The Screen Scribe

I think it’s a fair assessment to say that modern culture has somehow, in some bizarre fucking way, become a culture without heroes. In this week’s Recommendation, featuring Extraction, I touched briefly upon a point that action heroes had become a thing of the past and decided to explore it in this week’s Side Notes. But after some thought I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not only the action hero that has faded from the public mind, but the very concept of heroes.

For generations, audiences had heroes they looked up to, aspired to be, to emulate and honour. From the early days of James Bond and John Wayne to the numerous gunslinging cowboys of Clint Eastwood, to the bombastic action icons of the 80s, and the edgy but memorable antiheroes of the 90s. Millennials like myself perhaps had the best of it, growing up with Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Batman, Superman, Rocky, Optimus Prime, the original Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z, Spider-Man, Lara Croft. We were spoiled for choice and were lucky enough to grow up understanding the lessons these heroes taught us; the difference between right and wrong, the value of hard work and striving to achieve your goals through adversity, and most importantly, to never give up no matter the odds.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of a hero.

But sentiments have changed. Culture has reshaped. Perceptions have shifted. In light of that, I think it’s fair to ask, has this transformation been for the better? I don’t think so. Instead of having heroes to look up to now, audiences are subjected to lifeless, soulless TV and movies that are more interested in pushing their own ideological agendas instead of lifting up heroes for audiences to aspire to be, teaching them lifelong lessons about being human, about being a good person and working hard. But it’s not only positive lessons heroes teach us, they also give us warnings, teachings us about the dangers of hubris, arrogance and selfishness. Essential lessons not only for formative young children and teenagers, but solid reminders to adults as well. As Aunt May imparts to Peter in Spider-Man “I believe there is a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the things we want the most. Even our dreams.”

Never has the essence of a hero been described more eloquently than this.

Instead, modern films and TV have fallen into a cycle of framing negative messages in a positive light which has begun to alter the moral perception of audiences. The hero is no longer something to aspire to be, because characters are now already the best, the smartest and strongest before the movie even begins. There is no journey, no struggle to achieve the goal, no adversity to overcome and grow as a person. It teaches false lessons that you don’t need to work hard to achieve your goals and be the best version of yourself. Adversity in all its forms is a part of life, and movies help to teach us about that as Thomas Wayne teaches his son Bruce in Batman Begins “Why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” This kind of storytelling is dangerous, promoting complacency, narcissism and selfishness wrapped up in a shiny, soulless and lifeless product designed only to make money and push a political agenda. Instead, it’s now almost a crime to be a heroic character in modern media, while the classic heroes of our youth are torn down, humiliated and ridiculed as relics of a bygone era.

To that I simply say this: Fuck Off!

This ineptitude and the failure of understanding the importance of not only the heroes of our past, but the creation of new heroes is not only a regression of TV and movies, but a cultural regression that will negatively impact a generation. Without heroes old and new, who do we have to aspire to be? To look up to? To emulate? Heroes are an essential aspect of culture and have been for generations, for thousands of years. The Greek Gods, the Norse Gods, the Celtic Gods. Achilles, Hercules, Thor, Odin, Cu Chulainn, King Arthur. These were the heroic inspirations of ancient times, and as cultures evolved so did our heroes. Humanity needs heroes, whether they be comic book superheroes, pop culture icons of cinema or even champions in books. We should celebrate the role models of our past, not degrade them and tear them down in the name of deconstruction i.e pushing the corporate message. We should build new heroes and create new legacies because a world without heroes is a dark one indeed.

The world needs the idea of the hero.