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Heroes

The day before yesterday I returned home after a long day of work. I lit a fire in the fireplace and opened up the computer so that I can listen to some music - I chose a band called Zepparella, four talented ladies playing Led Zeppelin. I poured myself some mulled wine and sat by the fireplace, enjoying the music, lost in my thoughts.

Couple of days ago a friend of mine posted a link of Zepparella song in facebook. Well, I already knew that there are female tribute bands playing AC/DC, Iron Maiden and such - I had been listening to some of them and enjoyed their style. But somehow this Zepparella caught my attention and made me wonder. And there I was, vaguely wondering about something. Until yesterday evening, when it finally dawned on me. It was about being a hero.

I guess that when Led Zeppelin was on the height of their fame, they thought of themselves as some kind of superheroes. Seeing a stadium crowded with people worshipping them, it must have been obvious that they are something special. The heroes are above the ordinary people, doing heroic deeds, creating something which transforms the entire history. And traditionally it has been so that most of the heroes are men. Men fight wars and defend nations, men find and conquer new continents, men do science and men invent machines. Men are kings and heroes, while the women play the supporting role. Women raise kids, cook food and make clothing, the women supply the armies for the heroes to command. Well, sometimes a woman can be a hero, too. Doing science or riding in front of a war-band. And if we aim at gender equality, women should be able to do this as often as the men do, right? So, does that mean that the boys of Led Zeppelin created some famous music, and now the girls are trying to get a tiny portion of that fame? So that if women want to be great heroes they need to do same things as men do?

I don't quite think so. Over fifteen years ago I spent my days at home taking care of our son. At those times I had an idea about a mythological heroic story, which would portrait the mothers as heroes. The women raise babies and show the kids how to get along in this world, the women keep the household running while the men are away. The men would be like lesser side characters, mainly just causing trouble and worries for the main characters. Or, since I was myself a father at home, maybe I could include one father in the heroic story... As the point is not so much about sex and gender, but more about portraying the home as the main sphere of history. The home is where the story of mankind takes place, the real heroes keep the mankind going, generation after generation.

No, I don't mean that every adult should make babies and raise kids to be proper heroes. I just think that the greatness of music, art, science and technology could be measured by asking how do they support "the ordinary people". It is those ordinary people who are the main characters of the story of the mankind, and we have people with different roles, all supporting each other. So, I'm not asking if the ladies of Zepparella have children or not - I'm not interested in if they play songs of their own, or are they covering some of the best music written in the genre. For me it is enough to see them playing with such a great talent and intensity. They are the heroes on the field of music, working hard to bring quality for the audience. The mothers, fathers, youngsters and elders, unemployed and scientist and workers can all go to enjoy the show, immersing in a collective emotional and intellectual experience - and then return to their daily lives feeling empowered and inspired by the great performance. That is how it goes; great art is there to help the ordinary people to live their lifes.

Oh well. Today I smoked some lamb meat for food. I heated up the sauna. And in the evening my son came to visit together with his girlfriend. So, enough of writing for now, it is time to enjoy a meal together with the young ones.

EDIT: My ADSL modem/router has been out of order, and I have been using a simple modem. It is enough when I have just one computer connected to the internet. Well, while I was preparing the sauna my son spent fifteen minutes hacking with the router settings and managed to resurrect it. Now, after food and sauna we listen to music and take it easy. My son is debugging c++ code, his girlfried reads a book, and I decided to add this to the blog entry =)

mulled wine
mulled wine
smoking meat
smoking meat
tags: 
diary
music
philosophy
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