Lightning McQueen, Cars, the Movie 

Lightning McQueen, Best Friend

We just moved to Texas, and driving through West Texas on the way to North Texas, we stopped to have dinner in a little tiny town.  Dirt roads, dilapidated buildings, deserted-looking–it looked like a ghost town.  

My 15 year old son got out of the car, ran his hand through his hair, and said, “I feel like we’re on the set of Cars.”

It was hilarious–this place was Radiator Springs, only worse. 

It got me thinking about the movie, and its hero Lightning McQueen.  Whether painted blue or red, Lightning in one hot race car.  And, more importantly, he becomes friend and savior to the town of Radiator Falls.  

STATS: A contender for the Piston Cup in the last race of the season, Lightning McQueen thinks he all that.  He was the underdog and now has to compete in a final race-off in California.  

THE LOOK:

Sometimes red, sometimes blue, he’s sporty, shiny, and has rims to die for.  But Lightning McQueen is much more than the chassis he’s built on or the shell that covers him.  He’s a car on an adventure of self-discovery.  It’s what Lightning realizes is inside him that completes his look. 

LEADING LADY:

Sally is Radiator Springs’ attorney and wants the book thrown at Lightning McQueen for his flagrant disregard of their town and how he tore up their main road trying to outrun the sheriff.  

Sally guides Lightning figure out what’s important in life, and he, in turn, helps fix up Radiator Springs, bringing it to its former glory.  Theirs is a love that develops as the town is revitalized and all the cars in it get a new lease on life.

BOTTOM LINE:

Cars tells the heartwarming story of how one person–or in this case, a car–can impact the lives of so many.  Doc, Mater, Sally, and the whole gang in Radiator Springs is affected by Lighting.  He changes their outlook on their town, on each other, and on themselves.  

It’s a story of how opposites attract, and shows how Lightning grows as a character, begins to think outside himself, and finds love in the process. 

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Not every animated movie is all that, but Cars is right on the money.  It has all the essential elements that make a movie fun, and poignant. 

Doc Hudson is my favorite character in Cars.  He’s damaged, yet is redeemed and finds a new happiness in the end.

Who’s your favorite Cars character?

Marriage and sexual tension.   

Can they coexist or are they mutually exclusive?  The vast majority of romances have a single hero and a single heroine, a ton of sexual tension, and a happily ever after.  But what about those series that have a developing relationship?   How is the sexual tension maintained when a couple has come together, euphemistically speaking?  

Nora Roberts has done it with great success in her JD Robb series with Eve and Roarke, though I haven’t read any of the In Death books so I’m not sure what her trick is.  

Sexual tension stems from the push and pull of two people, the external elements that are keeping them together, while their internal conflicts are keeping them apart.   So how do you maintain that type of tension when two people are married or when they are in a relationship over a series of books.   Must the internal conflicts remain so strong that there’s always the question whether or not the relationship will work in the long run?   

Adding a second potential love interest would do the trick, of course [Joe Morelli and Ranger come to mind in Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series].  But barring this device, which I don’t personally love, what works for you?  There must be another way!!!

Question of the Day:

Is it possible for a hero and heroine to keep the sexual tension alive through a series of books?  

Ender Wiggin, Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card

Tor Books, 1985

What?  This is supposed to be about Romantic Heroes!!!

Keep reading!!!

Let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of science fiction and Ender’s Game is not a romance.  However, Ender’s Game is one incredible book and so worth reading, even if you don’t like sci-fi.  [For those that need it, it has a happy ending, of sorts.]  

I’ve taught this book to my middle school and high school students because it offers such a great study of character and character growth.  Ender is a kid–a 6 year old–who is thrust into the very adult world of war.  He is the savior–the hope for the future.  

