
It has recently struck me how the concepts of "ordinary" keeps on arising in different films in 2006.
In Night at the Museum, there is a message in it that some people are almost fated to live extraordinary live's, although there secret may be kept from the world. Almost as if the most extraordinary people are hidden in society.

The Akeelah-concept of ordinary is that we are each so extraordinary, that when we break free of ourselves we have the power to let other's realize they too can be extraordinary.

Is this not in someways the point of Clint Eastwood's film Flags of Our Fathers as some select individuals become heroes, although compared to many of the other war heroes, these most famous ones are the most ordinary of them all?
Or what about Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) and Deena Jones (Beyonce Knowles) in Dreamgirls, isn't there great conflict between who is ordinary and who is extraordinary.
In Paul Greengrass' United 93 there is not individual hero, but rather there is a collective hero of human good uniting, NOT individuals who in the end are counted extraordinary.
In any respect the theme of what it means to be ordinary/extraordinary certainly appeared in the cinema's this past year, and at the same time the films certainly do not offer a unified thesis, but rather represent a struggle that we have between a dream that we can all change the world, and a frusteration of not knowing how or having the opportunity to do it.
Related Tags: ordinary, extraordinary, film theme, Dream Girls, Night at the Museum, Ben Stiller, Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, Akeelah and the Bee, Starbucks, Marianne Robinson, Laurence Fishburne, United 93, Paul Greengrass, Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood, All the Kings Men, Sean Penn, Opportunity, 2006, Film
4 comments:
We took the kids to see Night at the Museum. I was prepared to be bored but it was actually a very nice movie.
That line from the kid in the NATM really resonated with me. It's a struggle I've seen in my family for a long time. Hadn't thought about it having been a theme in Hollywood, though, so thanks for pointing that out.
I didn't think I'd care for this "Night at the Museum" film, but I found it enjoyable. Still, "The Fountain" is my favorite of '06.
What a great analysis!
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