From Swords to Shoes


    King Arthur and the knights of the round table, that statement itself should conjure up some type of image or feeling. The mythical tale of a young boy who doesn't know his parents and is raised by the wizard Merlin in the countryside. Until one day he becomes the chosen one of England when he pulls out the sword from the stone, that sword was Excalibur which he uses in battle against the Saxons to prove to England that he is the one true heir to England. He creates his knights of the round table and go on adventure after adventure to build the kingdom of England. Arthur is the epitome of the hero's journey, a narrative told over and over again through books, songs, poetry, theatre, and movies. Wikipedia states, “King Arthur was a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and modern historians generally agree that he is unhistorical.”
    The three main social themes that stood out to me were the overcoming of poverty and class, the representation and symbolism of power i.e., the sword, overcoming the forces of evil or opposition. The overcoming poverty part of the story becomes to more relate with the reader as it possible for one to achieve great things. The symbolism of the sword is that it is the one great tool you can use to establish your greatness, this can go on and represent many different things in other stories yet will hold great power. The overcoming of the evil forces is the antagonist one much use to prove worth or worthiness to the rest of society.

            I want to parallel this with the story of Michael Jordan, today is his 58th birthday so it’s fitting that share this. Michael Jordan wasn’t always the basketball superstar we all know today, he started playing all sports, but baseball was his first love. It wasn’t until being cut from his high school varsity team the turning point that motivated Jordan into basketball. He became a great local talent but was not demanded by top colleges. When he got the chance to play for his hometown North Carolina Tar heels, people in his community would say you’re going to sit on the bench for four years then have a job pumping gas. All this was far from the truth as he made a name for himself and got drafted into the NBA. Again, much wasn’t expected from the young man from North Carolina. Nike did in fact have faith in him and signed him to a contract as a rookie, a very rare feat in 1984. Nike developed his first signature shoe the Air Jordan 1s. It was banned from the NBA because it did not follow league protocols. Jordan took the league by storm, making soaring plays and gravity defying moves. People started to wonder if his shoes were giving him the ability to do such great things. The myth was born.

            “It’s gotta be the shoes!” is a famous line said by Mars Blackmon, a Spike Lee created character from his movie She’s Gotta Have It. Mars and Jordan did a couple of commercials to promote the Jordan 5s and that line has been part of the Jordan shoes aura from then on. Each year Jordan's star keeps growing in the 1990s, he becomes the biggest athlete of his generation. He paralleled all the off-court success with on-court ones with 6 NBA Championships. Making this knight of the round taBulls one of the most historical teams in history. Michael is Arthur, the Air Jordans was his Excalibur, and the Chicago Bulls were his Knights of the Round Table. They conquered their era and made their mark in history.

            Jordan has also become a myth himself with the example of the movie Like Mike starring Lil’ Bow Bow in 2002. Where a young orphan finds a pair of shoes that have MJ written on the tongue. The shoes then gave him powers to beat NBA players and got a chance to play in the NBA. 





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