Every little boy has heroes. They read in comic books about them, they watch them on television. Heroes give them hope, makes them feel safe, and gives them something to believe in. Fictional heroes embody something of the American spirit, the maverick bravado, the ingenuity, the courage. They represent the independent American spirit, and embody the American dream; anyone can truly accomplish anything if they put their mind and back into it.
According to Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces, all heroes follow certain patterns and have definable characteristics. He was once quoted as saying, "Some social commentators prescribe the need for heroes in times of social upheaval or national self-doubt, seeing a requirement for virtuous role models, especially for the young." But even when things were at their best, we needed heroes, for many reasons.
Heroes can often be used as a barometer for the feelings and needs in our culture. They embody what our culture desires and values. They also act as a response to our fears and anxieties, since heroes that the masses can identify with most are the most quickly gobbled up.
A prime example is Captain America. Conceived by Joe Simon and Jack Kerby during the onset of World War II. Captain America was an average man whom was turned superhuman by the government. He spent the greater part of his time fighting the Japanese and Nazis during World War II, at one point even facing off with Hitler (2). Captain America is loyal to the American people, and is written as a true patriot, sometimes even defying our own government in the best interests of the people. In the cold war years, Captain America took the fight to the Soviet Union, thwarting one communist plot after another. He comforted a troubled nation, when war and espionage were the number one concerns of the day. In recent years, Captain America has found himself fighting terrorism, after being rescued from the rubble of the destroyed World Trade Center. Captain America has evolved with our culture, and is a classic example of paradigm shifts in culture disseminating into literary work.
Superman, created around the same time by Jerry Seigel (1), embodied the same values of Captain America, but with the twists providing by Superman's alien origins. Superman was created from the start to be the embodiment of human perfection, possessing abilities and talents that would make him god-like by mortal standards. He was the first superhero with any semblance of moral conflict, as well. The youth of America at the time identified with the fundamental humanity of Superman. He possessed an alter-ego, Clark Kent, whom was a disheveled, struggling journalist at a city newspaper. While Superman always seemed to be in control of every situation, Kent struggled with love interests, paying the bills, work, and other mundane "human" tasks. Superman has not changed much throughout the years either, except to gain an increase in emotional and moral complexity, as portrayed by the recent Superman movies, which mirrors the American desire for complexity in depth in recent years, whereas in the past, simple cliches were enough to entertain.
As time went on though, values in American culture changed. People began putting more emphasis on independence and individualism. The American dream evolved from thoughts of white picket fences into visions of one man armies, where any individual, regardless of what he came from and circumstance, could commit feats wholly amazing, with nothing but the American spirit of ingenuity and independence to aid him or her.
For instance, The Punisher, created by Gerry Conway, tells the story of Frank Castle, a men bent on revenge after his family is murdered by a criminal organization. Appearing first in 1974 (1), Castle is created as a completely average man, "The Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a 6'1" 200-pound man, who engages in rigorous regular physical exercise... Armed solely with conventional weapons and motivated by a fanatical hatred for criminals like those who murdered his family, the Punisher has single-handedly incapacitated up to a dozen well-armed and experienced opponents in a single encounter and escaped almost uninjured. It is his military training and his attention to detail that allows him to achieve this. (4)" The Punisher possesses no superpowers whatsoever, beyond that what can be achieved by any regular man.
What is most interesting about the story of The Punisher though, is that it helped to popularize the concept of the anti-hero as a force of good, rather than the cut and dry ethics of a classic hero guise. According to Webster's, an anti-hero is "a protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities.(1714)" We can all remember the old western movies where the main character was a gun slinging rebel who answered to no one, but nonetheless worked for the cause of good. The idea of the anti-hero has changed as time has gone on only in popularity, as it has quickly come to replace the traditional idea of hero figures.
The idea of the anti-hero goes beyond the vengeful qualities of The Punisher though. The Master Chief, of Halo fame, has become the hero of millions of gamers and young people, as well as a pop culture icon. He is revered for his marshal prowess and skill, but at the same time, many people identify with him because his true identity remains elusive. He is a character that could be anyone, anywhere, regardless of race or age.
The story behind The Master Chief, as he is simply known, is complex, but his character very plain. 500 years in the future, a six year old boy simply named John would be taken into a secret military program, and trained as a genetically engineered super soldier. The program is codenamed the Spartan programmed, and John loses his last name in favor of his number of induction, 117. Decades later, John-117 would find himself at the forefront of a war between humanity and a coalition of alien races known as The Covenant, where his human - and superhuman - qualities begin to show.
