The Heroes Of The Media

A hero's place in society has remained relatively consistent since the very beginning of time. Throughout the years, people have seen many different versions of larger-than-life heroes, who have completed seemingly impossible tasks and persevered through immense adversity. The common denominator between all of these heroes has always been that each and every one of these beings has put his/her own life in danger and fought great battles in the pursuit of a better life for mankind as a whole.

Are there heroes in today’s society? No one thinks of themselves as a hero, but it does not take any special skills to be a hero because anyone can be a hero. The characteristics of a hero only show up when there is a time of need such as a major catastrophe or minor incidents that happen on a daily basis. During the twenty-first century there have been quite a few major catastrophes. The major catastrophes include the 9/11 attacks, two major hurricanes (Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy), and the Boston marathon bombing. There are also several different major and minor characteristics that a hero will show in times of need. For instance some major characteristics of a hero are perseverance/determination, bravery/courage, dedication/endurance, and selflessness/sacrifice. Some minor characteristics include humility, fearlessness, skill, strength, integrity, and intrepidity (Wanamaker, 2013). In the twenty-first century the 9/11 attacks is the first major catastrophe. During this major disaster there were quite a few individuals who helped to rescue people. There were heroes in each of the three crash sites that occurred on that very eventful day.

As society advances and the opinions of the general public change several press outlets work to stay up to date with the changing times. However, in an attempt to stay modernized journalists often times sacrifice their integrity to stay favorable in the public eye. These degrading actions, often times sacrifice the true news for more appealing news. Clare Boothe Luce, American journalist and politician, gives a controversial speech to the Women’s National Press Club condemning her female audience. Moreover, as a female addressing an audience of women she is able to give her true opinion and is able to honestly critique her colleagues. She persuades her audience by preparing them for the criticism by reiterating that she is the guest, by praising journalism, and by logically providing reasoning that the journalistic view must change for the good of the general public.

“It’s not true that there are no heroes anymore…” (Oliver Stone SB 63) Heroes. Today when we hear heroes we think of superheroes with powers. but have we really thought what heroes really are? Heroes are your regular everyday people that work to the best of their abilities to make a difference in the world. A hero is not someone who thinks about themselves but someone who does things that they believe are right and are admired or idealized for their courage.

“So there you go-heroes are everyday, common people. Most of what they do goes unheralded, unappreciated. And that ironically is heroism: not to be recognized” (Stone 1) is a quote from Oliver Stone’s article, titled, “Where I Find my Heroes.” In this article, Stone is pointing to the fact that most heroes appear around us everyday. Although heroes are in every book, movie, or other media, those fictional heroes show the same overall traits as everyday people that make them a hero.

When you hear the word ‘hero,’ you probably envision someone wearing a uniform, serving the country and preparing for war. We place veterans and soldiers in the spotlight at the mention of it. The population never did this in the past. Americans saw veterans as regular people just like us. They were: tall and short, smart and dumb, and capable of bad and good decisions. However, now we treat them as if they were gods. We do this because we saw veterans as our protectors against the dangers our country faces. Yet, we still felt like this in the past, but we didn’t honor veterans like in today’s society; maybe it’s because less soldier were returning in body bags.

Journalism is an industry that provides a source of information and news for the public, while popular culture is a source of portrayal of the image of the journalist. Popular culture provides a glimpse and “shapes the people’s impressions of the news media”, whether it is portrayed in a positive or negative light. There is no denying that popular culture possesses a large effect on what the public perceives and thinks about journalists and the industry through how the characters, plotlines are presented. Sociologists have even argued that “popular culture’s depictions…of real world professions” have a major influence on the public’s realistic perception of that respective field. Thus, it is not a surprise that in the 1930s, journalist organizations deliberately advocated positive portrayals of the press in Hollywood. An example of a film that stands as a positive representation is The Front Page. Although the film presents reporters and editors “lying and hurting innocent people”, the audience is able to fall for their unique charm and charisma—they are brash, fast-paced, intelligent, composed, independent, passionate and investigative. They embody what America ultimately champions: self-reliance, drive for action and accomplishment. However, popular culture also perpetuates negative, unlovable notions that “journalists [are] hard drinking, foul-mouthed social misfits concerned with only twisting the truth”. In novels like John Andross written by Rebecca Harding

“Heroes are everyday, common people. Most of what they do goes unheralded, unappreciated. And that, ironically, is heroism: not to be recognized” (Oliver Stone pg. 73). Heroism doesn’t offer recognition or rewards, in fact, most heroes go unnoticed by the public. People are heroes because they care about problems that might not affect them, but may affect other people in a harmful way. Heroes can be afraid, but over time they have to overcome their fears and achieve what they are shooting for. They are never selfish, and are always looking out for others, even if that means they have to go out of their way to help someone. Heroism always means determination, and always continuing to push through the hard obstacles in life that they might

The notion of heroes is one that transcends time and space. Examples of heroes appear in almost every culture and time period since humans first started writing. Even the very first piece of literature written in the English language, Beowulf, is a classic example of a heroic archetype. We can also see examples of heroes in today's culture, such as in Bonnie Tyler’s song “Holding Out For a Hero” and in Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero”. Additionally, we make predictions of what we think heroes may be like in the future, like in the movie Mad Max:

A prevalent assumption most of society hold is that erratic acts of bravery need recognition to glorify the act of a humble hero. We all have different views and attitudes on what defines a hero – but how do you distinguish a true hero from heroic actions? A few traits come to mind when describing typical heroes; courage, selflessness, humility, patience and be caring. Throughout history, heroes have been studied, assembled among the pages of literature. Classical heroes portrayed in pieces by Shakespeare have evolved to amuse modern society’s perception of a hero. Is it true heroes still exist? It has become a realization that heroes are no longer gallant knights embellished in literature. They are the people we view on TV; the immortal characters

American heroes are typically held to near impossible standards. They are expected to be not only valiant and daring, but also have a strong sense of morals. There is much more to being a hero than simply putting your life at risk, but being a mediocre member of society still does not meet the requirements. Many question if these idols were born with the characteristics of the typical leading man or if they were taught. In “The Right Stuff” Tom Wolfe portrays the concept of heroism as discouraging and severely distorted in the eyes of the public.

American writer, mythologist and lecturer Joseph Campbell’s definition of a hero is “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”. Growing up, children are most often taught that heroes are typically people who have superpowers and who save people as well as the world by fighting monsters and dragons. As children grow older, heroes transform towards modern heroes, such as Marvel figures like Superman, Batman or Spider-Man. Furthering even more from classics such as the well-known Marvel figures, a hero does not actually in fact have to have any superpower, be well-known, or even known at all. These heroes often times work in the background and are not given the luxury of being respected and admired.

the course of history, many public figures have been scrutinized for heroic actions that some

Heroes are prevalent in everyone’s life. Whether someone’s hero is a living person or a fabled character from a movie, everybody has come into contact with some sort of hero. In fact, the concept of heroes has existed for hundreds of years, dating all the way back to Ancient Greece. Over time, heroes have drastically changed. As society has evolved, our heroes have evolved with it. Their goals and motivations have changed to coincide with the views of modern society. Modern day heroes have less selfish motives, better qualities, and are portrayed differently than ancient heroes.

There are many heroes, but there are those who sit back and question what or who makes a hero in today’s society. It has never been a set standard for heroes. In this modern world, there are many types of heroes. In today’s media, there is a contrast between million dollar sports figures, glorified celebrities, and the normal people we call heroes. Some heroes receive no recognition and others receive hero status with ease. However, it has yet to be determined whether our meaning of heroes has changed due to this influence. We have known about the