And so it goes...
And there is the account of the hanging of three men, and a scuba diver, and a suicide. There are stories of coincidence and chance, of intersections and strange things told, and which is which and who only knows? And we generally say, "Well, if that was in a movie, I wouldn't believe it." Someone's so-and-so met someone else's so-and-so and so on. And it is in the humble opinion of this narrator that strange things happen all the time. And so it goes, and so it goes. And the book says, "We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us."
- Narrator, Magnolia (1999)
You Are Who You Choose To Be
One of my favorite movies of all time is an animated piece by Brad Bird (The Simpsons, The Incredibles) called The Iron Giant (1999). It was an insanely great story about a kid growing up in Rockwell, Maine during the height of the Cold War in the late 50's who befriends a crashed giant robot who fell to earth. The robot has a dent in his head and seems to suffer from amnesia. After a time together, the kid teaches the robot about things like life and death and morality with the aid of comic books featuring Superman and a villainous robot named Atomo.
Towards the end of the movie, it becomes apparent that the robot had a war like nature built to him as his dent is popped out, he thinks his new friend Hogarth is dead, and the US Army is attacking him. He goes into a furry of what we assume is his original mission, to attack and destroy with lasers and death rays that look deeply inspired by the aliens in War of the Worlds. Hogarth, still alive, stands in front of the giant's arm (now a giant gun) and tells him he doesn't have to do this; "wait, stop! It's bad to kill, guns kill, and you don't have to be a gun, you are what you choose to be... you choose... .choose.." The giant snaps out of his attack mode, puts the guns away and realizes his situation.
In the end, the giant gives his life to save the people of the town and stop their imminent destruction. Remembering the words Hogarth taught him, he makes his choice to be like Superman and do the right thing. As he approaches the falling missile headed for the town, he closes his eyes and smiles before the explosion is seen in the sky from Hogarth and the townspeople.
The movie is about change and choosing your path, despite your original programming. We don't have to be the victims of our past, we have a choice.
I choose Superman.
