It was choice. The power we all have to make our own decisions.
That’s the other half. Family history, DNA, psychology, bodily rhythms…etc, all
of those things are huge influences on who we are. But they are not ALL of who
we are. The other half is the choices that we make.
That’s the theme that I saw in the Blade of Marmora episode
in Voltron season 2. Keith’s knife was the only clue he had about his past, his
parents, and where he came from. A knife inscribed with the symbol of the Blade
of Marmora resistance group. But the Marmorians were furious when they discovered
that he had one of their knives. They insisted that he return it to them. Keith
refused, choosing to go through the Trials of Marmora instead, where he would
obtain knowledge…or death.
Keith shows grit, stubbornness, perseverance, and strength
as he goes through the physical and mental trials. A vision of Shiro chastises
him for refusing to give up the knife. Shiro says, “Just give them the knife.
You know exactly who you are. A paladin of Voltron. We’re the only family you need.”
Keith resists the temptation. I was thinking, “Yeah! Go, Keith! Don’t give in!”
And then Keith sees a new vision. The vision that presents him with a terrible
choice: give up the knife, or watch the earth burn.
Video link: Keith's Vision
And then it happens. The critical moment. Keith is barely
conscious, the red lion is attacking the base, and Shiro is ready to fight
through every Marmorian soldier to rescue Keith. And then Keith does the LAST
thing I ever expected. He gives up the knife:
Video Link: Waking the Blade
The knife glows with an inner light and lengthens to its
full size. Keith passed the test! He awakened the blade!
By letting go of his desire to learn about his past, he
became worthy of the blade. I was like, “Wow. That was amazing. Wait a sec,
THAT’s the other half of the Moana equation!!!” Choice!!!
Although family history and DNA are very important parts of
our identities, the other part of who we are is the choices that we make.
That’s an identity that has nothing to do with our heritage, where we come
from, or our parents. A friend of mine was commenting on the Westworld series and said this about choices: we all have
different voices inside of us. Who we are is determined by which voice we
choose to follow: “[Agency] is understanding that different parts of you will
argue for different paths. Agency is a matter of choosing identity, binding
yourself to a path [by] fostering habits of thought and action…these choices, of
necessity, restrict future options, but the point of life isn't to keep many
options available; it's to make morally better ones available.”
Ultimately, it didn’t matter where Keith came from, and after I saw that episode, I figured out how to
fix the Moana climax scene:
Moana holds up the heart of Te Fiti, and the demon Te Ka races
towards her. Moana sings:
“This is
not who you are. You know who you are…”
And the next line would be:
“Who you choose to be.”
Moana would hold the heart up high, and Te Fiti would reach out, and take the
heart herself, making a clear choice of who she wants to be.
THAT would have been a very powerful ending. Disney ALMOST
hit the nail on the head, but not quite. And maybe my ending doesn’t quite work
either. It has the other half of the identity equation, but isn’t fully aligned
with the context and buildup of the climax scene. I’d probably have to fiddle
with the choreography for it to fit. Anyhow, I hope Disney will hit the nail on
the head next time, like they did with Zootopia. (And Big Hero 6, and Frozen,
and Wreck it Ralph, and if we want to get into Pixar, Wall-E, Bug’s Life…and I
need to look at a full list of Disney/Pixar movies to complete this list…so
stay tuned for next week’s post)
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