Fannish 5: Teachers...

[fajrdrako]

The fannish5 question for the day: Who are your five favorite fictional teachers or mentors?

Thinking about this has led me to realize how many of my favourite characters have teaching roles, how few are actually teachers. I thought of Qui-Gon in Star Wars: but I only like him as a Jedi hero and slash-partner for Obi-Wan and only in The Phantom Menace. And Yoda? He's right there on my list of least favourite characters of all time. Annoying little puppet.

And yet so many of my favourite characters have roles which involve teaching by example, or taking on unofficial acolytes and helping them to learn. Examples: Francis Crawford of Lymond, Captain Cairo Azarcon, Aral Vorkorsigan, Claude Raines (mentor to Peter in Heroes), the Doctor in Doctor Who (not just in "School Reunion", though he's lovely there), Captain Jack Harkness - in Torchwood, in Doctor Who he is only the acolyte. I'd put Methos from Highlander in this category, though he'd deny it with scorn.

My list of favourite fictional teachers:

1. Christophe, in The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice.


2. Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.


3. Professor X in The Uncanny X-Men and other Marvel mutant comics.


4. Justin McLeod, the reclusive retired teacher in The Man Without a Face by Isabelle Holland, whose past contains tragedy. Resemblance to the character in the Mel Gibson movie of the same name is... unfortunate.


5. Bradley Headstone, the cruel and hypocritical teacher who falls in love with Lizzie Hexham in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. No, I don't like him, I love to hate him. A villain, but an interesting one, and I loved the twist Dickens was making here on traditional morality - the hardworking schoolmaster is a creep, the indolent seducing lawyer is a hero.

See, as this list probably makes clear, I don't really like teachers. On principle. Because I didn't like school. Bad associations.

Funny, these are all from print media. I can't think of any teachers I like in movies or television. Indiana Jones comes close, but... no. I'd be lying. At best, it's Harrison Ford I liked there.

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

you could do the tandem (with Cordelia) as they are definitely mentors-

I agree, but Cordelia is in a different category in my head - I'm not sure why - as a mother ideal, not a mentor ideal. While Aral is a mentor ideal, but not necessarily a father ideal. Even though he is one of those wonderful fictional fathers of which I'd like to make a list.

I wouldn't have though you'd have missed it

He was on the first draft in my head! Didn't make it to my typing fingers, though.

I don't think I saw a booking through Thursday meme on my flist yesterday...

I looked at what it was, decided I wasn't about to answer it, and didn't. There are some things I am shy about talking about in public.