There's an old argument that political beliefs change as a person ages - when you're young and hopeful you find yourself in the left wing camp, shouting for equality and wanting everyone to get a fair deal. As you age, you accumulate more wealth and feel that as you've earned it, you deserve to hold onto it - you become more right wing, defending the richer half of society, decrying the less fortunate as simply too lazy to achieve as you have done. This, while probably true in some cases, is largely bull crap and Roger Ebert, David Attenborough, Terry Pratchett, Ian McKellan and Stephen "I hate women" Fry are five names off the top of my head to illustrate it.
Be that as it may, in some matters perspective really does change with age. I'll give you two examples. Take Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time fantasy novel series (you may remember from this entry http://experiment627.blogspot.com/2010/07/stephen-donaldons-gap-sequence-how-far.html that I read very uncool fiction). The series of 13 (with one to go) books has many hundreds of characters, each with their own specific take on the world. There are the kids: Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene and Elayne - when, as a youngish person I first read those books it was to those characters I related the best and I got frustrated with the older characters holding things up and thinking they knew better. When I re-read it as an older person (and I know early 30s isn't that old, but it's older than a teenager and old enough for perspective to change) I found myself relating more to the older characters - Nyneave, Moiraine, Siuan and Gareth Bryne and sometimes found the impetuousness of the younger characters to be a little annoying. I suspect if I read the series again 15 years from now I'll find myself sympathetic to yet another point of view. Such was the impressive depth and skill of Jordan's writing that he was able to recreate the inner workings of a characters mind that the character automatically connects to a reader of a similar age. Jordan even wrote from a female perspective so well it led some readers to speculate that he was actually female (there are at least as many strongly developed and varied female characters in Wheel of Time as there are male ones, something of a rarity in this genre).
Another writer able to do such a thing is Joss Whedon. Rach and I have almost finished re-watching the seven season run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is, frankly incredible and the defining TV show of a generation. When watching it the first time round, I distinctly remember having the following impressions: I was annoyed with Riley, because I found him a poor replacement for Angel, I was annoyed with Dawn for being a bit of a brat, I was annoyed with Buffy herself in season six for being miserable and shagging Spike all the time, and I totally loved Willow and her descent into darkness. I think maybe I felt that way because of my age. Watching it this time around, the Buffy and Angel arc got boring pretty quickly, because of all the moping and misery - it was a lot more fun when Angel turned evil. Because of this reaction, I didn't find Riley half as annoying. I don't know if it's anything to do with being a father, but I didn't think Dawn was treated very well and I think they should have done more for her, so when she started to act out I sympathised with her instead of getting annoyed. Buffy, in season six, has been dragged out of heaven by her friends into a world of death and demons, where she feels nothing and cannot bring herself to care for anyone or anything. It's no wonder she turns to Spike, seeing as he's the only one who could come close to understanding. This time, I kind of couldn't stand Willow and her selfish petulance and her increasing addiction to dark magic. I couldn't sympathise with her and felt she should have known better. It struck me as how being only a decade or so older, I could find myself seeing things in a completely different way. With both The Wheel of Time and Buffy it's the layered writing and detailed characterisation that allows this, and for me is the mark of a truly brilliant writer. Anyone wanting proof of Whedon's extraordinary ability as a TV writer and director need look no further that the Firefly episode Objects in Space (which contains philosophical musings on self awareness, and funny bits), or the Buffy episodes Hush (terrifying horror), Restless (lucid and fractured dreamscapes) and The Body (a perfect recreation of the overwhelming feelings of free fall, numbness, fear and sickness when confronted with the death of a loved one).
I wonder how I'll think by the time I'm 60..?
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