My opinion of John Carter of Mars

It's an opinion day for me.  Yes, I'm going to get on my soapbox and voice thoughts that have run through my head, and the hell with the consequences.

So, please, bear with me….

Growing up, I certainly didn't have an IPod, cable TV, or play the latest video games.  I did what most of the other kids in the neighborhood did—either played outside or read.

My reading tastes were whatever my teacher had on hand—and I loved that woman.  Mrs. Kunkel was a dear, sweet woman who was in her late 50s or early 60s.  My childhood memories can't quite remember precisely how old because, in our youth, old means old.  This teacher, though, made quite an impact on me.  After forty years, I still remember her patience, her drive to get her students to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, and her sense of adventure.  She was the type of woman who would stress that we (her students) needed to grasp life with both hands and view the world as one great big adventure just waiting to be explored.

Her reading material in the classroom reflected her passion.  From the bookcase behind her desk, I discovered the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne.  They were the epitome of adventure, of unchartered territories, and their plots and characters rivaled anything I could have ever imagined on my own.  These were the two men that I wanted to sit down and have dinner with, hanging onto their every word as I discovered what made them come up with their fascinating ideas.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one…

Disney took a massive leap this year by bringing Burroughs's series of John Carter to the big screen.  In my opinion, the movie stayed faithfully close to the book, and it took my breath away–the imagination from my youth exploding in precisely the way that I imagined when I read the tale so many years ago.

I was hooked, but my sons were a bit leery.  They had never heard of Burroughs beyond the Tarzan legend and their overall mindset was that this film was going to be absolutely boring.

Out came my collection of time-worn novels, dog-eared to the point most librarians would have slammed a ruler against my knuckles.

Before John Carter of Mars is bashed for its outdated ideas, the viewer has to know the tale, and appreciate the idea behind the erstwhile explorer.

Burroughs wrote the John Carter of Mars series back in 1911!  Perhaps it's too much for people to realize that Mars was just a distant star in the sky, unexplored, and filled with intrigue and mystery.  One man, Burroughs, gave the planet life in a way that defied the imagination of our ancestors while providing them with adventure, shock, awe, and half-naked women.

Was it a best-seller?  Of course!  In a world where women still wore dresses that covered very inch of their body and corsets that defined the 'proper' female body, the image of a scantily dressed Dejah Thoris ran rampant through the male mind.  Aliens, creatures that battled with the glory of the ancient Romans, resembled a nightmare creation of numerous arms and scaly green skin.

Somewhere, I suspect there were women that secretly read the novel, swooning over the dashing civil war captain as he (bare-chested) rallied to save the princess and her kingdom from evil.

In my opinion, Disney brought John Carter of Mars to amazing life.  They succeeded in interpreting the wonders of the century old novel with amazing insight, and my childhood imagination clapped with glee.  They couldn't have picked a better time, either, considering Mars is currently a brightly glittering star that hangs heavy in our nighttime sky this year.

Unfortunately, since the film lacks x-wings, an over-glorification of blood and gore, or a more modern theme, I don't believe the youth of today will find John Carter as fascinating.

5 stars to Disney for making me remember my childhood.

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