美国英雄主义论文-On American Heroism in Movies

1、东华理工大学学年论文 On American Heroism in MoviesAbstractAmerican movie is a kind of important expression of American culture on screens. The popular American heroic movies created many hero figures that became idols in the young. The movies entered into the sprit of American culture, contained the position

2、of cultural values, and reflected cultural characters of individual heroism. The essay will analyze the existent reasons of American heroism, divide the types and characters of American heroic movies according to the themes of cowboy, superman, non-hero, war and scientific fantasy, and conclude the

3、influence on America.Key words: American movies; heroism; culture摘 要 美国电影是美国文化在银幕上的一种重要表达方式。其中广受欢迎的美国英雄主义电影塑造了一个又一个英雄形象，深入人心，成为年轻人追逐崇拜的偶像。电影中融入了美国文化人的精神视野，蕴涵着他们的文化价值立场，体现了个人英雄主义的文化特征。本文将分析美国英雄主义存在的原因，从西部牛仔、超人、非英雄、战争、科幻四个题材来划分美国式英雄主义电影的类型和特点，以及其对美国产生的影响。关键词：美国电影； 英雄主义； 文化Introduction Heroes enrich th

4、e dreams of people, especially of their childhood. With the development of the mass media, the movie as a type of important way to express the culture of one country. In American movies, the kinds of heroes have played a significant role in shaping and showing peoples value. Meanwhile, they have inf

5、luenced the path of their lives 1. The Definition of Heroism1.1 The Meaning of Hero Heroes are the great men or women who have made achievements which were provided the inspiration for the people. Some are physical heroes; some of them are intellectual heroes; some are excellent examples of mind-bod

6、y integration; some of them are from the printed pages, stages or screens with large-scale characters; and some accomplish the great and notable performance in the real life. 1.2 The Meaning of Heroism Experts divided the heroes into Everyday Hero and Epic Hero by degrees and dimensions. Everyday He

7、ro is an ordinary person who has troubles, and he can perform his best unknown potentials in the difficulties. Epic Hero is an extraordinary person in special situations and difficulties, he can reason out the matters without any problems. The concept of heroism which is still actively alive in Amer

8、ica today is self-sacrifice for a noble ideal. This concept is raised by the religious establishment and the neo-traditionalists. However, in the view of the objectivists, the meaning of heroism is a bourgeois, industrial-age advance from the classical heroic ideal. The Bourgeois heroism is demonstr

9、ated in a sensible, professional, and productive excellence. Meanwhile, the Objectivists add that the excellence depends on the life with love and on the use of reason to create values. This kind of excellence is the noblest spiritual character. This view of heroism is a loyal greatness to the value

10、s, because it is appropriate to the American way of life.2. The Existent Reasons of American Heroism2.1 Historical ReasonAmerica has been an immigrant country since it was first being explored to be the new world. Its founding fathers made it in depended from the colonial powers with great efforts.

11、The founding fathers showed their pioneering spirit and the perseverance of struggling for the independence. The spirit of striving for freedom and independence made great influence during the successful process; therefore, the pioneers became the role models of heroes in the Americans. Every one ca

12、me to the new world with dreams, so did the heroes. As the heroes were able to make their dreams come true with endeavors, they became the spokesmen of the American dream which can be realized by anyones persistent efforts, knowledge and abilities.The figures of the heroes changes with times. Since

13、the state was founded, the heroes were the pioneers; then the cowboy fever came with the Western Movements. Following this, the superman appeared as people were expected to defeat fascists; later it is the time for the anti-heroes or non-heroes. Because during the Spanish-American War to 9/11 Event,

14、 including World War I, World War II, especially the Vietnam War became the turning point of Americans attitude towards war heroes and a climax which produced anti-war movies. With the development of science and technology, Americans looked for their idols in space and scientific adventures.2.2 Char

15、acter Reason Americans characters influence the style how they do their work. Firstly, they are very independent. In America, since they were still children, people have to be independent to accomplish tasks. In the view of them, if they could finish the task by themselves, they would not ask for he

16、lp. They have their own plans and they choose what they want. Secondly, Americans have strong consciousness of competition. America is a developed country, there is full of competitions in different fields. Lastly, they are efficient with their work. Even in their daily life, they would make a full

17、schedule to order their time. Americans pay much attention to the punctuality; they think one must have achievements with punctuality. 2.3 Psychological ReasonAmerican heroism was resulted from their long time consciousness of the crisis. Since the World War I, World War II, the Cold War and 9/11 Ev

18、ent, America became a powerful nation gradually. With the strong appearance, there are still many crises in the American society. And people still have insecurity in their sub consciousness: they are uneasy about their hostilities, they worry about the natural disasters, and they are anxious about d

19、angers which might bring by the scientific technologies. Kinds of terrible moments remind the Americans of the consciousness of the crisis.3. The Types and Characters of American Heroism in Movies 3.1 The Cowboy MoviesA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditi

20、onally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend.During 18th century to 19th century, there were some ent