As put by The Master Chief's creators at Bungie Studios, "He is an unconventional Hero, for though he is strong, fast, and tactically brilliant, he is the epitome of none of those attributes, and is surpassed by other Spartans in each area. What John does possess above all is leadership and... probability-defying luck." The Master Chief, though cold and efficient in executing his duty, possesses a singular compassion for human life and it's preservation. He is largely believed to be the last chance humanity has at defeating The Covenant, and many fans identify with his odd mix of human feelings and compassions, while at the same time enjoy his other half, which is the cold executioner of mankind's enemies. Again, a paradigm shift is represented, where a character must overcome himself, as well as his enemies, though the protagonist may be rife with inner demons and conflict, in place of the simple black and white "good versus evil" philosophies of times past.
The quintessential example of the modern, evolving hero that embodies all the qualities of what our culture values in heroes now has to be Marcus Fenix and the men from Delta Squad of Gears of War fame. Though Marcus Fenix embodies many of the qualities found in both The Master Chief and Frank Castle, he is complemented by three other individuals that could be considered modern heroes in their own right, all be it possessing distinct qualities all to themselves.
Fenix is the typical Americana leadership figure; with proud, strong features, a muscular build, and scruffy facial hair. His armor appearance, along with that of his comrades, represents the lauded DIY, or "Do It Yourself" philosophy. It's highly functional, but haphazard and worn appearance indicate both practical necessity and ingenious design. Fenix's personality is akin to that of many of Clint Eastwood's old western characters. He's serious, but posessant of a dark, sarcastic humorous streak and a brooding but thoughtful disposition.
Fenix's direct counterpart and lifelong friend is Dominic Santiago. Affectionately nicknamed "Dom" by Fenix, Dom saved Fenix's life once by testifying at his trial and thus sparing Fenix execution, then again years later when Dom rescued Fenix after Fenix was pardoned his crimes after Fenix was sentenced to forty years in Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary for "dereliction of duty, cowardice, and failure to obey orders. (6)" The judgment was passed when Fenix abandoned his post in an attempt to rescue his father at the onset of the war between humanity and a ravenous foe known as the Locust on their colony world of Sera. Dom himself is a childhood friend of Marcus Fenix, and is endlessly compassionate and selfless. But Dom's war against the Locust is very personal, as Dom's wife was killed during the initial Locust assault. So, like The Punisher, Dom is part vigilante, with a private score to settle.
Fenix's decisions, along with the relationship between him and Dom exemplify the shift from "duty and honor at all costs" to a more personal level of thinking, where one's comrades matter as much as any overarching conflict. This principle applies to all four of the major characters in Delta Squad, and is proven time and again as the men save each other's lives innumerable times.
The duo of Dom and Fenix is complemented by two more characters, Damon Baird and Augustus "Cole Train" Cole, which both represent two other aspects of the modern day hero. Baird is the group cynic and mechanical genius, and the reluctant hero whom is primarily concerned with self-preservation, over all else. Though he scoffs at Fenix when he first meets him, Baird eventually warms up to Fenix, as the men fight through the campaign in Gears of War. Baird is iconic of a muscular nerd with guns, whose wisecracking sarcasm and edginess belies an inner courage and dedication to saving humanity, much like his comrades (4).
Augustus Cole, dubbed "Cole Train", combines the best qualities of a hero with the most voracious qualities of an NFL quarterback. Cole is easily the most physically imposing member of the unit, and a former professional "Thrashball" player, which is Sera's equivalent to football. He looks up to Baird like a sibling would look up to an older brother, as the men have fought together for years. Cole's aggressive "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude and endless enthusiasm and confidence complements Baird's more calculative and reserved attitude well. If you stripped away any inner turmoil and second guessing from the modern day hero, and replaced it raw energy, you'd be left with Augustus Cole (4).
While they all could be called modern day heroes, combined, Fenix, Dom, Baird, and Cole posses almost every aspect or quality our culture deems valuable in this day and age. Though a far cry from the Captain Americas and Supermen of old, they nonetheless capture our imaginations and hearts in the exact same way. In a day and age where many Americans look to the future with troubled hearts and uncertain minds, they turn to men like The Punisher, the Master Chief, and Fenix has icons of hope. Men like them prove you don't need to be born special to become extraordinary. You don't need to be from another planet, you don't need to be a mutant or be a victim of a bizarre accident.
Modern day heroes are mortal. They feel pain, and they could be the man passing us down a busy avenue. They are armed with only the tools of the trade, a sharp mind, and a quick wit. Heroes today are altogether more believable, more realistic. They are the type of heroes you can reach out and touch. The blood that is in their veins is the same blood as is in ours. And they inspire us. Above all else, they teach us that a man is free to do anything - and can do anything - if only he puts his mind to it.
We can all be heroes.
According to Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces, all heroes follow certain patterns and have definable characteristics. He was once quoted as saying, "Some social commentators prescribe the need for heroes in times of social upheaval or national self-doubt, seeing a requirement for virtuous role models, especially for the young." But even when things were at their best, we needed heroes, for many reasons.
