When it's the Old Guy 'helping out' the young hero, it's not usually the Other in quite the same sense. Then (at least in the archetypal format), the Old Guy is really just Young Guy At Ninety Yrs Old. Or something like that -- it's a sense of the previous generation bestowing knowledge on the ignorant young.
Whereas the Other-to-Hero is more of a crossover between cultures, and not just generations.
Oi, I'd not thought of the centaurs in HP. You're right, that does shift the tension in what I recall of that scene. For me, at least, adds a note of "are they being nice because they're pleased to meet someone so powerful, or are they being nice because they have foresight (in whatever way) that if they're not nice, he'll later kick their ass?"
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Date: 12 May 2007 06:15 am (UTC)Whereas the Other-to-Hero is more of a crossover between cultures, and not just generations.
Oi, I'd not thought of the centaurs in HP. You're right, that does shift the tension in what I recall of that scene. For me, at least, adds a note of "are they being nice because they're pleased to meet someone so powerful, or are they being nice because they have foresight (in whatever way) that if they're not nice, he'll later kick their ass?"