Discussion of Hero-Syndrome in TV, Movies, and Games

[Hillslayer]

An old topic that frequently boils to the top with me once again reared it's ugly head while reading through the Anime thread. This is the topic of the "Hero Syndrome" that seems to plague every aspect of entertainment.

Now, in most entertainment you follow the undying hero, which makes sense, this I can deal with. However there are different kinds of heroes and it seems to me the world has been favoring one over the others of late.

Let me explain through an example:

In most entertainment, anime in particular, the hero or heros act alone. They also have insanely super-human powers which they use at will on armies of low-grade bad guys (because cool explosions sell) but will be unable to use on the big 'bosses' (because that's where most the plot lay is in defeating him along with any self-improvement/love interest side plots). Most wounds are simply brushed off with an "ARG!"

Then you have the more rare form. I'm going to use Band of Brothers for this as I've been watching it recently. You have a large group of normal guys, no one better or worse then the other. Only through luck, skill, and teamwork does one acheive thier goals. A single bullet can end your day and all of those following... a bullet which can come from any bush or tree whether you are ready or not. The perfect example is how the character who had finally over-come his fear of fighting and helped hold the line, with dozens of others against a superior force (with many dying on both sides) and then dies in the next scene from a single sniper bullet. This typically results in a high turn-over in secondary characters.

So, is a hero one that does the extrodinary because he was made to do so? Or is a hero the one who works through the muck and grit, watching his friends and foes fall by the dozen... a person who is not 'better' then the others but suceeds where they have failed?

Why have we migrated to enjoying super-powers over individual heroism? Is it because we are teaching thier children they are all 'special' and the easiest way to beleive in being 'special' is inhuman qualities?

It seems more and more people are not being taught they are one of many and the only people you are special to are friends and family unless you acomplish a major acheivement. Of the types of heroes presented I'd be far more impressed by the average human hero then any other... just as I am more impressed with my one remaining two-handed swordsman holding off 6 guys for just long enough to get reinforcements arriving and then dying in Medival 2: Total War than I am with my level 6 fighter being able to slaughter almost countless wolves in NWN2. Ditto for wargaming. In Warhammer 40k I am far more impressed if one of my Imperial Guard troops survives and does well then I am by any other race except the Orcs (who share the same low end, mob mentality) and this is because the other sides all consist of far more powerful units, though in lower numbers (2 Guardsmen to 1 enemy is typical... 4 to 1 is not uncommon either and it typically takes that many or more to bring the powerful ones down).

If you are far stronger then your oponent, it is not heroism to defeat them, it is slaughter. So why is it that so many focus on these little groups of 5 or so insanely powerful people saving the world and not the dozens and dozens who die and few who survive to carry the day? Those who fight against the odds and for whom death can come just as easily as the deaths of those they are opposing?

Edit:

I thought I'd end this with a quote from the Imperial Guard Codex to sort of illustrate my point.

In the midst of genetically engineered super-beings, alien killing machines, warrior mystics, and technology that approaches sorcery in its sophistication, the Imperial Guard are mere soldiers. Clad in a flak jacket and carrying a lasgun, they have to contend with the most terrifying threats, relying on numbers, massed firepower and a bayonet with some guts behind it. As such it is easy to identify with these brave souls and to see in them the qualities of true heroes.

[Wyvern]

I openly admit I am a fan of dumb action movies. Mainly because they just kick arse. I prefer the regular hero characters (John Mclane in Die Hard, Ripley in Aliens). Two characters who are normal in nature, but have been injected with that "Just wont die" Hollywood resilience.

Also I love anti-heroes. Riddick was a good one for that role (not a great film, but I did like the central character a lot.)

Yes, I do not set the bar high in the movies that I watch.

[broncoblitz]

I'd rather have a movie with an uber-cool hero than one with a bunch of pansies getting their butts kicked all the time.

[obsoletenihilist]

You forget Imperial Guardsmen have 100 ton Superheavy Tanks that can demolish entire city blocks with ease.

I'd like to see your level 20 fighter try and take on a Baneblade.

Also, I'd just like to point out that the whole reason people like to objectify heroes that are so outrageously above the norm is because your average joe is easy to relate to. If you don't consider yourself a hero and can relate so easily to Mr. Average Joe NPC Solider then obviously he isn't a hero either. He's an average Joe NPC that would get creamed by that lumbering hill giant.

[Hillslayer]

You forget Imperial Guardsmen have 100 ton Superheavy Tanks that can demolish entire city blocks with ease.

I'd like to see your level 20 fighter try and take on a Baneblade.

Baneblades are only allowed in tabletop if the opponent agrees. It's sorta like an extra ruleset deal (like epic level D&D). There is also typically many units with anti-tank capabilities in play... including the standard necron unit (I REALLY hate those things)! I tend to play more of an infantry force with a couple tanks, a few anti-tank droptroops, and lots of anti-infantry and artillery. Although now that you mention it I _DID_ come across a friend watching anime at his place once. Apparently ninja swords have the ability to cut dozens of tanks in half. *sarcastically* "Impressive".

Still, if your characters are so far from normal you can't relate to them are they heroes? Or are they lumbering superheavy tanks? Part of a hero, to me at least, is seeing Mr. Average Joe NPC Soldier overcome the obsticles of BEING Mr. Average Joe NPC Soldier. Heroes should be someone we can relate to, someone who we could imagine ourselves being one day, given luck and the right circumstances. Not many of us have the power to single handedly take on armies with a ninja sword after all but I'm sure many of us could see at least a possibility of helping destroy a group of... oh, anti-tank guns. Being one of many, yes, but isn't being one of many a good portion of what being human is about?

[ThePhotoshop]

The reason we love the lone hero with super-powers is because the media you listed is more often than not an escape from reality.

The same goes for comic books, only it's far more obvious. People, especially kids, want to see things that would usually only be in their imagination.

Once you grow older you grow out of the colour coded in-your-face superhero methodology, but you retain your need to absorb these stories about fantastic deeds and heroic actions. If you become to bogged down in reality, you lose this, as well as your imagination.

The reason these superheroes work, though, is because they retain values and qualities that are all too human. Often they have a potent weakness, be it something superficial like Superman's kryptonite, or more psychological like Samurai Jack's morale (which he loses multiple times).

Whilst seeing an Average Joe undertake a journey to become a hero and learn about himself is character development, it has been done to death. The audience can see this coming from a mile away and will simple groan at the sheer formulaic nature of it.

What we need to see more of is a hero become an Average Joe by losing everything (Re: Gladiator).