HUM2020 BLOG
History has always had a way of preserving infamy, in particular instances it does so through works of art such as ancient Epics and paintings or as in modern times through social media and internet culture. Throughout our past, we have been flogged with our great deal of story and myth that have helped us shape who we are as humans today. Throughout time and through our story-telling and popular culture, humanity has picked out one archetype from these stories in specific that we cannot help but simply connect with on a personal level. Rather it be flying below suggested altitude to ensure the elimination of an enemy fighter or breaking the law to expose atrocities that have been covered by it, these members of the team always seem to draw our attention and hold it as their own. We all know him/her, the one who never plays by the rules but always does right in the end, the one who does what no one else will; The Maverick. The Merriam-Webster definition of a “Maverick” is an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party or simply is a non-conformist. Mavericks have greatly influenced all of our lives in one way or another, rather it be Henry Ford’s revolutionary assembly line or ingenious new styles of music like Elvis Presley’s rock n’ roll, the mavericks influence upon the individual can be absolutely life changing.
The preservation of "Mavericks" through artistic capture.
Loki, Norse god:
One of the oldest and most undeniable mavericks of all time is the scheming Norse deity and god of mischief himself, Loki of Jotunheim. Loki is not only noticed for his difference from the other Aesir, but has in turn been worshipped for it for over 1,000 years. Purely being the god of mischief, Loki never actually caused a Chitari invasion that almost destroyed New York City or any of that theatrical nonsense that Joss Whedon of Marvel’s Avengers would have most believe. The shape-shifting god generally relied on simple annoyance and trickery as his major advantages over the other gods, leading to things like an oddly short hilt to the large crowned Mjolnir or the accidental breeding of eight-legged horses. Before movies and other such modern amenities, the stories of the ancient Norse were told only by word of mouth, so most imaginative details about individual characters were left to the creativity of the listeners or story-tellers. Loki has recently reentered the limelight of the public view in the recent Avengers franchise, played by the dashing Brit Tom Hiddleston, Joss Whedon (director of Marvel’s Avengers) has given the world the chance to connect to this infamous maverick through modern theatrical genius.
Beowulf the mighty:
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. It is the oldest surviving long poem written in the English language and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of English literature because of that fact. Being that the Epic of Beowulf is the oldest written epic in the English language, Beowulf himself is considered one of the harbingers of “mavericity”. The Epic, however, is the true maverick in this sense. When you read Beowulf, unless you already know Old English, you will most likely be reading it in translation, so you may not realize that the original epic is actually a poem. In fact, it's written in alliterative verse, which is the kind of poetry the Anglo-Saxons used. Alliterative verse uses; obviously, a lot of alliteration—often three or even four words that begin with the same sound in each line. The poem also relies heavily upon strong repetitious pauses, also known as caesuras. Beyond the confusion of Anglo-Saxon rules to poetry, this Epic poem laid the foundation for all English poetry that we know and love today.
Leonardo Da Vinci:
Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man", he whose seemingly infinite curiosity was equalled only by his powers of invention. What makes Leonardo a maverick in this sense is his astouding ability to simply create, with over 100 revolutionary new inventions including things like scissors, self-propelled automobiles and even flying machines, Da Vinci was truly a man before his time. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person to have ever lived. Like many leaders of Renaissance humanism, da Vinci did not see a divide between science and art, he felt the two were connected in many ways. He viewed the two as intertwined disciplines rather than separate ones. He believed studying science made him a better artist. Leonardo thought sight was humankind’s most important sense and eyes the most important organ. He stressed the importance of saper vedere, “knowing how to see.” He believed in the accumulation of direct knowledge and facts through observation.“A good painter has two chief objects to paint—man and the intention of his soul,” da Vinci wrote. “The former is easy, the latter hard, for it must be expressed by gestures and the movement of the limbs.” To more accurately depict those gestures and movements, da Vinci began to seriously study anatomy and dissect human and animal bodies during the 1480s. His drawings of a fetus in utero, the heart and vascular system, sex organs and other bone and muscular structures are some of the first on human record.
Guy Fawkes:
In 1603, after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, Catholic English successors who had been prosecuted during her reign hoped that her brother who was to take the throne would be more lenient with them. After her brother, James I turned out not so tolerant after all, 13 men decided that something had to be done and devised a plot to eliminate parliament and the King. To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 kegs of gunpowder and stored them in a cellar, just under the House of Lords where parliament and the King regularly met. After receiving an anonymous warning letter of the gunpowder plot King James I sent soldiers to raid the cellar beneath the House of Lords. The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators. Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured and later kind of executed. The name Guy Fawkes might not ring any bells to the average American but to the British citizen it is a name that will live forever in infamy. His face however is something that Americans know especially well; the infamous hacker group known as “Anonymous” brands the mask modeled after Guy Fawkes himself. The mask is most likely more important than the actual man is but he lives on forever as a maverick in our thoughts, a man who willing to sacrifice to save his fellow brethren. His famous mask is commonly used today as a symbol of revolution and as a message to the government from its citizens reminding it of its place in reference to citizen intervention.
I'm a video, feel free to watch.
Steve-O:
Stephen G. Glover, better known as his stage name of “Steve-O” is an American professional stunt man and animal rights activist a best known for his roles in MTV’s “Jackass” and “Wildboyz”, where he usually preformed death-defying stunts just to make his buddies laugh. Today, Steve-O uses his professional stunt career in large-scale protests against subjects like animal cruelty and the inhumane capture of wildlife for simple human entertainment. In protest against SeaWorld’s inhumane treatment of Orca whales Steve-O proceeded to climb an entire crane overlooking Hollywood’s Sunset Avenue brandishing only an inflatable Orca whale and his cell phone. With the simple hope that his stunt would raise awareness towards this serious issue, Steve-O recorded the entire event and posted it to various social media sites to spread the word. After surrendering himself to the authorities he was booked on five misdemeanor charges, including conspiracy to commit trespassing and filming without a permit. In late September, Steve-O jumped on Reddit to participate in a Celebrity AMA (Ask Me Anything) and promote his upcoming comedy special. During the session, he explained that he asked for jail time over community service as a means of further spreading awareness about his cause. "I asked my lawyer to get me jail time because I'm an attention whore and I knew that would get more news coverage for me and my cause," he wrote, "and because the whole point of what I did was to make a statement about captivity."
With Loki, his “mavericity” is vested within his ability to overcome others and the fact that he always seems to get away with something. The epic of Beowulf simply introduced the English language with its beloved poetry. The fact that Leonardo Da Vinci was even thinking about ways to fly, breathe underwater, and explore human anatomy all hundreds of years before even the safe capture of electricity is simply mind blowing. Guy Fawkes, culprit of the gunpowder plot of 1605, a man doing nothing more than what he thought was right soon became quite literally the face of revolution for so many of us today. For many today, the rights of animals have become equal to those of their possessors and for some, like Steve-O, are willing to lay their lives on the line to simply spread awareness for this heartbreaking issue. We see this evolution of what time has produced and what is considered a “maverick” throughout these five examples. From trickery to heroism and revolution to protest, mavericks have forever been preserved through our constant artistic ability to capture individuality.