There are probably lots of John Browns out there but the one I'm referring to is the man who launched the raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia and essentially started the Civil War. I can clearly remember discussing this man in 11th grade when covering the antebellum era in my U.S. History class. (Side note: I'm not a fan of the song "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, which in turn makes me dislike the group's name choice. I heard that the members of the group liked the antebellum South as seen in "Gone with the Wind" and I cynically think "Oh yeah, I too am nostalgic for those good ol' days of sippin' sweet tea on the porch while watchin' the darkies work, singin' them songs so happy all day long, yessuh, slavery is good f'them." Ugh, that song just makes me want to stab my ears.)
The raid on Harper's Ferry was violent, poorly planned and executed, and very ballsy, daring. Brown had conducted similar raids but this one was his last, and though he didn't die during the raid he was tried and hung for his acts. While the most other abolitionists of his day wrote arguments against slavery, he actually took action and did something about it. He wasn't formally educated but had a number of meaningful interactions with slaves and othe oppressed groups, and had a very strong, Old Testament sense of justice and retribution. He had twelve children-- I think eight sons and six daughters-- and made sure that his daughters knew how to do outdoor work and his sons know how to cook and clean. He made it a point to travel to hear feminists like Lucretia Mott give lectures. He didn't crave violence but saw it as a necessary means to accomplish his goals.
I empathize with John Brown on some levels. I see him as an idealist, like me. While I'm a staunch pacifist and would pursue any physical or violent actions I have to admire John Brown for how passionately he felt about equality and taking matters into his own hands. He was sort of like a vigilante, with a bigger-than-life personality that makes him seem more like a historical fiction character than a real-life historical figure. My literary heroes include the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Count of Monte Cristo, Sherlock Holmes and Batman; to me, John Brown fits in with these men, except that he really existed and had a wife and children. For a while he was seen as a villain and a madman, and he's still a controversial figure in American history, but now historians seem to be relenting and even calling him a hero. I don't think he'd classify his actions as "heroic", per se, but insist that they were simply the right and necessary things to do. He had no regrets about the way he lived, and really, isn't that something we all want?
In an interview, I think it was with Charlie Rose, Quentin Tarantino named John Brown as the man on whom he'd do a biopic. I can see why Tarantino would be drawn to this man, and he'd do a great job telling Brown's story. Tarantino's already done revenge films, and his most recent one was a period piece, so I doubt that the John Brown movie would be in the works any time in the near future. I hope that someone makes a film about this man so that his life can be even more widely known.
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