Come back, Shane....
I should watch it again to refresh my memory, but there is a scene in 'Pulp Fiction' where John "Vincent" Travolta and Samuel L "Jules" Jackson are sitting in the coffee shop, just before Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer come in to rob the joint. They are having a discussion about what Jules is going to do after he's done being a hitman (or whatever they were). His idea is to wander the American countryside, helping people who need it and developing zen-like wisdom, even comparing himself to David Carridines character from 'Kung Fu'. Vinnie counters that what he's really going to be is just a bum, homeless looking for food on the streets.
Jules has a very romanticised take on that kind of life while Vincent sees it more pragmatically. My question is, can such a life be lived as Jules sees it? Is it possible in this age to leave all of one's possessions behind, strike out on the road and move from town to town, to become a hobo? Can one live without property, personal transportation and a steady income and still be content, even viewed as honourable? Acceptable? Or is life a concrete hard line between success and failure?
I've always enjoyed the films, mostly spaghetti westerns and samurai serials, where the protagonist is this wandering knight errant who stumbles into a town, does something that needs a doing, then leaves... only to find another town in the next chapter of the series. Is such an existence viable today? Or is forming roots an unchangable necessity? I know we need to get that good job, decent house, grow a sea monkey family, but to we have to?
This questioning is in no means meant to be frivoulous, I know that homelessness is a huge problem for many people. It's a shame how many people, especially youth are, for whatever reasons, destined to live their lives out of dumpsters, in shelters and off of handouts. Many seem to stick to the same city, the same city block, the same alleys. But what if they decided to leave the city they thought was giving them shelter? Is there a "box car" community out there anymore? Could someone just hitchhike to another location, ride the rails and find some sort of opportunity for a better life out there?
Be seeing you...
Jules has a very romanticised take on that kind of life while Vincent sees it more pragmatically. My question is, can such a life be lived as Jules sees it? Is it possible in this age to leave all of one's possessions behind, strike out on the road and move from town to town, to become a hobo? Can one live without property, personal transportation and a steady income and still be content, even viewed as honourable? Acceptable? Or is life a concrete hard line between success and failure?
I've always enjoyed the films, mostly spaghetti westerns and samurai serials, where the protagonist is this wandering knight errant who stumbles into a town, does something that needs a doing, then leaves... only to find another town in the next chapter of the series. Is such an existence viable today? Or is forming roots an unchangable necessity? I know we need to get that good job, decent house, grow a sea monkey family, but to we have to?
This questioning is in no means meant to be frivoulous, I know that homelessness is a huge problem for many people. It's a shame how many people, especially youth are, for whatever reasons, destined to live their lives out of dumpsters, in shelters and off of handouts. Many seem to stick to the same city, the same city block, the same alleys. But what if they decided to leave the city they thought was giving them shelter? Is there a "box car" community out there anymore? Could someone just hitchhike to another location, ride the rails and find some sort of opportunity for a better life out there?
Be seeing you...