Guest Post on SSLY Blog on August 20, 2013 The Continuing Saga of Jess Hunter’s Love LifeI went with a good friend of mine to see the new Matt Damon movie, Elysium. I enjoyed it, but I am a movie person. Chances are, if someone doesn’t torture a little baby animal on camera, I am going to find something to love about the film. My friend, however, had a more discerning opinion. He told me that the story relied too much upon cliché. It was a fair judgment. There were, indeed, clichés by the dozen bursting forth with futuristic spectacle on the screen the whole two-hour duration. But, I had to agree with him, primarily because I hadn’t invested too much thought into the opposing idea, that it was to the film’s detriment.That stayed with me for a few days. I thought about it, the idea of the cliché. I searched and searched in my head for my own understanding and analysis of it. I delved into a study of the idea of tropes and clichés as literary devices. Shakespeare began and perpetuated so many of these expressions that he himself found their belabored persistence amusing. How many times have you heard someone say “to be or not to be,” “neither a lender nor a borrower be,” or “sweets for the sweet?” Do they still mean what William intended them to mean? Do many people today even understand them? Are they simply words we’ve heard before repeated to make us feel familiar, comfortable and excited about the material?My mind eventually slowed to a halt after a few days of turning the idea round and round in my thoughts. It appeared as though my final conclusion on the concept of the trope or cliche is that originality is king and that if something has been used to the point of causing the audience to groan, then perhaps it should be retired. For instance, how many times are we going to watch the guy get the girl? The hero save the day? The butler be the killer? All of these stories were new at some point in the past, right? The genius of creating art, so I thought at the time, was inventing and inspiring new stories that could be overused to the point of cliche by a yet-to-be-initiated generation.And then it happened…I had recently met a wonderful girl online and although we bounced over a rough patch at the start, we settled into being quite a happy pair. (see “I hope you’re happy” spoiler alert: things turned out perfectly) I had stolen her away from her family and friends after a Vegan potluck, (at which I giggled to myself how many people casually mentioned their doctors/nutritionists telling them to eat meat) and drove her, in the middle of the night, to Galveston. We snuck into a private beach, unfolded an old blanket and sat together under the stars, breathing the ocean breeze and enjoying the feeling of falling in love. Now this is already cliché, but you wouldn’t believe what happened next. As I held her there in my arms, thankful for the opportunity to feel such delicious little sensations in my heart, a damned shooting star flung itself across the sky. It lasted only a moment, but the brilliant flash of green was unmistakable. I had two reactions immediately. On one hand, my eyes literally rolled as if to say, “Holy crap, Universe. Did you REALLY just show me a shooting star while I held this girl on the beach at night?” and on the other, my heart began to pound in a furiously fervent pattern.It was magical.And as much as I hate to admit it, that old clichéd trope swept me off my feet and into a moment that I will never forget.I really do understand clichés now. These expressions only seem overused because of the limited words we have to convey the true wonder. It is the feeling. It is an incredible, eternal, unimaginable feeling. That is what all of the movies and books and shows and video games are trying to make us feel with these phrases and clichés. They are designed to make us feel these incredible feelings all over again.I wished on that shooting star that night, but you couldn’t pay me enough to tell you what I wished for. I can tell you this, sometimes the guy gets the girl.Thanks for readingJesshttps://www.facebook.com/ForAHero/infohttp://aheroonceagain.blogspot.com/?zx=1bb67b23928f373a Blurb:
Heroes are not born, they are made – they are made by defeating enemies, by overcoming impossible challenges and by walking through fire. David is such a hero. He has devoted his life to saving the hopeless, yet he can’t accept the fact that he is worthy to be loved.
David lost his family and he blames himself, so he fights Fire to repay a debt he never really owed. Day after day he does his job and goes home alone to face a future of solitude and regret – until Jenna comes into his life.
Jenna sees a hero when she looks at David. She sees a man who is bigger than life and deserves to be loved. So, Jenna sets out to prove to him that he is perfect just the way he is. And starts by buying a date with him – to the tune of $15000.
Before David knows it, his life is full of excitement, passion and more love than he can handle. But will he be able to keep it or will the demons from his past snatch happiness from his grasp?** Warning: Contains Explicit Scenes and Content, Intended for 18+ AudienceDelve into the enigma that is Jess Hunter as he captures the purity and innocence of the hero dynamic and intertwines it with romance and love that will take your breath awayBuy Links:
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