Heroes can often be used as a barometer for the feelings and needs in our culture. They embody what our culture desires and values. They also act as a response to our fears and anxieties, since heroes that the masses can identify with most are the most quickly gobbled up.
A prime example is Captain America. Conceived by Joe Simon and Jack Kerby during the onset of World War II. Captain America was an average man whom was turned superhuman by the government. He spent the greater part of his time fighting the Japanese and Nazis during World War II, at one point even facing off with Hitler (2). Captain America is loyal to the American people, and is written as a true patriot, sometimes even defying our own government in the best interests of the people. In the cold war years, Captain America took the fight to the Soviet Union, thwarting one communist plot after another. He comforted a troubled nation, when war and espionage were the number one concerns of the day. In recent years, Captain America has found himself fighting terrorism, after being rescued from the rubble of the destroyed World Trade Center. Captain America has evolved with our culture, and is a classic example of paradigm shifts in culture disseminating into literary work.
Superman, created around the same time by Jerry Seigel (1), embodied the same values of Captain America, but with the twists providing by Superman's alien origins. Superman was created from the start to be the embodiment of human perfection, possessing abilities and talents that would make him god-like by mortal standards. He was the first superhero with any semblance of moral conflict, as well. The youth of America at the time identified with the fundamental humanity of Superman. He possessed an alter-ego, Clark Kent, whom was a disheveled, struggling journalist at a city newspaper. While Superman always seemed to be in control of every situation, Kent struggled with love interests, paying the bills, work, and other mundane "human" tasks. Superman has not changed much throughout the years either, except to gain an increase in emotional and moral complexity, as portrayed by the recent Superman movies, which mirrors the American desire for complexity in depth in recent years, whereas in the past, simple cliches were enough to entertain.
As time went on though, values in American culture changed. People began putting more emphasis on independence and individualism. The American dream evolved from thoughts of white picket fences into visions of one man armies, where any individual, regardless of what he came from and circumstance, could commit feats wholly amazing, with nothing but the American spirit of ingenuity and independence to aid him or her.
For instance, The Punisher, created by Gerry Conway, tells the story of Frank Castle, a men bent on revenge after his family is murdered by a criminal organization. Appearing first in 1974 (1), Castle is created as a completely average man, "The Punisher possesses the normal human strength of a 6'1" 200-pound man, who engages in rigorous regular physical exercise... Armed solely with conventional weapons and motivated by a fanatical hatred for criminals like those who murdered his family, the Punisher has single-handedly incapacitated up to a dozen well-armed and experienced opponents in a single encounter and escaped almost uninjured. It is his military training and his attention to detail that allows him to achieve this. (4)" The Punisher possesses no superpowers whatsoever, beyond that what can be achieved by any regular man.
What is most interesting about the story of The Punisher though, is that it helped to popularize the concept of the anti-hero as a force of good, rather than the cut and dry ethics of a classic hero guise. According to Webster's, an anti-hero is "a protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities.(1714)" We can all remember the old western movies where the main character was a gun slinging rebel who answered to no one, but nonetheless worked for the cause of good. The idea of the anti-hero has changed as time has gone on only in popularity, as it has quickly come to replace the traditional idea of hero figures.
The idea of the anti-hero goes beyond the vengeful qualities of The Punisher though. The Master Chief, of Halo fame, has become the hero of millions of gamers and young people, as well as a pop culture icon. He is revered for his marshal prowess and skill, but at the same time, many people identify with him because his true identity remains elusive. He is a character that could be anyone, anywhere, regardless of race or age.
The story behind The Master Chief, as he is simply known, is complex, but his character very plain. 500 years in the future, a six year old boy simply named John would be taken into a secret military program, and trained as a genetically engineered super soldier. The program is codenamed the Spartan programmed, and John loses his last name in favor of his number of induction, 117. Decades later, John-117 would find himself at the forefront of a war between humanity and a coalition of alien races known as The Covenant, where his human - and superhuman - qualities begin to show.
As put by The Master Chief's creators at Bungie Studios, "He is an unconventional Hero, for though he is strong, fast, and tactically brilliant, he is the epitome of none of those attributes, and is surpassed by other Spartans in each area. What John does possess above all is leadership and... probability-defying luck." The Master Chief, though cold and efficient in executing his duty, possesses a singular compassion for human life and it's preservation. He is largely believed to be the last chance humanity has at defeating The Covenant, and many fans identify with his odd mix of human feelings and compassions, while at the same time enjoy his other half, which is the cold executioner of mankind's enemies. Again, a paradigm shift is represented, where a character must overcome himself, as well as his enemies, though the protagonist may be rife with inner demons and conflict, in place of the simple black and white "good versus evil" philosophies of times past.
