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Looking for Life Lessons in Top Gun
by Lewis Robinson
“Top Gun” is an 80s classic that resonates that helped to solidify Tom Cruise’s standing as an A-List actor, and it resonates strongly with viewers decades later. Here are some reasons that Maverick’s journey is so compelling to viewers, what they can learn from it, and why revisiting this hero study is what movie audiences want to see now.
Pursuing Goals
Tony Scott presents a visual narrative that prompts people to identify with the protagonist even though he exhibits many qualities which are somewhat unbecoming of a hero. Maverick is cocky, headstrong, and motivated almost wholly by his desire to be at the top of the elite. However, it is these qualities which enable Maverick to achieve his goals despite the hardship that they invite.
Experiencing Loss
The most dramatic event which shapes the hero’s journey is the death of his flying partner and best friend, Goose, portrayed by Anthony Edwards. His widow, played by Meg Ryan at the start of her career, expresses both solace and anger at the fact that he died doing what he loved. Goose loved flying, but loved flying with Maverick, in particular.
During the production of “Top Gun,” producers looked to real-life examples of fatal flying accidents when formulating the tragic accident. It was a startling demonstration that even a multimillion dollar stealth aircraft is not one hundred percent safe.
Accepting Responsibility
Although the accident that kills Goose is caused by an equipment failure when Goose ejects, Maverick's risky maneuver creates the conditions which force him to eject. Maverick was fixated on winning, and he did not consider that the contingencies he was counting on could foreseeably fail.
The individuals who design them must consider hundreds of possible in-air scenarios that could compromise an aircraft’s structural integrity. Tempering steel with precision and building high-powered engines to travel at Mach speed are amazing feats, but there is no margin for error in ensuring that equipment performs like it is designed to. Although the error which resulted in Goose’s death was mechanical and Maverick was exonerated of responsibility, he accepts responsibility. He made a causal error, his aircraft is an extension of himself.
Despite Maverick’s grief, he must go on to find peace with the loss of his friend. Continuing his quest is the best way to honor his friend. The pilots accepted the risk of what they do as an inherent condition. Refusing to accept responsibility and continue on would have been to negate his willingness to take on risk while also denying that of his deceased friend. Braving “the danger zone” is part of Maverick’s identity, and it is also part of what gives meaning to the pilots’ pursuit.
Attaining Self-Awareness and Enlightenment
“The need for speed” which could be dismissed as a macho form of thrill-seeking actually reflects a form of purity. It is as though the pilots are on a quest to be part of something greater than themselves with meaning that goes far above and beyond their ego-propelled attraction to going faster and higher. In this regard, this iconic element of the movie resembles a hero’s quest for enlightenment. The act of flying is ultimately what enables Maverick to reflect on Goose’s death meaningfully and internalize what he has learned from it to become the “Top Gun.”
The upcoming release of “Top Gun 2: Maverick” has a lot to live up to in order for fans to consider it a worthy addition to a narrative which has been silent for some time. Fans of the original movie are eager to see what has become of the Maverick towards the end of his flight career. When the audience last saw him, he was beginning a new chapter in his life. His talent and conviction to be the best conveyed that his journey would continue to be defined by triumph. While he has undergone considerable personal development over the course of “Top Gun,” viewers glean that there is still more that he must learn as he embarks on the continuation of his hero’s quest.
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