In times of hardship and distress, the need for heroes
becomes strong. In history, all cultures have responded and represented the
origin, the life and death of the hero, as a calling out to deal with
insecurity, precariousness and downright danger. In ancient times, the hero or
the heroine was a warrior both skilled in the art of war but also possessing an
outstanding moral compass and selflessness. The heroes were considered both
idols and ideals and stood for the pinnacle point of the human ability to be
more than mere humans. Thus, heroism can be used to describe a part of culture
and society that strives to be better for the collective good.
Tina Turner may have sung “We don’t need another hero” in
George Miller and George Ogilvie’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). In the
desert sand of the dystopian future Turner’s cry for “no hero” gives rise not
to the hero that the people want, but to the hero the people need. This theme
was also the punch line of Christopher Nolan’s Batman: The Dark Knight (2008). The dark caped crusader flees on his ingenious Bat-bike into the night
for a crime he has not committed, but a crime to which he needs to be blamed
for the good in the urban people to shine bright. But as a society, as
individuals, as citizens we do need heroes. We need them so much that we create
an abundance of them to keep the hope of justice and the hope of a future bright.
