The Noble Savage in the 20th Century Fiction (0)

The Noble Savage in 20th Century Fiction
Pop culture has a important part in shaping the mind of today ’s people. A large part of pop culture consists of stories which have the ability to change a person – his take on life, taste in music and books , how to treat other people etc. It may seem simple and pointless but all the devoted fans, all the trekkies, warsies, twihards, potterheads and ringers ( there are many more, with crazier names ) prove us that stories can become more than entertainment. Of course , a story can change people without making them go to all sorts of conventions. Even the small ideas make a change.
The main part in a story, the one that seemingly makes the impact, who guides the consumer through its change, is the protagonist. The development in the reader or the watcher happens through the transformation of the hero . Usually the main character starts off as an outcast, somebody the society sees as unimportant or too strange . Then something happens that sends the hero on an adventure . The breaking point on his road is meeting a teacher – an encounter that gives him the ability to face the adversary of the story. In the end the hero faces his villain, emerges a winner , detaches himself from his outcast status and becomes a significant part of the society.
It could be said that the most important part of the hero’s progress is this teacher, someone who gives guidance and the knowledge how to defeat the antagonist. Commonly this guide is from a different world and a stranger to the main character. He has alien ways and an exotic nature . This mentor needs to be a stranger because nothing can be learned from something common and known . He provides the moral of the story and initiates the change in both the hero and the consumer. But it all happens behind the scenes. The consumer needs the hero to identify himself with someone but needs the mentor to get the big lesson in the end. This stock character has the noble savage effect – something strange shows us a new world with new ideas which alter our take on the world we have known so far.
In the beginning of colonialism, the term savage was defined by fear – natives in America and Africa were considered barbarians, who were inferior to the white man intended to be surpressed because for the difference in civilizations and traditions . Only with the arrival of the likes of Rousseau did the savage become something exciting and noble, a new and strange idea that could teach us a different way of living . Noble savage was sneaking its way into literature – Friday in Robinson Crusoe (1719), Uncas in Last of the Mohicans (1826); and with the arrival of television, into film an TV series – Tonto in The Lone Ranger (1949-1957), Pochahontas (1995) and Nobody in Dead Man (1995). Pop culture has defined the noble savage as a mentor to the modern man, a guide to the spiritual world and to the ways of the nature. In order to qualify as a mentor the character must give us a different perspective on what we are used to experiencing. A savage is perfect for the roll – alien traditions, differing appereances, different common knowledge and wisdom . He is something nobody has ever seen. He raises interest in the hero and in the consumer.
20th century literature and film has projected these traits to not only exotic beings but also to every mentor we see in pop culture. A guide in today’s story does not have to be a native of a completely different civilization but has to preserve its strange and alien nature. He is a relevant part of the hero’s adventure, keeping him on the right tracks and helping him reach his final goal. But he is not a savage in the common sense, he is just weird and new. The hero’s simple neighbour can not give new perspectives and ideas because he lives the same life the hero does. A mentor with the traits of a noble savage raises the interest for the hero to discover new worlds and philosophies and the consumer will leave his comfort zone with the protagonist.
The best example of a noble savage projected to a mentor is Yoda from the Star War ( first appearance in 1980) series. He’s a Jedi master and a teacher to Luke Skywalker in a time of a civil war between the Empire and the rebels in a galaxy far far away . In order to defeat the Empire, Luke must face his adversary Darth Vader . The only way to do that is to fullfill his destiny and become a jedi, and that is where Yoda steps in. He mentors Luke in the way of the Force , teaching him patience and the balance between the Light and the Dark side, how to restrain his anger and recklessness. Luke is the hero the consumer follows. Yoda is the mentor who gives the actual lessons. Luke does not teach us anything, we learn with him in course of the story. Yoda is the savage with the quirky apprearance, strange voice and grammatically incorrect sentences , bottomless wisdom and badass Force skills .
Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid (1984) is another example. The hero here is Daniel LaRusso, an outcast who can not handle his bullies. He meets a handyman Mr. Miyagi who agrees to teach Daniel the tricks of karate so he could build his confidence , defeat his villain and get the girl he likes. Again we see Miyagi as something unusual – he’s japanese , has a weird teaching technique and uncommon philosophy. He is alien to the western consumer and therefore an etalon to a noble savage.
There are many more examples in the film indusrty – Morpheus from The Matrix (1999) and Pai Mei from Kill Bill vol.2 (2004) among others . Literature has also given us great mentors. Gandalf from The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series (first book published in 1997) and even Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1996). They are all distinctive from the modern world, change the course of the journey for the main character and easily get our attention to give us the moral of the story.
The problem with the stock character of a mentor is sometimes they are defined by comic relief. Although we look up to them and greatly admire their teaching, their weirdness still freaks us out a bit and these quirky sides of the mentor are funny to us. Laughter makes things more acceptable, it lets us trust the guide and accept the moral of the story. It not a big issue in creating this character but it reduces the respect we should have to it.
The reason we do not learn anything from the hero lies with our need to identify ourselves with a character. The story would not be interesting if there were nobody we can relate to. The adventure our hero takes is the same we go through while reading a book or watching a film. So when the main character learns, we learn, while he suffers, we suffer and when he has a happy ending, we are also happy. The teacher our icon meets is also the teacher for us. Despite the alien nature, the mentor is where the moral lies. The characteristics of the noble savage are projected to the mentor character because it creates a person who is able to teach us something new from the world he is from. Nevertheless, a mentor in the 20th century fiction does not have to be different in appearance, just alien to the modern world and its habitants. Even the slightest fraction of an idea commonly known to us raises interest and opens a door to a new understanding of things.