Pursuing the Impossible Dream

Art & Literature, Culture, Film, Media, Picturing the Word — By Picturing the Word on April 21, 2010 at 9:55 am

Welcome to Podcast 9!

Our curriculum this week was themed “The Never-Ending Battle.”

We watched:

Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960, PG-13)

Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995, R)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Peter Jackson, 2002, PG-13)

“Doctor Who” (Army of Ghosts / Doomsday 2.12–13)

We read:

Kingdom Come (Chapter 3—Up in the Sky)

Batman: War on Crime

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien

Needless to say, it was a very long week.

We begin the podcast by discussing the question: does a hero need to believe in the impossible in order to be a hero? This question then makes us wonder if Heroes are necessarily foolish people—remember that a hero frequently has an impossible quest that only a fool would dare try to complete. We then turn to thinking about characters like William Wallace and Spartacus and ask if heroes need to have a vendetta to inspire action? And finally, in light of a hero frequently taking up an impossible and generally highly dangerous quest, it is morally acceptable for a hero to ask for followers?

As always, we would love your comments and questions. Comment below or email John and I at picturingtheword@gmail.com .

Happy listening! ‘

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:05 — 23.9MB)


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  • jenniferjohnsmom

    Of course John should watch “Amazing Grace”, as should your class on heroes. Does a hero have to be fictionalized to be a hero?
    I like the thought that we all have a hero inside of us that needs to be called out, but by what power for what purpose is a great question. And does a hero always have to be motivated by an experience or 'calling'? It seems so, doesn't it?