Written Analysis 3: Heroes and The cult of the celebrity

 Written Analysis 3: Heroes and The cult of the celebrity

Melissa Tucker

Popular Culture

Professor Whitney Iles

July 23, 2014

 

Introduction

                For this discussion, we will be analyzing how the subjects of hero and the cult of the celebrity apply to my chosen topic of the Superhero. First, what is the difference between a “hero” and a “celebrity”? A celebrity is one who is sometimes worshiped as a hero are most times here just for entertainment purposes. They often like to think of themselves as heroes but are only willing to solve problems by throwing money at it to make the problem go away. Not very effective. The hero on the other hand, while they can be seen as celebrities, can and do make an actual difference in people’s lives. They are our firefighters, our teachers, etc. The Superhero has both qualities present in their personalities, and that is what we are going to examine.

What theories seem to apply to this topic, and how do they help us analyze the superhero?

                As stated above, the superhero can be seen as both a hero and as a celebrity. Take for example Iron Man. He very much has a celebrity personality and is seen as a celebrity most of the time. In the movies and also in the comics he is seen as a no nonsense, no regrets rich man, and while he may be brilliant, could certainly learn some humility. He is the type that seems himself as better than others so he holds himself to a different set of rules. This is true with most celebrities. However, when he is in the Iron Man suit, he becomes someone completely different. He cares about the “little man” and those less fortunate then himself. He actually cares, and when he is chasing down the bad guy, he will actually stop and help those in distress. Thus, he becomes the hero. This is true with some superheroes but not all of them. Another example might be Batman, but the one who reminds me the most of the hero/celebrity cult is Iron Man. In the movies especially because he usually has a “cult” of fans following him everywhere both as Tony Stark and as Iron Man.

Insights gained from applying the theories to the topic

                In conclusion, I would say that the superhero can be both celebrity and hero. They help save lives by killing the bad guy and helping those that are in trouble. However, they also seem to have a cult sort of status amongst the public. People simply cannot seem to get enough of them, they follow them around, take pictures of them, buy merchandise with the superhero’s face on it. We watch movies about them and read both books and comics about them. This is because the superhero embodies what we are looking for not only in ourselves, but also what we expect our “real life” heroes to be. And while the real heroes of the world may not have the celebrity status they deserve, they are definitely out there fighting the good fight, saving lives and helping those less fortunate. That is not to say that celebrities can’t be heroic as well. Angelina Jolie comes to mind as a celebrity that has used her cult status for the greater good by becoming a good will ambassador and helping children in less fortunate countries by bringing to light the fact that these children need resources such as food, clean water, stable shelter and education. If I could choose a real life person to be a superhero, it would be her. Too bad more celebrities don’t use their “powers for the greater good”. If they did, maybe we wouldn’t need superheroes, because they would be in our everyday lives, thus blurring the line between celebrity cult and heroism.