Archetypal Hero

A hero is universally seen as a selfless individual who puts the needs of others before themselves. Heroes usually hold the same values; honor, nobility, integrity, and strength. Now what happens when a person does not hold those heroic values? What if their motivations did not have good intentions? These are the questions that will be answered using the deconstruction critical lenses. “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality; we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate.” (Lebarge web) The Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has evolved into the modern trilogy of Batman which, when deconstructed, reveals how the selfish motivations of

As time goes on and new generations come about, many of the ideals of former generations seem to become irrelevant. Scott LaBarge, a professor of philosophy, elaborates on this idea and others in his essay. “Why Heroes Are Important” is LaBarge’s pursuit to persuade others of his idea of heroes in today’s society. He claims that many of our youth do not know what a proper hero is and that former generations should be educating them. LaBarge begins his persuasion by describing his personal experience and credibility; then, he briefly describes the history of heroes to tie in his opinion on the definition; finally, he uses Aristotle’s idea of Kairos to explain how his opinion proves true according to current events.

The concept of a hero has been around for many generations, and the meaning of a hero is defined in ways people grasp its idea. A hero can be a person who has a superpower and is willing to make a personal sacrifice for the benefit of others or can be an ordinary everyday person who just wants to help people out of his or her own heart. Linda Seger’s article, “Creating the Myth,” tackles the idea of a “Hero 's Myth,” and shows the ten steps of how heroes are transformed from an ordinary person to the Savior. On the other hand, Robert B. Ray piece titled, “The Thematic Paradigm,” emphasizes that in modern films, it is either having an “Outlaw Hero or an Official Hero,” which he uses three stages to demonstrates how they are different each other in the way they perform in the society. Further, the article, “Out of Character: Wonder Woman’s Strength Is Her Compassion - What Happened?” by Stevie St. John, explains how Wonder Woman was viewed as a compassionate woman in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the 2000s she changes into a more violent person. In this essay, I argue that a hero is subjective, and is defined by the villain or event that they had to adapt to suddenly.

Throughout history the traditional heroic elements have changed because of our society. Although elements of a hero have changed there are also certain characteristics of a hero that stays the same, such as a hero’s character and courage. This can be seen through Beowulf , “ The Epic and the Epic Hero,”and the movie “The 13th Warrior.”

Shadow - Zeus is the God of the sky and leader of the Olympians. He has an awful temper, so don’t get on his bad side. He controls the weather and everything in the sky. His symbol of power is a master

Throughout humankind, many heroes have impacted world’s history. Some are true stories while some have become legends. These storied are retold over and over due to the hero, which shows a common

The hero that I selected earlier was Wonder Woman from the Western Archetypal Hero list.

The heroic role in America is an indirect, and often unrealized representation of the history of the nation’s formation from abrupt changes and unlikely heroes. Current day society reflects that inconsistency within the cinematic experience, making the choice between a set of character traits unnecessary. The parallelism between the movie industry and the habits of society identifies the characteristics of the American dream; a dedication, but also a discouragement of commitment to community, seeking individualism while also maintaining loyalty to one’s people.

Historically American film have been centered on heroes. In Ray’s “The Thematic Paradigm” he states that heroes as have two preset archetypes with certain characteristics. These two archetypes are the family orientated “official hero” and the loner “outlaw hero.” In Segar’s “Creating the Myth” she states that heroes are made by the steps or events that they go through on their way to becoming a hero. This means that to Seger the heroes do not start out as heroes, but as normal people. However, Ray and Seger suggest different ways in which Americans relate to film heroes, they both agree heroes are popular through common experience and relatability.

Heroes are seen all around us, in life, literature, and movies. Heroes like Superman, Captain America, and Thor are common, but have you ever thought of Luke Skywalker as an archetypal hero? Luke Skywalker is an aspiring young Jedi Knight, who is called to the quest of defeating the empire in the movie Star Wars IV: A New Hope, written and directed by George Lucas. Luke Skywalker demonstrates certain characteristics before, during, and after his quest that makes him an archetypal hero.

Moussa D Ragan mythology November 20, 2015 rough draft heroes and villains archetype Heroes and villains archetype are the most important archetypes in the world and in mythologywithout them the myths and legends would be boring and kinda not have any morals in them.these two archetypes are makes most of the myths relatable to the time period we live in now. These archetypes changed history of myths. There are of ways that a hero and villain archetype can appear. One way that heroes usually appear as the warrior that fights for his or her town or city and everybody praises them and everybody looks up to them. One way villains mostly appear is as evil, greedy and bitter person that has nothing to lose and usually tries to bring to the end

The representation of archetypes in texts, has transformed prominently over time. The archetype of the hero, has been evident in texts as early as the 16th century, therefore has changed drastically over time due to the influences and the reflections of the historical events in which have occurred, as well as the social values in various time periods. The development of the hero archetype can be drawn from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 1835 poem, Morte d'Arthur, Brothers Grimm's 1857 version of the classic tale, Little Red Cap, and 2010 TV Movie, Avalon High by Meg Cabot. These three texts explore how events and values over time have influenced the archetype of the hero.

While “Have at thee!” the Arthurian battle cry from Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail, is a far a-hem cry from the modern day hero’s, the essence remains the same. Many aspects of culture have been wholly altered, but society’s quest for a hero has remained. Each people of the ancient times had a matchless idol that was unto his self the embodiment of cultural perfection. In more recent eras, where societies vary exceedingly, people have relied on scores of heroes. The United States is deemed the “melting pot” of the world due to the vast number of cultures she houses. Should she not, then, have a vast number of heroes, each one serving an essential role in society? Though modern culture does not choose one hero to exemplify

This classic American motif is apparent in literature and cinema. This struggle with higher authority can become the reason people need heroes and how heroes are made. In

The idea of heroismhas been traced back to centuries of years throughout history. Greek Mythology is the father of this concept of heroism and this concept has continued to grow and develop through stories, writings, and films over the years. Humans have always been intrigued with the idea of heroism which is why many movies, books, and stories are written after this very idea. In Linda Seger’s “Creating the Myth”, she argues there are 10-points into creating every “hero myth”, using Luke Skywalker in Star Wars as her hero myth example; in the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry follows Seger’s 10-point system of creating a