yet. Our shortcomings aren’t defined by what we cannot do. Rather, they are defined by all the things that we chose to do poorly or not at all.

Perfection doesn’t seek us out. We actively seek it, and it flees from us. As we chase after perfection, our clumsy steps destroy tiny bits of perfect with every footfall. Perfect doesn’t come from being well organized. It’s not a matter of reaching maximum potential. 

Perfection isn’t a constant. Just when we think we’ve reached it, it will change again. That’s why we aren’t perfect, and why we never will be.

Now that my little rant on perfection is over, I think I’ll start in on heroes.

Tron LEgacy has Three main Protagonists: Kevin Flynn, Sam Flynn, And Quorra. Each have distinct traits, and all are working toward a common goal. Yet none of them is really a hero. Sam does what he does because his father never came home. Quorra is the last of her race, alone and hunted in a world that should have been her safe haven. And Kevin, he lives in fear. Fear that his actions will allow his creations to destroy the world, fear that he will lose the love of his son, fear that Quorra, a wondrous being, will be destroyed because of something he did.

Interestingly enough, among these non-heroic protagonists, there is a hidden protagonist: Tron. Though he spends most of the film as a brain-washed baddie, Tron comes to his senses at the end of the film and realizes that he has become something he never should have been.

After that realization, Tron picks up where he left off in the first film, fighting for a cause, a belief. Even when he is alone in his belief he fights on. That is what a true hero does. The story may not revolve around the heroes, nevertheless, they are there. 

In our world too heroes go without their due recognition. Our stories don’t revolve around the people who fight for what they believe in. They revolve around people who fight for money. They closely follow people who’s only skill set involves getting fall-down drunk and not falling down.

Our media chases sensations. They look for perfect stories. Maybe they need to look right at their feet, perhaps perfection is right in front of them. Perhaps it’s in the real heroes out there who do what is right, regardless of the attention they receive.