David Wilder - Outside Assignment 5: Fearless

In my opinion, this movie was amazing. Thinking back on it, it had a very powerful theme that coincided with one subject we spoke about in class. Huo Yuanjia, a chinese martial artists begins his life by seeking to become the strongest. He wishes to become champion and never ever lose. That is his goal and focus in life. He focuses on this every waking moment and appears to the audience to be a real jerk, both to his friends, and to his enemies. His whole life changes when his wife and daughter is killed and he then wanders China pointlessly. He nearly dies, but is saved by a kind family from a rural village where he stays and works. He slowly opens up to them and gains a new reason for living. This is all similar to a ritual. He finds a new place and eventually opens up to it along his journey. Finally, he decides to return home, for he has never visited his mother's grave. Thus he sets out, and completes his ritual. He then lives kindly, and for a greater purpose. To defend China against the foreign countries which are trying to destroy its moral. I think it posed an excellent example of Huo's journey, ritual, and transformation.