What makes this such an interesting book is the way Card develops Ender.  He’s taught to rely only on himself.  The people charged with raising him [the administration at Battle School] do whatever it takes to ensure that Ender depends upon no one but himself.  This is accomplished through mental, physical, and emotional anguish.  He’s faced with difficult and/or dangerous situations [both in training and against his fellow classmates], is taken from his family completely, and manages to rise to the top of his class with minimal effort.  

Stats:

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is the youngest of 3 kids.  He lives during a time when families are allowed only 2 children.  Because of the failures of his older brother Peter [too violent and aggressive], and his sister Valentine [too meek and kind], the government allows the Wiggins to have a third child.  That child is Ender and he’s a mixture of Peter and Valentine.  He’s the savior that the government has been waiting for–the one person who can save the world from the alien invasion of the “Buggers”. 

He’s a trained warrior and becomes the reluctant leader of the children [other prodigies] at Battle School.  

The Look:

6 years old at the beginning of the book, Ender grows up, both emotionally and physically.    He pure warrior, but beneath his carefully created exterior is the broken man he grows up to be.  He realizes he was a pawn in the government’s war.  

What Would Ender Be Like…

…if he were a romantic hero?  Could he love?  Could he give himself to another?  He cares most for Valentine, his sister, and it is through her that we see into Ender’s heart.  When I decided to write about Ender, I started to think about how carefully crafted he is a character, how damaged he is a person, and yet how important and heroic he also is.  He’s conflicted, layered, and Card created an amazing character that writers can learn from and who readers love to read about.  

The Bottom Line:

Ender Wiggin is a complicated character who’s larger than life.  His story takes him on a complete journey and we root for him the entire time, have empathy for him in his situation, and feel the entire range of emotions that he goes through.  He’s a truly heroic character, against all odds, and that’s part of what makes him so memorable.  

Even if you’re not into sci-fi, I SO recommend this book!  Read it!  

Question of the Day:

The film rights have been optioned for this book and a screenplay has been in the works since 2003.  As of now, Ender’s Game, the Movie, is in pre-production and there’s no news about it’s status.  I have mixed feelings about seeing this book made into a movie [although I did hear that Orson Scott Card himself has written the screenplay].  

What do you think of movies made from books?  Do you love them?  Hate them?  Does a movie’s characterization take anything away from the way you visualize and imagine that character in the book? 

Our own Angel Lee has written about her dad before here on Chasing Heroes.  I can just picture him with his cowboy hat, ruggedly trekking here and there up in Northern California.  Dad’s are those enigmatic creatures who we often don’t know very well, but who become clearer to us as we grow older. 

Now it’s my turn.  Today is my dad’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad is my hero.  He’s part Chief, part Best Friend, and part Professor.  A pretty remarkable package, really.  =) 

For a long time, I was just determined not to let my dad down.  He intimidated me with his smarts, and he was always the one who knew everything, could win a debate hands down–no matter the topic, and I wanted nothing more than to earn his respect.

I  remember so distinctly the moment in time when we transitioned from father / daughter to father / daughter / friend.  While not all parents are able to let go and allow their children to grow up and be who they are, my dad was able to do just that.  He has always been proud of me, always stood by me [even as he laughs and reminds me of my trying teenage years just after I’ve lamented the struggles we are having with our own teenagers], and has helped our relationship grow by letting go.  He said, in so many words, that he would always be my father, would always help me however he could, but ours was a friendship now, and less a father / daughter relationship where he would only be that paternal figure.  

It was a stunning realization to me that we could evolve in that way, and that, while the father / daughter piece is always there, I know he cares about me as a person and genuinely is interested in my life, as I am in his.  There is a friendship now.

I may not ever be as smart as he is, or defeat him in a debate, but I think I have made him proud.  I think I have earned his respect with the life that I lead, my parenting, my successes and failures, and how I handle them.  

He’s taught me so much about myself, about life, about love, about responsibility, and about friendship and the relationships I hope to have with my children when they become adults.

He’s a hero.  A wonderful father whom I dearly love.

Happy Birthday, Dad!