See? So many muscles you can't even count them all. Along with physical appearance, we have high standards for the moral standards of heroes as well. Heroes HAVE to work for the greater good of society and that's it. That's what they do. They take care of us, watch over us, keep us safe, and make us feel better about our world. Then there's the extra stuff that they all have as extra baggage. Most heroes have a girl that can cause distractions and they all have a weakness. Whether it's kryptonite or the innocent girl that just can't seem to stay out of trouble.
With all of these stereotypes of people that don't actually exist, how do we distinguish our everyday heroes from the extraordinary? What is our own personal criteria? Do they have to sacrifice their lives for us? Sweep us off our feet? Save our lives? My hero is my cousin Kenna. She's never sacrificed her life for me, never saved my life, or swept me off my feet. What Kenna HAS done is shown me a new way to live my life and to just have faith. She's definitely stronger than anyone else I've ever met even though you wouldn't know it by seeing her muscleless 55 pound 8 year old body. Who is YOUR hero?
It's interesting that you bring up the real versus imaginery hero. I don't know if we can or should truly worship real people. In our society I think the only people void from public scrutiny and therefore immune to it are either fictional or mostly anonymous.
ReplyDeleteI made a post on my page about how today's heros are flawed somehow; more human. I mean look at what they did to Beowulf in the movie remake the other year. Where the actual book makes him the epitomy of masculinity, the remake made him selfish and well... flawed morally. My interpretation of the book was to make him desirous of the admiration of others by his courageousness in battle (something that society valued), and in the remake he is hungry for power and wealth (something our sociey values).
The point of hero myths is to give us something to strive for. Real people can provide this - but realizing that they are mortal and flawed can be heartbreaking. Hero's in myth are perfect - safe to strive after. Humans have the capacity to disappoint and hurt one another. That's why most people don't look up to a person as an idol unless they're young. When I was younger I looked up to multitude of people, but with age I realized that they weren't always perfect or right or selfless. That ruined them as a hero for me.
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