Life isn’t like the movies. In fact, everyday life is actually quite boring.
There are no montages, the good guys don’t always win, and most people don’t look like the movie stars. For most of us, about 10% of the time life is exciting and full of action. But the other 90% is primarily compiled of everyday actions, routines, and the same usual stuff.
We all think we should have unique lives packed with amazing experiences, but in reality, that just doesn’t happen.
And that’s okay!
It’s only thanks to what is portrayed in movies, TV shows, and Snapchat stories that feel like the world expects us to be in a constant state of action, always perusing the flashy moments.
But no one really expects that from you. There is nothing wrong with reading a book on a Saturday night or vacuuming your dorm room for a second time in a week. If it makes you happy, do it.
Life is full of simple, drama free moments – so get used to it.
It’s not like the movies, it never is. In fact, I would encourage you to avoid emulating what you see in the movies. Movie scenes are short cuts, designed to tug on your emotions. Real life isn’t glamorous. The big kiss never happens in the rain and the hardcore training montages last for hours, not minutes.
Unless you actually are Batman, you shouldn’t try to train like him.
Therefore, I offer up a much more accurate movie hero. Someone who we can all aim to be like and someone every one of us should admire.
Napoleon Dynamite.
If you haven’t seen the movie, go watch it now…
I’ll wait…
Watched it? Okay good.
It’s probably one of my favourite movies of all time and I drop one-liners from it whenever possible.
But beyond its hilariously awkward moments and quirky characters, it’s also full of something even more important:
Reality.
Each scene plays out like real life. It has a raw style to it and in every moment you feel like you know someone who would do something similar or you can imagine yourself being just as awkward.
However, it’s the protagonist of the movie, Napoleon Dynamite, who I’m most excited to talk about. Here is a man who we can all aspire to be like. And you don’t have to agree with his clothing choices, his hygiene habits, or even his taste in women, but what I’ve listed below are six characteristics you cannot deny or help but respect.
7 Reasons Why Napoleon Dynamite is the Greatest Movie Hero of All Time
1) He does whatever he wants
In the opening scenes of the movie, Napoleon starts things off by, “Doing whatever he feels like! Gosh!” and then proceeds to take an action figure tied to a string and let it loose out the back window of the bus.
Here is a man who aims to please. Whether it was for the kid sitting beside him on the bus or to simply satisfy his own desires. He saw an opportunity to try and test something out and he did it.
Be like Napoleon!
2) He picks what he wants and goes for it
After Deb, Napoleon’s top date prospect for ‘The Dance’ chooses Pedro, he’s left feeling stuck. Who else could he ask to go with him? After all, girls only want boyfriends with great skills.
But with a short pep talk from his main man Pedro, Napoleon is reminded of the fact that he’s great at drawing and he should find a girl he likes, draw a portrait of her and then ask her out.
So what does Napoleon do? He pulls out his yearbook, finds the prettiest girl he knows, Trisha Stevens, and draws the greatest portrait he’s ever drawn.
He listened to his friend’s advice, utilized his greatest asset, and took action.
Be like Napoleon!
3) He’s willing to do the jobs others won’t
The ability to put in a hard day’s work is something that many of us admire. We’ve all watched an episode of Dirty Jobs and looked on with amazement as some hard-working individual treks through mountains of shit in order to fulfill the job daily duty. We see their hard work, their lack of complaining, and we can’t help but admire them.
Whether it’s working long hours in the chicken farm for little pay, feeding Tina (somewhat patiently) or pulling Kipp into town – Napoleon does the hard work, gets the job done, and doesn’t complain about it.
Be like Napoleon!
4) He’s honest
Sometimes this world is too full of politically correct people. Everyone is worried about offending each other and often when they want to compliment someone else, they end up not saying anything because they think the other person will get offended. As a result we all end up holding back our opinions, ideas and truthful thoughts.
But not Mr. Dynamite. When he walks up to Deb in the cafeteria, he has every intention of giving her a compliment. He sits down at the table observes what he sees. And with the confidence of a highschool quarterback, he says, “I see you’re drinking 1%, is that because you think you’re fat? Cause you’re not, you could be drinking whole if you really wanted to.”
It might have been clunky, kind of strange, and just a little bit out of left field, but one thing it wasn’t was dishonest.
Napoleon wasn’t worried about the consequences of his words and he knew that his intentions were pure. He followed his instincts and went with his heart.
Be like Napoleon!
5) He supports his friends
Vote for Pedro.
Nuff said…
Be like Napoleon!
6) He follows his passions and doesn’t let anyone persuade him
Have you ever said something out loud and immediately been told that it’s a stupid idea?
How many times have you shared your dreams with someone only to be laughed at or told to grow up?
When was the last time you did something new fully knowing others would think you were immature for trying?
We all have people around and invisible scripts playing inside our heads that tell us we should do something. And the funny thing is, we tend to care more about ourselves than others, but not when it comes to our own opinions.
Napoleon, however, does what he wants. He plays tetherball even though jump-rope is clearly the new “in” sport. He shares stories about hunting Wolverines despite the fact that he knows the jocks will laugh at him. And because he loves interpretive dance, he joins the Happy Hands Club.
Be yourself.
Be like Napoleon!
7) He works hard until he’s accomplished his goal
Throughout life we all have choices. Some of those choices don’t lead to much and some of them require very little action on our part. However, there are some that require massive action. And when it comes to moments where we have to decide between ‘action’, ‘limited action’ or ‘no action’ – most of choose the latter two.
Every body wants to try something new, to be better, to get results, but very few of us are actually willing to work hard.
In the final scenes of the movie Napoleon stumbles upon a VHS titled “Get Your Groove On”. He also knows that he needs a talent for the upcoming Talent Show. So he buys the tape and gets to work.
After a run in with Lafawnduh, we can see Napoleon working hard and building up a sweat. Which immediately is quenched by a splash a Gatorade.
We don’t see any more of this training for the rest of the movie, but we can all safely assume Napoleon worked for many hours on this dance. And evidently, it pays off when he performs one of the most stunning displays of dance we have ever seen on film.
Be like Napoleon!
Here’s What I’m Trying to Say…
Life isn’t glamorous. That’s the message I’ve been trying to get across. I know what you see in most movies may look like fun, but life isn’t like most movies. It’s hard, it’s unfair, it’s boring, it’s simple, and it’s usually the same most days.
For everyone out there, and especially the athletes, I want you to let this lesson sink in and I want you to know that just because life isn’t glamorous all the time, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.
What I’m trying to say is this:
You can’t live your life like you’re in a movie because you will constantly end up disappointed. You have to anticipate the slow moments and be okay with their existence. There is nothing wrong with them and you should be content with them because they make up roughly 90% of your life. But more importantly, you should get excited and cherish the big moments when they come because they don’t last very long.
Life is not a montage, and that’s a good thing because you would be very sad if it all ended in a matter of three minutes.
Nothing worth doing comes easy, so why should it be any different for you.
So…
Do whatever you feel like…
Take action on what you want…
Try what others won’t…
Be honest…
Support your friends…
Pursue what makes you happy…
Work hard…
Be Like Napoleon!
-DT
