Are Our Heroes Getting Smaller?
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…It’s Superman! When two Cleveland high school students, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, created the larger-than-life superhero in 1933, they established the prototype for the superhero genre. Many consider Superman the greatest comic book hero of all time and his character has become the blueprint for all who followed. From his signature red cape and red and yellow “S” shield emblazoned on his chest to his fight for social justice and against tyranny, Superman represents the ultimate mythic hero.
Would Superman Fly Today?
It’s hard to imagine two contemporary teenagers from the Midwest concocting a superhero defined primarily by his sound moral fiber. The Superman of lore routinely dons his cape in an effort to right the wrongs not only of individuals but also of society at large. What’s more, when not in his heroic persona, Clark Kent is a mild-mannered journalist working for The Daily Planet in the fictional American city of Metropolis. His alter ego a mystery, Kent seeks no acclaim, fame, or even gratitude for his selfless acts of heroism. Admirable? Indeed. Improbable by today’s standards? Without a doubt.
The More Awesome the Cause, the More Awesome the Conference
Last weekend, I traveled to Washington, D.C. for AwesomeCon—a celebration of all things popular culture. At its heart, AwesomeCon is a comic-con that embraces all aspects of Geekdom and pop culture, with a wide assortment of comic books, collectibles, toys, games, original art, cosplay, and so much more. I was one of about 40,000 or so in attendance and can’t wait to go back next year. Special events included discussion panels (I served on three of them), costume contests, trivia contests, gaming tournaments, and tons of activities for kids and for the kid in you. If you’re a fan of any of the above and have never attended, I strongly recommend that you mark your calendar today and begin planning accordingly. Learn all about the awesomeness here http://awesomecondc.com.
Are Our Heroes Getting Smaller? And How!
One of the panels that I participated in, along with my good friend and author-extraordinaire Gail Z. Martin, posited the provocative question: Are Our Heroes Getting Smaller? It turned out to be among the most well attended discussions of the day and we were all pleased to see that it was standing room only (even with the air conditioning creating sub-arctic temperatures). The topic was rich and the debate was lively.
Between the audience and my fellow panelists, we shared our diverse opinions about the unique nature of the contemporary superhero and discussed the cultural attitudes and zeitgeist (yes, I said zeitgeist) that likely contribute to the latest incarnation of the superhero. Here is a sampling of explanations for the case of the ever-shrinking hero.
The times we live in – The fiction that we create is always a product of the time in which we live. It’s not by chance that fiction is experiencing a post-apocalyptic moment. Times are tough. Our economy is flagging. War is a constant somewhere across the globe. And, the modern citizen – like the modern hero – doesn’t know whom to trust. At first blush, a seemingly average character like Katniss from The Hunger Games, or Malja from The Malja Chronicles, find themselves propelled by their circumstance into a natural born warrior or kickass killer for the common good.
Our leaders are tragically flawed – In our real world, we are hard-pressed to find role models without a few skeletons in their closets. Politicians, sports heroes, and celebrities who once occupied a glamorized station in American culture can no longer keep their private lives, well, private. What’s more, we have developed an insatiable appetite for other people’s secrets. Case in point: O.J. Simpson…Over the course of his lifetime, he’s gone from national superhero, “The Juice,” to that guy who got away with a double-murderer and big time loser par excellence. While we are disappointed in the shortcomings of our real-life exemplars, the more flaws our fictional characters embody, the more fun they are to read about — especially when the triumph over those flaws.
Advances in technology and mass communication – Contemporary technology, the modern military complex, the Internet, and surveillance capabilities are relatively easily accessible to those with the know-how and malevolent intent. Humans have developed catastrophic warfare machinery making it possible to wipe out the entire world by simply pressing one not necessarily secure button. Only a tiny, and very geeky, twenty-first century cyber-hero could crack the code.
Superman doesn’t stand a chance. His cape would get caught in some security gate en route to the inner sanctum. Not to mention, phone booths are practically extinct. Sorry Clark Kent…you’re never going to get the scoop again. Not in this century.
Who do you call when you need a hero?
Leave a comment below…Or, maybe give the Bat-phone a call and see if you get an answering machine.
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