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The Case for The Immortal Mensch
Jun. 5th, 2015 11:45 pmI recently learned that Forever has been cancelled. I can't say I'm surprised or saddened by this. I did, after all, make a post explaining Forever as failing instructively*. But, I do lament lost potential. And, Forever, having potential... didn't live up to it. One friend commented that, after watching for fifteen minutes, they had decided that Forever was too bland to watch.
In general, Forever needed to give us something different to take risks. So, let's use another way to give something different and take some risks. In doing so, we should use the best part of Forever. The best part of Forever was Judd Hirsch.
Judd Hirsch should star as The Immortal Mensch. (Alternatively, the title could just be The Mensch.)
In Yiddish, "mensch" means a person of integrity and honor, someone worthy of admiration and emulation.
In my more colloquial understanding is that a mensch is someone of humble virtue and kindness. The mensch, upon meeting you once as a casual acquaintance, not only wishes you well but is willing to step out of way to help achieve your well-being.
A mensch isn't a great hero. You're not going to compose a great epic about someone who took an hour out of their free time to help your kid understand some difficult math homework. That's just as well, it would only embarrass a mensch.
For real world examples of people being mensches, at a recent anti-Muslim protest, Usama Shami responded by inviting the armed protesters inside to join him in prayer**. Another example, from 2009, a store owner responded to someone attempted to an attempted robbery by giving the robber 40 dollars and a loaf of bread***.
That's when being a mensch makes the news. But, they didn't try to make the news. They tried to do something good for other people. In short, they were mensches.
Now, a mensch isn't without need, desire, flaw, or limits of patience. This isn't a deity, here. A mensch is just a mensch. A mensch doesn't even try to be called a mensch. A mensch is just a mensch and you noticing is nice, but not essential.
For example, see every character Judd Hirsch has ever played... and played well. That's the character he displays and the charm just flows from that.
In keeping with my list, any time our immortal character has spent bemoaning immortality is long in the past. He (he or she if Judd Hirsch doesn't agree) has long since come to accept his existence. He can either cry about it or he can get to helping that nice young Muslim family that just moved in figure out where the best places are for kosher and halal food.
Even if Judd Hirsch doesn't play The Immortal Mensch, I think the character should be of advanced years... and not just technically. Not only would this give a different look at immortal characters (the young man/woman throughout history isn't dead, but let's at least explore other possibilities), but it would help out with items 2 and 3 on my list.
Nobody expects an elderly person to be up on the latest technology. That gives an immortal the advantage of time to learn, but still the necessity of learning. After all, an immortal that looks elderly will, eventually, be expected to have grown up with this technology.
This will give us the opportunity to see The Immortal Mensch learn about the internet and come to the realization that the safe secrecy is going to end. From there on, it's a question of how to respond. (Are there other immortals? If so, the debates on how to respond will be good entertainment in and of themselves.)
The Immortal Mensch should be a mensch all throughout history, basically a nice person. But, that doesn't mean that The Immortal Mensch was on the right side of history. In fact, what counts as good and of integrity has changed, if only mildly, throughout history. The Immortal Mensch will have to look on past actions with new context.
Finally, as a part of The Immortal Mensch's own new context, there should be a rule. In any given episode, The Immortal Mensch is only the main character in either the current time story-line or the flashback story-line, not both. In one, The Immortal Mensch is the main character, in the other The Immortal Mensch is the viewpoint character, and potentially the narrator. This will be a part of showing that The Immortal Mensch may be a nice person all throughout history, but not the good guy all throughout history.
The Immortal Mensch has learned, slowly over time, to contextualize himself in terms of not just his own narrative, but those of others. That, too, is a part of what it takes to be a mensch.
* http://wingedbeast.dreamwidth.org/17638.html
** http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/05/30/hundreds-gather-in-arizona-for-armed-anti-muslim-protest/
*** http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/03/convenience.store.compassion/
In general, Forever needed to give us something different to take risks. So, let's use another way to give something different and take some risks. In doing so, we should use the best part of Forever. The best part of Forever was Judd Hirsch.
Judd Hirsch should star as The Immortal Mensch. (Alternatively, the title could just be The Mensch.)
In Yiddish, "mensch" means a person of integrity and honor, someone worthy of admiration and emulation.
In my more colloquial understanding is that a mensch is someone of humble virtue and kindness. The mensch, upon meeting you once as a casual acquaintance, not only wishes you well but is willing to step out of way to help achieve your well-being.
A mensch isn't a great hero. You're not going to compose a great epic about someone who took an hour out of their free time to help your kid understand some difficult math homework. That's just as well, it would only embarrass a mensch.
For real world examples of people being mensches, at a recent anti-Muslim protest, Usama Shami responded by inviting the armed protesters inside to join him in prayer**. Another example, from 2009, a store owner responded to someone attempted to an attempted robbery by giving the robber 40 dollars and a loaf of bread***.
That's when being a mensch makes the news. But, they didn't try to make the news. They tried to do something good for other people. In short, they were mensches.
Now, a mensch isn't without need, desire, flaw, or limits of patience. This isn't a deity, here. A mensch is just a mensch. A mensch doesn't even try to be called a mensch. A mensch is just a mensch and you noticing is nice, but not essential.
For example, see every character Judd Hirsch has ever played... and played well. That's the character he displays and the charm just flows from that.
In keeping with my list, any time our immortal character has spent bemoaning immortality is long in the past. He (he or she if Judd Hirsch doesn't agree) has long since come to accept his existence. He can either cry about it or he can get to helping that nice young Muslim family that just moved in figure out where the best places are for kosher and halal food.
Even if Judd Hirsch doesn't play The Immortal Mensch, I think the character should be of advanced years... and not just technically. Not only would this give a different look at immortal characters (the young man/woman throughout history isn't dead, but let's at least explore other possibilities), but it would help out with items 2 and 3 on my list.
Nobody expects an elderly person to be up on the latest technology. That gives an immortal the advantage of time to learn, but still the necessity of learning. After all, an immortal that looks elderly will, eventually, be expected to have grown up with this technology.
This will give us the opportunity to see The Immortal Mensch learn about the internet and come to the realization that the safe secrecy is going to end. From there on, it's a question of how to respond. (Are there other immortals? If so, the debates on how to respond will be good entertainment in and of themselves.)
The Immortal Mensch should be a mensch all throughout history, basically a nice person. But, that doesn't mean that The Immortal Mensch was on the right side of history. In fact, what counts as good and of integrity has changed, if only mildly, throughout history. The Immortal Mensch will have to look on past actions with new context.
Finally, as a part of The Immortal Mensch's own new context, there should be a rule. In any given episode, The Immortal Mensch is only the main character in either the current time story-line or the flashback story-line, not both. In one, The Immortal Mensch is the main character, in the other The Immortal Mensch is the viewpoint character, and potentially the narrator. This will be a part of showing that The Immortal Mensch may be a nice person all throughout history, but not the good guy all throughout history.
The Immortal Mensch has learned, slowly over time, to contextualize himself in terms of not just his own narrative, but those of others. That, too, is a part of what it takes to be a mensch.
* http://wingedbeast.dreamwidth.org/17638.html
** http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/05/30/hundreds-gather-in-arizona-for-armed-anti-muslim-protest/
*** http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/03/convenience.store.compassion/
