Peter Pan, Tom Sawyer, The Hardy Boys , Atticus Finch , & Ulysses these are the literary heroes of our forefathers youth ,they idolized them, they aspired to be them or at least like them. But its a new milliniumn with new ideas , new horizons and of course new heroes . This list is compiled from cinematic creations of well known actors rather than modern literary characters , as film is the novel of our time .
Wooderson
Portrayed by Matthew Mccoughney in Dazed and Confused-this is our Peter Pan . Living on dreams and a vision of his past that he is able to inflate to more mythic proportions with each passing year. Not yet old enough to look out of place in the crowd ,but different enough to set him apart . His popularity held by the fact that his tales of glory never grow old . He needs no new experiences , because he can recycle his every few years.Stiffler
Portrayed by Sean William Scott in the American Pie series - Tom Sawyer on steroids, a complete bad boy , no consideration for his friends or anyone else . His sole redeeming feature is that he never gets away with anything for long . He is loud , uncouth and rude and yet you can still find your self wanting to hang out with him because he is not afaid to say what we may be thinking.Guy "Shades" Patterson
Portrayed by Tom Everett Scott in That Thing You Do-oddly enough this jazz loving drummer is the new generations Atticus Finch. he seeks to do the right thing in an industry where the "right" thing is to make money . He is gentle, quiet , looking for the best in everybody. In the end his life doesnt nessicarily work out like he thought it would, but it works out well.Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan
Portrayed by George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Oceans 11-They are the new Hardy boys . They just happen to work the other side of the street. Pals to the end , seeking not just to pad thier own pockets ,but to right a few wrongs as well . They manifest our daker side, if we had taken a different turn could we steal with such blithe oblivion.Maximus Decimus Meridius
Portrayed by Russell Crowe in Gladiator - Maximus like Ulysses is on a quest , a quest to go home . To finish his job and retire to a quieter life . His travels take him on a much different path than he had expected . Temptations of murder , power , lust , follow him , until he finds his way home .He is the warrior and leader that we aspire to .Yet we find ourselves asking do we have what it take to follow his path .
Like our predecessors we are all of these and none of them ,part sinner and part saint. We all reach for lofty goals , see our selves as "good" . But when no one is looking will we take what is not ours ,lie to cover our shortcomings. The answer is different for every man in every different instance. Remember we are not they and they not us . We are merely snapshots of each other.
