How Family Missions Work on Individuals from "Gladiator" and "Infernal Affairs"

Joe 2022-04-22 07:01:02

""The mistakes you made as a son are my father's mistakes. " --"Gladiator""

one

He led an expedition for the long-term peace of the Roman Empire, shouting "courage and glory", swept away foreign troubles, but almost died of internal worries. He is Maximus, the hero of Gladiator. Old Caesar took a fancy to his indifference to power, and secretly expressed his intention to entrust the future of Rome to him. This was originally in line with the succession tradition of ancient Rome, where the king selected a wise man as his adopted son and passed the throne. But this kind of relationship like a biological father and son attracted the jealousy and panic of Prince Commodius. The prince killed the king and arranged to assassinate the beloved hero of the people, as well as his wife and children. The witty escaped Maximus ran to the death of two horses, but was unable to reach his wife and children in time. When he arrived, the home was in ruins, and his beloved wife and son were nailed to the cross and burned to black , the corpse hangs on the lintel. Maximus once described to the old Caesar: "My home is on the hills near Tikilo, a very simple place. A red brick house warm in the sun, the vegetable garden smells of herbs during the day, and at night , is the smell of jasmine. There is a tall poplar tree, fig tree, apple tree and pear tree outside the door. The soil is black, like my wife's black hair. Grapes are grown on the south slope, and the north slope is planted with Olive. Wild ponies play near my house, and they tease my son, and he says he wants to be a pony too." But everything was ruined, with the sound of hoofs and the screams of fire. The hero stumbles to the ground, what's the point of living? Continue to live for what? A voice told him: "You will be reunited with them someday, but not now."

Maximus pledged allegiance to the old Caesar and heeded his vision to bring the light of Rome to the wild. For this reason, he stayed away from his hometown and fought in the east and west all the year round. He possesses all the virtues that old Caesar valued: wisdom, justice, fortitude, restraint, except ambition. The old Caesar's ambition was inherited by his biological son Commodius. "In the 20 years I've been in power, there have been only four years of peace," Caesar said to Maximus when he had a premonition of dying. If Rome is handed over to Commodius, then all the efforts made by Maximus for the republic will be turned to ashes, and he will also live up to the last wishes of the old Caesar. So, this is not the moment when he can die, although he is eager to push open the blue door and be reunited with his wife and children in the underworld. Maximus' battlefield turned into a gladiatorial arena, and the general became a slave, but his bravery and wisdom won him the support of his fellows and the love of the people. These all became his strength to contend with the new king. The ending of the story is that justice triumphs over conspiracy, the hero completes his mission, and finally can embrace death and return to the field. When he received the princess's blessing, "Go find them," Maximus smiled and closed his eyes, as his soul crossed the Colosseum and a field of wheat. He used to be a farmer, he had the land he loved, he would grab a handful of it before every war and duel, it was Rome's land, his land. Honor is behind him, he goes to the underworld, but his legend will be sung in the mouth of the people, and the new king will honor him as a father.

two

"I don't want to be an undercover agent anymore. After two more years, I'll be the boss of Tsim Sha Tsui. I forgot what happened in the past. In short, please finish this matter quickly, transfer me back to the police station, and give me a stable The seat should be facing the sea, but don’t let me see you again.” However, this undercover spy, he worked for three years and three years, ten years in a flash, the boss of Tsim Sha Tsui changed from Ni Kun to Ni Yongxiao, and then to Han Chen, like a drug The business is endless, and he can't see the light again. In the end, people who knew his undercover identity died one by one, and he also died at the hands of a mole in the police station. His ashes were placed in the police cemetery, on a high ground with no view of the sea. He is Chen Yongren in Infernal Affairs. At first, because of the identity of Ni Kun's illegitimate child, the police officer Huang of the police station selected him as an undercover agent, and arranged to lurker around Ni Yongxiao to collect evidence of the Ni family's crime.

Go undercover, walk on the tip of the knife of conspiracy and crime, and die without a place to die at any time. His elder brother Ni Yongxiao, as the newly-appointed successor to the underworld cause, will not lose his means to his father. For possible risks, Ni Yongxiao always has pre-judgment and prepared solutions. He is good at digging secrets to contain his subordinates. In less than half an hour when he took office, he used a few phone calls to cut off the weapons thrown to him by the unstable alliance of the four major families. A few years later, through calm and calm secret activities, he chose a day to assassinate the head of the four major families, and the policeman who had a revenge for his father's murder, and personally got rid of the police undercover around him. As a result, only three people escaped. Chen Yongren is one of them. Chen Yongren, although following his mother's surname Chen, still uses the Yongzi generation of the Ni family, and is inseparable from the Ni family. Ni Kun gave birth to five children, four of whom were named. Ni Yongxiao was the third child. His older brothers, sisters, and younger brothers had done their best. He took over the position of the leader of the triad and made his career smooth. But in the face of the 1997 return, the Ni family must clean up their family background if they want to rise up as a man. Ni Yongxiao's method is to try to run for a member of the CPPCC by offering bribes. The illegitimate son Chen Yongren took another opposite path. He was expelled from the police academy for concealing his background. Officer Huang asked him to give him a reason why the police should use him again. To this end, he was willing to take risks and devoted himself to the two years he lost contact with Officer Huang. In the past two years, for more than 700 days and nights, he suffered the fear that he might be abandoned by his superiors, and all the possibilities were in vain. What can make him persist is only the inner sense of mission, "I am a policeman", and the mission from the family, "I want to be a good person".

3 Since the release of "Gladiator" in 2000, it has triggered a revival of epic movies. Whether it is director Ridley Scott or actor Russell Crowe, this film has been highly praised by the film industry and won the Best Picture, Best Actor at international awards such as the Oscars and Golden Globes. The same is true of "Infernal Affairs". Its release set off a climax of undercover film and television works, and its series of trilogy was also named the last masterpiece before the decline of Hong Kong movies by critics. Both films are exploring the topic of mission. From the perspective of character structure, they are also family missions left by the dead father, how to affect the fate of the two brothers. Interestingly, they all emerged at the start of the 21st century and resonated collectively. If the key words of the 20th century were global warfare, the industrial revolution and the technological revolution, the 21st century may be a century of hesitation. On the one hand, it pursues economic development and more advanced technology; The willingness to communicate is equally strong. Breaking with tradition and nature, we have to ask ourselves, why did I come to this world when I live now? When I encounter difficulties, I also want to know, what is my mission in this world? Structural cultural dynamics groups are a place for finding these answers. A group of 24 people, each of whom came with their own difficulties, used each other in the narrative to see their relative position in the group and how they appeared in the group. With the assistance of the leader, group members find the essence of their own difficulties and the resources to resolve them, and return to reality to try to break the situation. More importantly, everyone will gradually find their mission in the world in the group. It is related to the family, related to the times, runs through the long life course, and gives meaning to life.

At the end of the article, I invite you to think about:

Why is it not the real son who completes the family mission in the two movies?

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Extended Reading

Gladiator quotes

  • Marcus Aurelius: You have proven your valor once again, Maximus. Let us hope for the last time.

    Maximus: There is no one left to fight, sire.

    Marcus Aurelius: There is always someone left to fight. How can I reward Rome's greatest general?

    Maximus: Let me go home.

    Marcus Aurelius: Ah, home.

  • Marcus Aurelius: Won't you accept this great honor that I have offered you?

    Maximus: With all my heart, no.

    Marcus Aurelius: Maximus, that is why it must be you.