Lars' fair question...

[danshane@bellsouth.net]

LARS WROTE:

> An honest question, and one I hope you'll answer:
> 
> Davy Crockett was a historical person who lived in the 1800s, if I
> remember correctly. It's only natural he would be dead by now. Robin
> Hood, King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot (whether historical or not)
> all had their deaths built into their legends, making these all the more
> powerful. In which way does the death of the Ducks work to enhance these
> characters' mythology?

AND I REPLY:

It is an honest question, so I can happily respond.  As is common with brief written messages, devoid of facial and vocal mannerisms and body language that can add meaning or clarification of intent, my comment on the death of fictional and nonfiction literary characters of the past apparently suggested more to at least one reader than I intended.  The only point I was trying to make was that the idea of a character eventually meeting a historical or made-up death doesn't stand in the way of my enjoying the stories that feature these characters.

Now, I haven't read any Disney comics where Scrooge, Grandma, Donald, or Gyro have died.  Have any Disney licensees published such a tale?  The idea that they are no longer around is something WE have to infer based on chronology, not on anything stories we have actually read.  To me all the Ducks (except Scrooge's parents, who have been killed off on the printed page) are still alive, if only because every story I read transports me to the time in which they live.  For the length of time it takes me to read the story, I am a contemporary of the Ducks within their lifespan.  My imagination has no trouble making that leap, any more than it does when I watch PRINCE VALIANT or JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.  No historical figures there, nor anyone who dies during the course of the narratives, yet I cannot possibly picture them as alive today.  But they DO live on for me every time I watch those great movies or read the comics or source novel.  Is that hard for others to gra
 sp?  Maybe so, since so many screenwriters update classic stories to more recent times for fear of isolating the younger audience that cannot seem to identify with events outside their own lifespan.  If find that extremely sad and very constricting, but I won't begrudge them the chance to see such films if that is what they enjoy.

Dan