Have We Lost Traditional Heroic Values?
- Jan 23, 2015
- 3 min read
We think of a hero as somebody who has positive traits, as someone who is virtuous and overcomes enormous obstacles.
The first idea of the hero came from Greek plays like Hercules, Achilles and Odysseus. (The word hero actually comes from the Greek protector or defender.) These Greek heroes were morally perfect, even if they had physical weak spots, as is the case with Achilles and his heel.
They struggle for the greater good using their strength and courage. They are examples of what we should strive towards as human beings.
Antiheros have always been around but it was only during the romantic age when heroes with personal flaws became truly popular. The Byron hero, especially, is someone who is a loner, who doesn’t fit into social conventions.
Bryon created his hero in reaction to the traditional hero who always does what is expected and what is right. The antihero, on the other hand, can be unpredictable and often times selfish.
This type of hero again became popular during the depression and continued through the Second World War. An example of this is the noir detective character that Raymond Chandler perfected.
These characters have few, if any redeeming qualities yet struggle to do the right thing. Detectives and police officers make perfect antiheroes because they can be abusive, violent, rude, and sleep with other men’s wives.
Yet since their overarching goal is a noble one, and they often achieve these goals –catching a killer or recovering a lot of money to its rightful owner – only through great personal sacrifice they can truly be called heroes.
However, in modern storytelling we seem to have gone further and our heroes have become villains or un-heroes.
The classic example of these types of stories is the rise of popularity in gangster stories. Gangster films have been around since the earliest cinema, but it wasn’t until The Godfather that the un-hero story truly came into its own. These gangsters don’t try to do what is right like with the antihero’s journey.
Vito Corleone has some qualities of a hero. For example, he is smart, resourceful, goes the occasional good deed; yet his goal is to dominate the crime of New York through terror and violence.
The un-hero kills, maims, abuses and lie all for personal gain. These Un-heroes sometimes have a conscious, as Tony Soprano illustrated through his counseling sessions and through Vito’s refusal to get into the drug trade but often times they don’t.
In the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort was the perfect un-hero. He was successful, handsome, and rich, which are all traits of a hero, he also stole money, broke all moral boundaries, and wasn’t even remotely repentant. In fact, he only showed remorse when it got him a reduced sentence or lessened his punishment in some way.
Frank Underwood, modeled on Shakespeare’s Richard III, is another example of the un-hero. He can be loyal and courageous but his only motives are for personal power. To Frank Underwood, the world is only there to concur and he will use whoever or whatever to get what he wants.
What is it about the un-hero that is compelling to an audience?
Humans have always been fascinated by evil and those who commit horrendous acts but usually storytellers have balanced evil with good: a serial killer always needs someone to catch him. It brings a morality in the story, even if the killer ends up winning. But in a lot of modern storytelling the balance is lost and we empathise with the un-hero, like in Hannibal or House of Cards.
We enjoy the un-hero because we understand their motives and connect with them at the very base of their human nature. People wish they had a little more Jordon Belfort or Frank Underwood in them.
We see what they have and are envious. We wish we could do the things they did, feel what it’s like to crash a million-dollar yacht or be President of the United States.
I would love to hear what you think about the un-hero. Who is your favourite un-hero?
oel Mark Harris is a writer, producer and journalist. (@joelmarkharris) He is the proud founder of Scene2Studio and you can download for FREE his award-winning thriller novel A Thousand Bayonets HERE
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