By Shun McGhee
Contributor, Career Services
I used to be a teacher. It feels funny saying that as in many ways I believe once you have been a teacher, you are always a teacher. During my tenure in this position, I showed my students the movie “A Knight’s Tale” due to the nature of its message.
The story is set in medieval Europe, whose social hierarchy was based on the feudal system. Under the feudal system, land was controlled by nobility or the upper class, and the laborers consisted of peasants or serfs. The noble class included knights. While the system is not without its complexities, there are two important things to remember: the majority of the population would have been considered peasants; and ascending into nobility was extremely difficult though not impossible.
Among the ways to move from peasantry into nobility was by becoming a knight. One could become a knight by showing great prowess on the battlefield, or by being accepted into knighthood training. The knight in training would begin as a page at approximately 7 years of age, move on to becoming a squire around age 14, and eventually become a knight near 21.
William, the main character in the film, is given to a knight by his father in the hopes he would undergo and complete knight training and move beyond his family’s low social status. Before parting with William, his father commissions him to “change his stars.” By the film’s end he becomes a knight, thus fulfilling the wishes of his father. What I like most about this film is how the main character rises from the ashes to become great.
The other day I was having a conversation with two friends of mine regarding our life goals and career journeys. To my surprise, my ambitions were met with some opposition. One of my friends began explaining to me how we were “common folk,” and the people who have achieved dreams like those I outlined, came from affluent backgrounds or heritages that helped make success more attainable. While perhaps my friend was right, my question to him was, “Can a person change his or her stars?” While we both agreed that a person could change their stars, how does one do that?
There are some lessons the film teaches which I believe can be applied to our modern day career journeys.
- First, dare to dream! Give yourself room to imagine doing something that would bring you unspeakable joy.
- Next, do a bit of forecasting. I believe William’s father looked at the previous generations in his family and saw they were all peasants. It took only a slight amount of reasoning to deduce that unless he did something drastic, this would be the path his family continued to travel. So, he gave his son up so he could have a better life.
- Third, do not ask permission to make a better life for yourself. William’s father did not ask him if he wanted to go with the knight to begin training, he instructed him to do it. Most people are routine-oriented beings, and if asked to do something outside of that routine, will generally say no. In William’s case, his father broadened his opportunities by removing his choices. There may be times when you will have to close off other options to realize your greatest ambition.
- Extricate yourself from social status. The ultimate lesson I derived from the film is that one does not have to be bound or confined to the social status into which one is born. It is possible to indeed change your stars by working hard, taking hold of opportunity when it knocks, and refusing to release it until they obtain the desired outcome.
When you find yourself doubting your ability to succeed because of your social inheritance look at this list of commoners as sources of inspiration, who each in their own way have gone on to become Knights. Quincy Jones, Oprah Winfrey, The Jacksons, W.E.B DuBois, Madame CJ Walker, Erving “Magic” Johnson, Tyler Perry, Jill Scott, Ben Carson and Frederick Douglass are all good examples of people that rose above their circumstances to become something greater. You can do it too.
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