Character Analysis: The Expected Hero And His Sidekicks

Improved Essays
The Expected Hero and his Sidekicks
Riverdale

Ever so often we see that the main character have to be some kind of hero, that saves the day, and is loved and respected by everyone, even the evil witch loves the main character, and the bad guy envies them. Quite often young guys are pressured to be heroes because of the many expectancies and pressures put onto them by social media, films, and television. From Disney movies that guided our childhood to more mature shows, like my favorite show Riverdale.

In Riverdale the main actor, or should I say the hero? Is Archie Andrews, a young high school student that interprets the image of perfect masculinity, desired by every girl in the school that including his music teacher Ms.Grundy, the leader
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He is witty, straightforward, honest, incredibly sarcastic, a smart bookworm that always stays low and keeps his feet down to earth. He is often called an outsider, but in some kind of bizarre way he does fit the main character image, he is a darkly humorous, apathetic, cynical entity with a quick temper and a lot of secrets. He's crafty, intelligent, and well-known for his writing skill and sardonic humor.
Even though Jughead was designed to be an alternative prince that does not fit the normal standard of what a Prince Charming should be, he still sets the bar pretty high to how man should be, just as he shows a darker side of what a good man is like he still shows more of an ideal self. Not only being a role model to new generations, but also his relationships as well. Kimmel said that young kids often set their relationships up to unrealistic expectations “their reticence is the result of both high expectations for their own relationship and fears” and this is true, not only young boys but also young girls wish to follow their favorite character’s love
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We're not gonna hug in front of this whole town. [laughs] So why don't we both just do that bro thing where we nod like douches and mutually suppress our emotions?" says Jughead after Archie apologized to him in front of the football team and a stadium full of expectations. He also refers to the “bro culture” when he calls Archie out when he wasn't able to call him a brother out loud "Nice bro whisper, Archie. You are my brother." Many remarks like this are used all throughout the show.
Likewise Riverdale, in the article How to Raise a Feminist Son, by Claire Cain Miller she also states that boys are often pushed to hiding their emotions “Our daughters are allowed to be human beings, and our sons are taught to be robotic” (Miller). We often make our children hide their feelings because it’s “unmasculine” to show them, it’s something attributed to girls and should not be done by

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