Space Cowboys

Starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner, James Cromwell and Donald Sutherland

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Written by Ken Kaufman & Howard Klausner 

 

 The thyrsoi were carried by Dionysos and his retinue of Satyrs and Maenads. The thyrsoi were carried by Dionysos and his retinue of Satyrs and Maenads.

Not Good, 
but with some 
redeeming value

  (HeadlineMuse rating system)

 

Reviewed by 

Mark Greene

     In yet another example of ancient mythology coming to your local Cineplex, Clint Eastwood’s Space Cowboys provides us the myth of Daedalus (over and over again).  True to the form taken by such modern mythological manifestations, the film weaves contemporary values into a new telling of an old myth.  In the case of Space Cowboys, the issues addressed are growing old in a United States obsessed by performance anxiety while showcasing the wisdom and integrity that were once expected of our elders.

     ‘Team Daedalus,’ a term mentioned at least a dozen times in the film, refers to a group of Air Force test pilots who last worked together in 1958 when their careers were eclipsed by the dawn of the space age and the creation of NASA in the United States.  These salty fellows, played convincingly by Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland, leverage the extraordinary opportunity to crew a Space Shuttle mission, fulfilling the dream of space travel they were forced to give up 40 years before.

     From an archetypal point of view, the name attributed a ‘thing’ is an excellent launching point for understanding its nature.  Lest we forget, things named ‘Phoenix’ will burn.  Like the fiery, self-immolating bird of mythology, La Fenice (‘Phoenix’ in Italian), the famous Venetian opera house, has burned to the ground twice now, and is currently approaching its third incarnation.  I suggest they change the name or, in the future, that you simply get seats near the exit to avoid the heat.  This same principal augurs hotly for the city in Arizona, where I hear it’s always in a state of slow burn (108 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of this writing).

     So, it follows, that when naming something ‘Daedalus,’ certain intentions become clear that may include, in the telling of the story, images of flight, hubris and wings falling from the sky, like tiny specks of space junk re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere.  Interesting insights come to light if we look briefly at the original myth for images and clues.  Because, when invoking Daedalus, his son, Icarus, cannot be far away. 

     Daedalus was an architect and inventor of extraordinary talent who designed the famous Labyrinth of Crete.  It was he who showed Ariadne how she could help Theseus escape from it.  Upon learning of their escape, King Minos, certain of Daedalus’ complicity, imprisoned him and his son, Icarus, in the very same labyrinth.  Undaunted by this turn of events, Daedalus told his son, “Escape may be checked by water and land, but the air and the sky are free.”  So he devised two pairs of wings made of glue, wax and feathers with which they could escape.  Daedalus warned his son that if he flew too high, the heat of the sun would melt his wings and he would surely fall to the earth.

     Guess what happened?  That’s right, the experience of flying went right to Icarus’ head and he “soared exultingly up and up, paying no heed to his father’s anguished commands.  Then he fell” to his death in the sea.

     Space Cowboys manages to invert the basic Daedalus/Icarus (father/son, elder/initiate) roles of the myth in many instances where an older character, such as Hawk Hawkins, played by Tommy Lee Jones, exhibits the hot-headed temperament consistent with the archetype embodied by the young Icarus.   Space Cowboys suggests that a psychological reconciliation is possible between Icarus-inspired older characters, who thrive on taking risks, and Daedalus-inspired youngsters, who insist on following the rules.

     In this film we have ‘elders’ who have not yet had their proper initiation into adulthood and ‘initiates,’ in the form of professional astronauts, who posture the weightiness of a maturity that has not yet been earned.  The end result is quixotic, at best; the ‘old’ guys finally get a shot at becoming elders, i.e., by sharing their wisdom with the younger generation, but, alas, the younger ones remain mostly unconscious.  The ‘envelope,’ or structural limit of the myth is pierced, like the sound barrier, by granting legitimacy to our need to fly high and dangerously instead of condemning such Icarus-inspired behavior.  Space Cowboys suggests that it is sometimes appropriate to aim for the sun and shows us how with examples of characters following their intuition.

     For these reasons alone, this film is worth renting, but for now, save your money and abstain from thinking about your IRA for one day; instead, please listen to some of the Earth boys and girls nearest you who have strapped on their wings and ask, ‘Will you watch me as I fly towards the sun?’

 

Mark Greene
August 2000

In quotes, Edit Hamilton, “Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes” p139.

 

©COPYRIGHT 2000 by Mark Greene

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hit Counter