Princess Mononoke, Mark and Me
“A man only needs three things to be a hero: a sword, a story and a girl.”
Mark rolls his eyes. “Not every hero fights for love, you know.”
I push my long hair off of my face and fix him in my best, ‘I do know what I am talking about stare.’ “All heroes fight for the love of something – if it’s not a person, it’s a country or an idea.”
He raises his eyebrows. “You want me to fight for human rights with a sword?”
“You wouldn’t be the first to try, but no. A modern hero needs modern tools.”
“Well, that’s a relief!”
“But you still need a sword to cut through the difficult parts of your own story – the bits where you doubt everything and everyone.” I pause to make sure he is listening. I’m sitting on the futon in front of him storyteller style – crosslegged, wide-eyed and totally alive with the power of words.
“The first thing a hero must do is discover his (or her) destiny – like Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke.”