The Definition Of Heroism

[white avenger]

This comes from a discussion of the nove//movie "They came to Cordura,"

(Movie synopsis for those unfamiliar with the story)

Synopsis:

"Tom Thorn (Gary Cooper) is a U.S. Army cavalry officer who displays cowardice when his frontier garrison is attacked in 1916. He develops an obsession with what constitutes courage in others. After a cavalry charge during the 1916 U.S. expedition in Mexico to capture Pancho Villa, Thorn recommends four soldiers for the Medal of Honor. During their return journey to Cordura a series of harrowing incidents make it clear that the apparent heroes were motivated by ambition, terror, racism or chance while it is the disgraced Thorn who possesses moral courage."

Full article here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Came_to_Cordura

In your opinion, what defines a hero, the act itself, or the motivation that led to the act? For instance, if a man storms an enemy pillbox singlehandedly, resulting in saving the lives of his entire company, does the fact that he hated Nazis detract from what he did, or is it irrelevant?

 

[Kean]

I think Hero or Heroism is a bit of dirty word because it is used to describe people and actions that are usually a hell of a lot more complex and layered than being simply "heroic."

For me, I'm more interested in motivation and fear. I want to know what someone is overcoming in order to commit the act of bravery. That is way more interesting and will give you an insight into who the person is. Bravery can be as big or as small as you want it to be, so everyone can (and has) be brave in their own life.

I'm always cautious when I hear the word "hero" used. To me, a hero is someone we project onto and care very little about that actual person. It's about us, not them.

 

[Blaze]

Heroism comes from the inside, not the outside. The smallest action can be heroic if done for the right reason, and if it is a display of bravery. In being heroic, there is no room for hate, or cowardice, or ulterior motives.

 

[Ianigsy]

I think there's a bit of both- you can project heroism onto somebody or their actions (for example, what if the soldier who storms the pillbox single-handedly was a conscript faced with a choice between being shot by the enemy or being court martialled for cowardice by his own side?) but then there are also people who choose a career in the armed forces or the emergency services in the knowledge that they may well have to put their life on the line as part of their job.

I remember the actor Paul Eddington being asked about how he felt about the amount of praise which he received for the way he dealt with the skin cancer which killed him about 20 years ago. His response was that he didn't particularly see himself as brave, but faced with a disease which he knew would kill him within a couple of years, he could either keep working and stay active for as long as possible or the alternative was just to retreat to his bed and wait to die.

 

[white avenger]

I just found this (to me, at least) rather interesting article on John Wayne and heroism. No, I'm not in any way saying that Wayne was a true hero, but the characters that he portrayed in almost all of the movies that he ever made made his name synonymous with the term "hero."


http://jungiansociety.org/index.php/the-john-wayne-syndrome-jung-the-hero-archetype-and-the-america

 

[Xin Rong]

Captain America is my definition of a hero 🙂

 

[white avenger]

Captain America is my definition of a hero 🙂

What was it that Stark said? "The only thing special about you came out of a bottle"?

I don't particularly agree with that, I just thought that I'd toss it in before anyone else did.

Captain America id definitely a hero. He's a member of a group of people (superheroes) who have come to define the term as surely as the knights of the Round Table, the singing cowboys, or that famous strange visitor from another planet. But simply BEING a hero doesn't define heroism itself. Is heroism the act of, in Cap's case, physically opposing and fighting to eradicate Hitler and Naziism, his motives for doing so, assuming that those motives aren't something like revenge or racism, a combination of the two, or something entirely different?

 

[Xin Rong]

What was it that Stark said? "The only thing special about you came out of a bottle"?

I don't particularly agree with that, I just thought that I'd toss it in before anyone else did.

Captain America id definitely a hero. He's a member of a group of people (superheroes) who have come to define the term as surely as the knights of the Round Table, the singing cowboys, or that famous strange visitor from another planet. But simply BEING a hero doesn't define heroism itself. Is heroism the act of, in Cap's case, physically opposing and fighting to eradicate Hitler and Naziism, his motives for doing so, assuming that those motives aren't something like revenge or racism, a combination of the two, or something entirely different?

I would describe Captian America as a definitive hero, because of the selfless factor to his actions. He has a strong moral structure, which he elevates above himself and his own life. He is more than willing to sacrifice, and fight for the greater good.

I would therefore say that it's not heroic actions that define heroism, I would argue that it's the motivation behind those actions. If a man saved a child's live because he wanted the fame of being a hero, then he's not a real hero, despite his heroic action.