Near Stirling Castle in Scotland, there is a memorial to the rebellious Scot William Wallace. At the base of this memorial is a statue of the near-mythological hero-and to much surprise, his face is not that of Wallace as depicted by earlier works of art, but rather is quite similar to Mel Gibson's.
I learned of this statue during a conversation with my roommate during my freshman year. It was an interesting conversation to begin with; between the floor discovering that my first and middle names are William Wallace (they really are) and my roommate announcing that he was going to dress as Wallace for Halloween in a kilt from our high school production of \Brigadoon"" (even informing us that he was going ""full-authentic"" underneath), this whole bit about a Scottish Gibson/Wallace statue was merely a cliffnote. But as the past couple of years have worn on, it's certainly disturbing to think about.
The Scottish certainly seem to think so. I've read that a group has protested for the removal of the statue due to its obvious lack of authenticity-and after officials denied the request, the statue was defaced with red spray paint. Not that I'm supporting vandalism, but let's admit it; sticking it to the man on this one is the right thing to do.
I know I don't speak for myself here. I can't be the only one who finds this depressing, this visual corruption of the figures we hold in such high esteem from literature, history and religion. ""Braveheart"" is a fine, inspiring film, but how sad is it to think that most of the world will never envision the 7-foot-tall Scotsman that can shoot lightning bolts out of his arse-but rather will recall the slightly deranged performance of Gibson instead?
This is once again coming to the forefront in coming months, with Brad Pitt portraying the legendary Achilles in ""Troy."" Once again, a famous face steps into an epic role in a big-budget action/adventure flick. The film seems built in the image of ""Gladiator"" as well as the aforementioned ""Braveheart"" -- big epic films that star familiar Hollywood leading men released in May. The predecessors od ""Troy""both came out to disappointing reviews but rallied support as the year went on and each won an Oscar for Best Picture. I wouldn't be surprised to see ""Troy"" follow a similar path, based on the uninspired trailer.
As much as I love some of Pitt's films, I don't want to associate his face with the heroic figure of ""The Iliad."" These are characters and stories that have remained in the minds of people for centuries now. Whether ""Troy"" is outstanding or a total flop is irrelevant in the end; the point is that many of us will never read ""The Iliad"" quite the same way again. Pitt's face and performance will leave an indelible mark on the character of Achilles, and no matter how good that mark turns out to be, it will never live up to expectations.
See, that's the thing about myths and legends. As time goes on, they accrue a weight in our minds beyond the reasonable. William Wallace really could defeat the entire English army, and Achilles was absolutely invulnerable (save for his heel, of course). This vision we build, it's bigger than life. Mere actors cannot measure up. Wallace's kilt-and Achilles' armor-are simply too big to fill.
