How do immortals modernize?


One thing I think is really neat about HIGHLANDER but can't figure out is how the immortals (Connor, Duncan, Kell, Kate, etc.) have managed to adapt to the changing times so well and speak American English, wear American clothes, etc. That would be quite an ordeal, for a number of reasons.

It is hard for most people (and I consider the immortals "people") to adjust their lifestyles to new eras, for reasons both mental and psychological. My grandfather was born in 1927, and it took him about 10 years to become familiar with DVD technology. Now, multiply that experience over hundreds of years and you will conclude that immortals from the medieval era should be - at best - awkward or clueless about modern times and - at worst - paranoid, despairing lunatics who don't feel they fit in anywhere.

Of course, possessing eternal youth would spare one the mental degeneration that accompanies the aging process for normal humans, so learning new skills (and retaining old ones) would not be too much of a problem for the immortals. But there still would exist the tremendous psychological handicap of not truly recognizing the world anymore. Unless immortals kept in close contact with their own kind, they'd be terminally frustrated at their failure to keep the "old ways" alive in the culture.

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Good point you raise, but you have to remember that the immortals often have decades to adjust to newer, more modern lifestyles, so perhaps there is a period of adjustment, but evnetually they must realize that they can actually make said adjustment over enough time. Also, as you may note (if you've seen some of the previous movies): some of the immortals seem to never end up making this adjustment, and so look and act pretty much the same in modern-day times as they did during 'their own times'.

: )
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in the tv series they explore on this point.

you see Duncan MacLeod in different moments in time, where he is portrayed quite differently in each. in some you see where hes 50 years old and is still a big kid. Adrian Paul said himself that if anyone where to put all the flashbacks in chronological order, that youd see the change and progression of Duncan as the years, decades, and centuries go by.

in Endgame, Connor missed out on 10 years. but not a whole lot had changed in those 10 years other than the technology. but given the circumstances, he wouldnt have had the time or thought to explore what has changed while he was in the Sanctuary. so that didnt bother me much.

of course like you said, their bodies dont age. so easier for someone whos body is always in its 20s or 30s to still be energetic and always healthy..the mind wouldnt have any trouble adapting to change either.

in the end its all about experience.

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