Main Stream Media and Heroes

Today’s American culture is completely obsessed with the idea of heroes. It seems like there are heroes in every single popular television show, movie and even video games. Byronic heroes seem to be the area of focus when using heroism as a theme. I immediately think about the superhero Arrow, who is much like Batman in that he is a vigilante who the community fears but who tries to fight only for good. My favorite hero of all time is Wyatt Earp in the film “Tombstone.” Wyatt is a retired US Marshall who wants nothing to do with law enforcement as he moves to Tombstone with his brothers and their wives to create a living. As the movie progresses a gang of outlaws push all of Wyatt’s buttons in an attempt to spite him since he is no longer a US Marshall. Eventually the plot progresses and the outlaws start murdering people close to Wyatt’s heart. His family is forced to leave Tombstone but he stays behind to put a stop to the outlaws antics. He rides through towns killing every outlaw that he can until finally he kills all of the leaders. Another type of hero that American society is fond of is the hero who starts revolution. I think that American society especially likes these types of heroes because they are realistic in that anybody could decide to start a revolution and change all of the wrong that occurs in the nation and around the world. I also think that the idea of a hero is a basic idea. I assume that most people can understand why heroes do what they do. I think that heroism will be a major popular culture theme in the future as well as it is today because I think that audiences are always going to be entertained by the idea of a person saving them from some sort of wrong doing.