Literary and Cultural Ponderings

This is my space for pondering all things literary and all interesting "texts" I find, including a range of multimedia, such as television shows, movies, blogs, books, magazines, youtube videos, etc. Anything that uses written or spoken language is fair game for this blog!

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[literarypondering]

Discussion of "Richard Cory," "The Chimney Sweeper," "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," "If We Must Die," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," "Dulce et Decorum Est," "Because I could not stop for death," "The Harlem Dancer," and "Harlem."

[literarypondering]

[literarypondering]

Flipping Heroes

If we are looking for heroes who appear innately more moral, chivalrous, and "heroic" than ourselves, what do we do when heroes appear as individuals like the new Dracula of the 2014 Dracula Untold film? 

Do we accept a hero presented as evil just because the tale suggests he became that evil in order to save others and become the hero? At what point must the line be drawn between hero and villain? 

Perhaps, the stepsister in Disney's Cinderella can be redeemed, but to have a seemingly irredeemable figure, such as Dracula, appear as the hero of the tale is a growing trend in media, which I cannot help but question. 

After all, with the rise of apocalyptic texts, especially zombie tales like The Walking Dead, the line between good/bad and hero/villain seemed firm until Warm Bodies slipped into the mix, followed by Dracula Untold and others. 

[literarypondering]

Humanity's Need for a Hero

Why do humans exhibit such a longing for a hero? Disney continues to produce fairytales depicting the rise of heroes. The rising generation seems obsessed with figures, such as Captain America and Iron Man, who rise above the average to protect humanity and save the day. 

Yet why do we turn to these figures? Why do we think we need a hero? Mythology includes numerous tales of destruction in which heroes must rise, and most individuals can easily recall figures like Hercules or Jason and the Argonauts, despite a limited knowledge of myth; therefore, we must admit that humanity's fascination with the hero figure is not new. 

Do we expect imminent destruction? Do we feel hopeless without the expectation of a hero? Are our hero tales really even about physical heroes? Do we hold the hero in high regard because we hope to become the hero? Perhaps, Joseph Campbell had a point when he suggested we all complete the hero's journey.