For the first half of twentieth century, movies were the most popular and influential medium of culture in the United States. They were the first of the modern mass media sharing common believes and faiths though screens. (Sklar, 1975)
The project considers heroes in different Hollywood films. It aims to identify two main methods of creating heroes in the movies. Moreover, the relation between themes and the related heroic characters will be discussed. In the project, 5 different kind of movies in recent 20 years are selected as examples: Hancock, Batman Begins, Saving Private Ryan, Titanic and 2012.
In order to identify people’s behaviors to heroic actions, we should first define what hero is. There are lots of definitions …show more content…
He used his powers to save citizens and fight against criminals in Los Angeles however in a destructive way due to his intoxication. This caused millions of dollars in property damage. He ignored the court subpoenas. This contributed to his challenge of living in an ordinary world. Once, he saved a public relations spokesperson Ray Embrey’s life. Ray promised him to improve his public image. He accepted Ray’s idea of putting him behind bars to show his importance to the society. During the incarceration, he thought deeply regrading what had he done before. He determined to help people in a conscious mind without causing property damage. After the imprisonment, he intervened with a bank robbery, rescuing a cop and stopping the leader of the robbers, Red Parker. In order to save Mary Embrey, he took the initiative to be apart from Mary Embrey, who was also immortal, to maintain his superhero power. He scarified his connections in Los Angeles and winded up in New York City, working as a …show more content…
However, his improper ways of using his talents lost approval and support from the audience to the heroic identity. The hilarious improbabilities create farces in a comic way, which was resulted in a less stressful and less serious form of heroism in the movie.
Tragic Hero
Tragedy is the mirror image or negative of comedy. It shows us the downfall of a once prominent and powerful hero. However, tragedy is not an expression of despair but the means by which they saved themselves from it. Joseph Wood Krutch stated that “In tragedy, we accept gladly the outward defeats which it describes for the sake of the inward victories which it reveals”. In other words, the destruction of the individual hero does not of course preclude the continuation of the order, and so outward defeats are to be seen as indices of inward victories. (Adam, 1991)
A famous example of tragic hero was Jack in ending of Titanic. RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg. Rose gave up to board a lifeboat. Jack helped Rose onto a wooden panel that only buoyant enough for 1 person. Lastly, Rose was saved while Jack died of