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FEATURED TOPICDigital Transition -The term "Digital Transition" describes the process all organizations must go through in the 21st Century, as they leverage new technologies that provide new options for Applications, Equipment, Processes, and Networks that make them more effective. In contrast, the term "Municipal Wireless" is limiting. It puts the network technology ahead of the application and process changes that drive the business case. ORIENTATION |
« Net Neutrality for Non-Science Majors | Weblog | Sh Boom, Sha Boom » Metropolitan Broadband: Embracing DestinyA hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces In his epic Star Wars film series, through all six episodes, creator George Lucas traces the mythic character arc of the Hero, be it the anti-hero/chief protagonist, Annekin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader or his son, the true hero, Luke Skywalker. The Hero's Journey, a common process followed by the archetypal hero, is brilliantly documented by professor of comparative mythology Joseph Campbell, in his groundbreaking 1949 work, The Hero of a Thousand Faces. For a special tie in of the academic and the film, I recommend the 1988 Bill Moyers interview series The Power of Myth, actually filmed at George Lucas' studios, aptly named "Skywalker Ranch." What, you may ask, could this possibly have to do with metropolitan broadband? Individuals, cities, AND societies have an opportunity to take a hero's journey whenever they take on a difficult task, face a difficult truth, or accept a difficult challenge and in so doing, take the proverbial Road Less Traveled, bucking the conventional path for one more suited to their needs, but also often one more difficult, even more dangerous or risky. Believe me, politicians do indeed view these projects as dangerous and risky - to their elected positions...but they are forging ahead, nonetheless. When city leaders decide to do the right thing for the right reasons, based on their own situation, even if its less acceptable to those who hold tight to the status quo - they are modeling heroic behavior, acting out of principle rather than going with the flow. In my opinion, city leaders who choose an alternative broadband path after careful deliberation and consultation, be it a wireless or fiber solution, are putting themselves out on the front lines and are engaging in a classic hero's journey. Seattle is taking the hero's path - read about their Fiber project in Daily Wireless' coverage Seattle: Fiber For All. City leaders are choosing to take the reins on their broadband destiny by launching a project, wireless, fiber, or both. They're not doing it because they like to do risky things, or because they're looking for adventure. Rather, they've decided that the future is digital, and they have to move their communities along that path, as I suggested in a post a few months back (see Digital Adolescents Stuck in Digital Puberty). There's a great article in the February 2008 Issue of Broadband Properties Magazine, which goes into good detail and should serve as a good source of background information - see Municipal Broadband: Demystifying Wireless and Fiber Optic Options. The article is subtitled "Communities can greatly benefit from owning municipal broadband networks and opening them to multiple providers. But implementing such The Hero's Journey If you're not familiar with the Hero's Journey I've referenced herein, I recommend you spend a little time reading below. It is uplifting to realize that some of the more challenging tasks you yourself take on, could be examined under these guidelines...who knows, it may change your perspective. Consider these stories, which you're probably familiar with ... Consider this list of films, from Pitch a Screenplay: Know Your Hero's Journey - Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000,000 – uses the Hero's Journey as a template. - Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template. - Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template. - ET (1982) grossed over $434,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template. - Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 - uses the Hero's Journey as a template. - Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) - All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero's Journey. - Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc) are all based on the Hero's Journey. - Heroine's Journey stories (Million Dollar Baby (2004), Out of Africa (1980) etc) are all based on the Hero's Journey. The Hero's Journey is also sometimes referred to as the Monomyth. Here are the five key steps: 1. A call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline Now doesn't that sound like what a city leader or team goes through in the process to bring more broadband opportunity to their city? For some serious detail, there's the Wikipedia description of the archetypical Hero's Journey, from the entry for The Hero with a Thousand Faces... PART ONE: The Adventure of the Hero Chapter I: Departure * 1. The Call to Adventure The adventure begins with the hero receiving a call to action, such as a threat to the peace of the community, or the hero simply falls into or blunders into it. The call is often announced to the hero by another character who acts as a "herald". The herald, often represented as dark or terrifying and judged evil by the world, may call the character to adventure simply by the crisis of his appearance. * 2. Refusal of the Call In some stories, the hero initially refuses the call to adventure. When this happens, the hero may suffer somehow, and may eventually choose to answer, or may continue to decline the call. * 3. Supernatural Aid After the hero has accepted the call, he encounters a protective figure (often elderly) who provides special tools and advice for the adventure ahead, such as an amulet or a weapon. * 4. The Crossing of the First Threshold The hero must cross the threshold between the world he is familiar with and that which he is not. Often this involves facing a "threshold guardian", an entity that works to keep all within the protective confines of the world but must be encountered in order to enter the new zone of experience. * 5. The Belly of the Whale The hero, rather than passing a threshold, passes into the new zone by means of rebirth. Appearing to have died by being swallowed or having their flesh scattered, the hero is transformed and becomes ready for the adventure ahead. Chapter II: Initiation * 1. The Road of Trials Once past the threshold, the hero encounters a dream landscape of ambiguous and fluid forms. The hero is challenged to survive a succession of obstacles and, in so doing, amplifies his consciousness. The hero is helped covertly by the supernatural helper or may discover a benign power supporting him in his passage. * 2. The Meeting with the Goddess The ultimate trial is often represented as a marriage between the hero and a queenlike, or mother-like figure. This represents the hero's mastery of life (represented by the feminine) as well as the totality of what can be known. When the hero is female, this becomes a male figure. * 3. Woman as the Temptress His awareness expanded, the hero may fixate on the disunity between truth and his subjective outlook, inherently tainted by the flesh. This is often represented with revulsion or rejection of a female figure. * 4. Atonement with the Father The hero reconciles the tyrant and merciful aspects of the father-like authority figure to understand himself as well as this figure. * 5. Apotheosis The hero's ego is disintegrated in a breakthrough expansion of consciousness. Quite frequently the hero's idea of reality is changed; the hero may find an ability to do new things or to see a larger point of view, allowing the hero to sacrifice himself. * 6. The Ultimate Boon The hero is now ready to obtain that which he has set out, an item or new awareness that, once he returns, will benefit the society that he has left.
* 1. Refusal of the Return Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man. * 2. The Magic Flight When the boon's acquisition (or the hero's return to the world) comes against opposition, a chase or pursuit may ensue before the hero returns. * 3. Rescue from Without The hero may need to be rescued by forces from the ordinary world. This may be because the hero has refused to return or because he is successfully blocked from returning with the boon. The hero loses his ego. * 4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold The hero returns to the world of common day and must accept it as real. * 5. Master of the Two Worlds Because of the boon or due to his experience, the hero may now perceive both the divine and human worlds. * 6. Freedom to Live The hero bestows the boon to his fellow man. Posted on April 15, 2008 at 09:11 PM CommentsPost a comment |
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