Personal Essay

So, disclaimer. I’m not entirely sure what the ”prompt” of this ”essay” is, but I have a feeling there is no ”prompt”, so I’ll take a risk and write about what I want.

Samurai Jack.

Or at least the premise.

I actually just started the show (because I apparently had no childhood) and the premise is really cool. A samurai has to get back to his own time so he can defeat a magical wizard-demon and stop him from conquering the world.

The part I especially like about it is much simpler. In order to achieve his overarching goal of getting back to the past, he has to wander the future and defeat whatever enemies and solve whatever problems he encounters, and he helps the innocent along the way with whatever problem they are facing. Even though it is the future, it’s not like the whole planet is covered in cities, so there are a plethora of settings to have adventures in. Plus aliens are considered normal, so those are just more people he can help/fight. What I find so amazing about that is the goodness and simplicity of it. You are doing the right thing, defeating the bad guy and helping the innocent, and in such a simple way: a fight. You punch the bad guy; he’s defeated, you helped the innocent. Now, an even simpler way (and one that requires much less athletic ability) is to give the innocent a lot of money. But that’s lame and I like watching good fight evil, instead of paying it off. Kung Fu with a magic sword is way cooler.

My mom says I tend to see things in black and white, so I suppose that’s why I like the concept so much. Good vs. Evil, can’t get much simpler than that. And I’m not talking about good vs evil in situations like war, where each side isn’t necessarily fighting for the greater good, but for economic or political reasons. I’m talking about going on adventures to defeat the bad guy because he is evil. Because it is the right thing to do.

I think it would be really fun to do that. Apart from the fact that I don’t possess any fighting skills. And the fact that I possess no survival skills. And the fact that it would probably greatly affect your mental health to know you have very little chance of ever returning to any place you are familiar with.

But apart from all of that.

I would be so happy, because I would know without a shadow of a doubt that I am doing the right thing. I am making the world a better place, and in the most monumental way possible. And that’s always been my goal in life, to make the world a better place. That’s why the show appeals to me, because I like to imagine myself in that situation, how I would be making the world so much better by fighting evil and helping the innocent.

And if I could do that with my friends, well, I suppose there’s no point in getting greedy now is there?