Through the Lens Of Happy Endings
Deborah Venable
04/08/08
With
the recent death of another of my all-time favorite actors, Charlton Heston,
the impact of his chosen craft on the perception of American life is once again
punctuated. The media of motion
pictures, television, and the theater has always had a profound effect on the
generations that they influenced. I
don’t think that can be denied by anyone.
Art in its every form has always reflected what goes on in the human
soul.
I have vivid memories of sitting in the movie theater and watching Charlton Heston in what is still one of my very favorite films ever, Ben-Hur. I saw the Oscars on T.V. the night that film set the record for wins, (11 Academy Awards), and Heston received his much deserved Best Actor award. The Ten Commandments, in which he portrayed Moses, was excellent, but Ben-Hur was the real deal in story telling for a story that needed telling at that time. The novel, written many years before the movie, had not done the story justice, but Heston saw to that in his commanding portrayal of a hero – always strong, but exuding the humility of his humanity.
I
happened upon an interview of Charlton Heston done in 1995 by Ken Masugi. The full interview may be viewed here. He
was asked this question:
“Could you address the question of how the arts can assist us in strengthening our national character?”
To which he answered in part:
“Shakespeare is the outstanding example of how that can be done. In all of Shakespeare’s plays, no matter what tragic events occur, no matter what rises and falls, we return to stability in the end. Society mends its wounds. And that’s invariably true in all the tragedies, in the comedies as well. And certainly in the histories.”
Another
question asked:
“It seems that even when we get patriotic writers like Tom Clancy, people at least in an early stage like Clint Eastwood who did some very good movies, that support American principles, Hollywood somehow manages to distort them. First of all, how do you see it from inside the film industry, and second, what can Americans do to object?”
That was a big “duh” question, but Heston didn’t miss a beat with his
answer:
“Well the main thing they can do is not go to the movies. It is an odd dilemma. On the one hand, film is the art form of the 20th century, undeniably ... As Lenin said, ‘the most powerful tool ever invented to influence the mind of man.’ Undeniably the American art form, too. And yet more and more, we see films made that diminish the American experience and example. And sometimes trash it completely.”
The last question posed was this:
“What makes you
proudest to be an American?”
He nailed that
one with this answer:
“My country’s history. I don’t know who it was that said it, but it may be that the creation of the United States is the greatest political act in the history of mankind. I agree with that. Good question. No one’s ever asked me that before.”
The answer of
a true patriot, and not one you are likely to get from the modern crop of movie
actors. It is obvious to anyone who
knows anything about Charlton Heston’s work and beliefs that he certainly could
have expounded on his answer with many “buts” about all the things wrong with
the country – but he didn’t.
Mr. Heston was
a passionate activist. From marching
for civil rights to standing for Constitutional rights, and living his life in
witness of true family values, he valued his citizenship in a way that has
become all too rare on the Hollywood scene.
Married to the same woman for more than three-quarters of his life, his
story is indeed quite rare in that environment. I feel a little sorry for anyone who did not know or, at least,
know of this gentle soul.
This is truly
the passing of a great American.
Stories with happy endings do not always rule out the death of the hero
– as long as we “return to stability in the end”. Through the lens of happy endings, Charlton Heston is a real
giant.