The quintessential example of the modern, evolving hero that embodies all the qualities of what our culture values in heroes now has to be Marcus Fenix and the men from Delta Squad of Gears of War fame. Though Marcus Fenix embodies many of the qualities found in both The Master Chief and Frank Castle, he is complemented by three other individuals that could be considered modern heroes in their own right, all be it possessing distinct qualities all to themselves.
Fenix is the typical Americana leadership figure; with proud, strong features, a muscular build, and scruffy facial hair. His armor appearance, along with that of his comrades, represents the lauded DIY, or "Do It Yourself" philosophy. It's highly functional, but haphazard and worn appearance indicate both practical necessity and ingenious design. Fenix's personality is akin to that of many of Clint Eastwood's old western characters. He's serious, but posessant of a dark, sarcastic humorous streak and a brooding but thoughtful disposition.
Fenix's direct counterpart and lifelong friend is Dominic Santiago. Affectionately nicknamed "Dom" by Fenix, Dom saved Fenix's life once by testifying at his trial and thus sparing Fenix execution, then again years later when Dom rescued Fenix after Fenix was pardoned his crimes after Fenix was sentenced to forty years in Jacinto Maximum Security Penitentiary for "dereliction of duty, cowardice, and failure to obey orders. (6)" The judgment was passed when Fenix abandoned his post in an attempt to rescue his father at the onset of the war between humanity and a ravenous foe known as the Locust on their colony world of Sera. Dom himself is a childhood friend of Marcus Fenix, and is endlessly compassionate and selfless. But Dom's war against the Locust is very personal, as Dom's wife was killed during the initial Locust assault. So, like The Punisher, Dom is part vigilante, with a private score to settle.
Fenix's decisions, along with the relationship between him and Dom exemplify the shift from "duty and honor at all costs" to a more personal level of thinking, where one's comrades matter as much as any overarching conflict. This principle applies to all four of the major characters in Delta Squad, and is proven time and again as the men save each other's lives innumerable times.
The duo of Dom and Fenix is complemented by two more characters, Damon Baird and Augustus "Cole Train" Cole, which both represent two other aspects of the modern day hero. Baird is the group cynic and mechanical genius, and the reluctant hero whom is primarily concerned with self-preservation, over all else. Though he scoffs at Fenix when he first meets him, Baird eventually warms up to Fenix, as the men fight through the campaign in Gears of War. Baird is iconic of a muscular nerd with guns, whose wisecracking sarcasm and edginess belies an inner courage and dedication to saving humanity, much like his comrades (4).
Augustus Cole, dubbed "Cole Train", combines the best qualities of a hero with the most voracious qualities of an NFL quarterback. Cole is easily the most physically imposing member of the unit, and a former professional "Thrashball" player, which is Sera's equivalent to football. He looks up to Baird like a sibling would look up to an older brother, as the men have fought together for years. Cole's aggressive "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude and endless enthusiasm and confidence complements Baird's more calculative and reserved attitude well. If you stripped away any inner turmoil and second guessing from the modern day hero, and replaced it raw energy, you'd be left with Augustus Cole (4).
While they all could be called modern day heroes, combined, Fenix, Dom, Baird, and Cole posses almost every aspect or quality our culture deems valuable in this day and age. Though a far cry from the Captain Americas and Supermen of old, they nonetheless capture our imaginations and hearts in the exact same way. In a day and age where many Americans look to the future with troubled hearts and uncertain minds, they turn to men like The Punisher, the Master Chief, and Fenix has icons of hope. Men like them prove you don't need to be born special to become extraordinary. You don't need to be from another planet, you don't need to be a mutant or be a victim of a bizarre accident.
Modern day heroes are mortal. They feel pain, and they could be the man passing us down a busy avenue. They are armed with only the tools of the trade, a sharp mind, and a quick wit. Heroes today are altogether more believable, more realistic. They are the type of heroes you can reach out and touch. The blood that is in their veins is the same blood as is in ours. And they inspire us. Above all else, they teach us that a man is free to do anything - and can do anything - if only he puts his mind to it.
We can all be heroes.
I never see you on Msn do you forget to turn it on? Its hard to annoy you when I never see you online anymore.
"They feel pain, and they could be the man passing us down a busy avenue. They are armed with only the tools of the trade, a sharp mind, and a quick wit. Heroes today are altogether more believable, more realistic. They are the type of heroes you can reach out and touch. The blood that is in their veins is the same blood as is in ours. And they inspire us. Above all else, they teach us that a man is free to do anything - and can do anything - if only he puts his mind to it.
We can all be heroes."
No words are truer spoken. That gave me warm fuzzies. I wish you could come speak to people that I deal with at work.Maybe your words could give them a much needed kick in the ass.