Real Heroes vs. Action movie stars

Yesterday I saw the “Casino Royale”, just as every blockbuster movie I have seen, it’s always been a rather disappointing experience. Don’t get me wrong, I do think it was quite entertaining, but I do have to admit that my mind drifted away when there was the endless car chasing, car crashing and gun shooting. This is the kind of stuff never grip me or make me engaged in any way. And to be honest, I am still puzzled why people haven’t got tired of movies like this – don’t they just tend to tell very similar stories and the “heroes” in those movies are so homogeneous that in a while they become very blur and I always mix them up when I think about those action movies I have seen.

Without a doubt, these movies still generate the hype, boosted by the huge marketing campaigns, and yes, admit it or not, it is probably a vanity thing, but don’t we all like stars for its sheer glamour.

Maybe I am simply too old to be attracted to a hype like this, however, I can’t recall I have ever been attracted or remotely inspired by those action movies. I have long thought it is a big waste of time and money to make movies that don’t reflect the realities in life. But maybe sometimes because reality tends to be bleak and imperfect, so seeing a hero fulfilling his mission in a action movie helps a lot of people mentally. I am not sure.

I found myself more touched and inspired by reading stories of real heroes in our life. The other day I was reading an article on Reuters, it was about a young journalist who had been covering the civil war in Sri Lanka. His neck was broken during a roadside ambush, and he has been paralyzed since. He is still in hospital, but he is determined to go back there to cover the stories in the battle field whenever it is possible for him. “I will go back, in any form I can. “ he said. There is no regret about going there – he was aware of the danger, and he is only 25 years old, he could enjoy what life has to offer, but he picked one of the most dangerous profession in the world, and he is still passionate about it.

Sometimes I think maybe most of us are cowards in a way we don’t dare to live a life that might be short and fulfilling. We get so carried away by the comfort of modern life and the thought of sacrifice of all these make us scared. But is it really better to have a long but ordinary and most of time boring life or to live life to the full even just for one day, because on that day we feel so much alive.

Still not sure I know the answer yet. But I guess I am not alone.