So what truly define a hero? When most people think of heroes, they picture Superman soaring through the clouds, Spiderman zipping from sky scraper to sky scraper, or Batman kicking villain butt. They all have one thing in common, not only are they all incredibly bad-ass, but they are all here to save the day. They inspire everyday people to follow in their foot steps, to overcome an obstacle and put others needs in front of their own for the greater good. Putting aside the comic books, movies and video games, is it even possible for an everyday person to be defined as a hero? When I try and picture my own hero, I can't imagine one person because so many people inspire me. But thats one of the beauties of having a hero is everyone is different. I could say Michael Jackson was my hero for his extraordinary musical talent while others might believe he is far from a hero from his extensive drug addiction. It all depends on the different persons perspective, because a quality one person might desire another could despise. But how does a celebrities heroic qualities compare to those of a someone such as a fire fighter? In comic books, the hero puts their life on the line to save others, similar to what firemen do everyday. Is it just because a celebrity is extraordinarily good at a certain skill that makes them more of a hero? Or does there need to be an element of risk in order for someone to be considered a hero? Even if so, maybe fire fighters aren't heroes, but merely ordinary people that perform heroic acts. At what point can someone who does heroic acts be considered a true hero? Or is it the degree of heroism in one certain act that makes someone a true hero? There are so many factors that must be taken into account of what makes a hero, but do the same rules apply for a villain? Nobody is perfect, but can someone do something so evil that a criminal can be considered a villain? Or is it impossible for one person to be 100% bad or good. Maybe thats why heroes and villain are only for stories because they create an image impossible to live up to. The only thing a person can do is let the number of heroic vs. villainous acts define their identity.
So does your perspective of heroism revolve around the idea of a person's good deed defining them? Do the good deed always overcome the bad ones? I believe that the line between being a hero/ heroine and being just inspiring is becomming increasingly thin. Refering to your example of Michael Jackson, although we can consider his passion and accomplishments he made in his musical career to be very inspiring, but can he be considered a hero with his past of drug abuse in mind? I don't think you have to be perfect to become a hero/ heroine, because honestly, no one is perfect. But there are some forgotten requirements that I believe are not met by many who are seen as "heroes/ heroines". Even though I have strong opinions on this topic, I do agree with your last stated fact, in that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. We don't all have the same vision of heroes. Also, I agree with the fact that people should keep in mind that they are ultimately defined by the deed they perform on a daily basis, whether they be good or bad.
ReplyDeleteI feel like my perspective of heroism revolves around the idea of both good and bad deeds defining them, but if you think bout it I feel like people are judged harder by their bad deeds than good because good deeds are more expected than bad. I was kind of confusing my self while writing this blog post and am still not 100% sure what I was trying to say but you summed it up pretty nicely so thank you!!
DeleteI argued in one of my posts that heroes do not exist. However, I think that it is interesting to think about a child's perspective when answer the question of heroism, and that perspective offers a different answer. Children believe that anyone who is particularly kind to them or who has done something that they consider amazing (often a child has lower expectations than an adult) is a hero. Thus, Michael Jackson is a hero, and so are firefighters, and so are the child's older siblings and parents. Theoretically, using a child's less cynical perspective, we could say that everyone is a hero. Perhaps it doesn't really matter whether someone is a hero or not, since everyone is a hero to someone and is not a hero to someone else.
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