The more life experience we gain, the richer books and movies become after we revisit them. One of my favorite animations in that context is Prince of Egypt, which I watched again last night.
In the opening scene, brothers Rameses and Moses race through Pharaoh’s Grand Temple in a reckless chariot race. They destroy scaffolding and sow chaos among the workers.
In the very next scene, the two young princes are in the royal court. Pharaoh Seti is furious and confronts his sons. Moses steps forward and takes the blame, saying that he goaded Rameses into the race and the responsibility is his. Pharaoh shifts to Rameses asking what he knows of responsibility and then goes on to say how they ridiculed the traditions of Egypt as royal princes by their reckless behavior. Rameses, surprised by his father’s fury, asks that the destruction of a temple—or a bunch of scaffolding—what harm could it do to Egypt’s traditions? Pharaoh has an outburst and accuses Rameses of being a weak link in the chain that could bring down the dynasty. After Rameses is given permission to leave, there comes a golden dialogue between Moses and Pharaoh.
This conversation takes place in an amazing long shot of the ancient city of Memphis in the background through the Pharaoh’s court, along with Hans Zimmer’s haunting track, “The Reprimand,” which is my favorite.
Then Pharaoh tells Moses why he is so hard on Rameses. as heir, Rameses bears greater roles and responsibilities. He is to become the morning and the evening star after Pharaoh dies, and he must not be led astray by anything, even by his brother Moses. It is a gentle reminder that the bigger roles we have in life, the more responsible we are; the more understanding and the more mentally capable we become, the greater our responsibilities become. Pharaoh’s emphasis was that Moses may have to worry less, therefore his responsibilities are lighter than Rameses’s.
I was thinking this rule even could be generalized to saying that the more dear a person is to you, the more responsibility you bear toward them and they toward you That is why family feuds become so painful and prolonged because you do not expect to be wronged by your beloved ones.