21、husiastic pioneers in the western America. In the American history, they were named cowboys by the Americans, because they had adventurous and persistent spirit. The figure of the American cowboy is the kind of person with heroism and mystery. In the American movies, the cowboy is always wearing a M

22、exican Stetson and a revolver of Coalter around his waist. Sometimes, he shoulders a Winchester rifle, arms with bullets, puts on a printed kerchief around the neck, and wears a jacket, a pair of jeans and boots. The cowboy rides a horse with high speed, so his brave and free and easy image represen

23、ts the individualism and the spirit of freedom. The movie named The First Great Train Robbery was the origin of American western movies, and the Stagecoach was regarded as the milestone of western movies by his western classical elements. This movie made a vivid picture of western America with the p

24、articular karsts, cliffy valley, desert, big rocks, a small tavern and horses. Most of all, the cowboy in it was handsome and brave as a typical west cowboy. Besides, High Noon, Once Upon a Time in the West, Dances with Wolves, Space Cowboys, and Brokeback Mountain showed the cowboys spirit successf

25、ully.In this kind of movies, the cowboys are talented, brave, clam, persistent and hard-working. They can handle different kinds of occasions with the fierce animals, the Indians attacks, and bad weathers. They showed the hardship of western life and the spirit of fighting for living. Hence, the cow

26、boy spirit becomes the American national spirit-heroism. 3.2 The Superman Movies Superman was appeared from comic books in 1939 for the first time. Superman was an outsider who was an orphan from an alien and could destroy planet. As he was created in the era which it was needed to defeat Hitler, Mu

27、ssolini, and Hirohito, superman defended truth, justice, and the American way for about half a century. In the Depression days, superman was like a super policeman with social conscience.In this kind of movies, superman was unusual since he defied gravity. He could stop a bullet in flight, fly as fa

28、st as a jet airplane and even penetrate steel with rays from his eyes or hands. Superman was a type of talented powerful warrior, who recalled Moses and became the savior of the world. Meanwhile, he was invulnerable to the physical assault. As the country didnt admire superheroes and physical streng

29、th was not the assessing standard in Americans views for the highest virtue any longer, the superman of steel who saved the planet died in 1992. The death of superman also resulted from the development of science and technology, since everyone could fly, rockets could take men to the moon, so superm

30、an became common with the rush of modernity.During the American history, as the symbol of American dream which from the beginning of the pioneer and cowboy, the heroes often reacted to the odds and made the impossible achievements. Since the superman was extraordinary from infancy who would become t

31、he survivor of the world, what was more, he didnt have to overcome any odds. Superman was a perfect man without any defects such as mental dilemma or self-doubt. As he did not have defects like human beings, and he was very far from the common world, so it was hard to convince people. In the present

32、 cultural environment, the invulnerable and perfect superman is hardly recognizable; hence, people begin expecting the failures and realities. Afterwards, the new type of heroism of the Batman and Spider-Man appeared which abided by the belief of the American citizen-soldier. They were not inborn he

33、roes, and self-doubting and nervous like human beings. Meanwhile, they were pressed into service by the murder of parents or an accidental bite of a radioactive insect then became superheroes. 3.3 Non-Hero and Anti-Hero Movies After the ages of superman, Forrest Gump was appeared who was regarded as

34、 the representative of non-heroes or anti-heroes. As a symbol of American dream, the movie Forrest Gump was about the American culture and history during 1955 to 1990 in many ways. He experienced several important events in American history such as the desegregation of the south, the Vietnam War, th

35、e peace movements of the 1970s, the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and the birth of personal computers in the 1980s.In this movie, Forrest Gump was very fragile so that he needed mothers protection. What is worse, he was born with a very low IQ and muscle problem. However, he had a positive vi

36、ew of life and made great achievements with his innocence and limited understanding about the world. Hence, he was absolutely a hero who symbolized the whole American and realized the American dream. Every coin has two sides. Although Forrest Gump was regarded as an idiot unfortunately, he could run

37、 fast. Because of that, he entered the university successfully. During the following thirty years, he became a famous football star, a war hero, a successful businessman and won Jennys love with his honesty and kindness. What is more, he showed the sense of responsibility at the urgent time while ta

38、king care of his mother. In this movie, his mother said that life is like a box of chocolate: you never know what you are going to get. And Forrest Gump tried his best to make everything perfect and performed his mothers words as an idiot. Forrest Gump also experienced the Vietnam War which was one

39、of the most controversial epics in American history. Since America was founded, it was the only war lost by Americans.Forrest Gump was compensated for his heroism and symbolized the American dream thoroughly. The non-hero Forrest Gump made his life best straight with almost nothing. Furthermore, he

40、showed that everything is possible for America and Americans. 3.4 War MoviesWar movies which are about heroic courage can be regarded as the cradle for heroes. As the “flag-waving” propaganda, the movies inspire national pride, morale and heroism; also capture the soldiers heroism and viewers patrio

41、tism. The first war movie named Tearing down the Spanish Flag was from Spanish-American war. Then the outbreak of World War I with the propagandistic movies suggesting that heroic American involvement would bring about victory. Afterwards, the Big Parade became the first to realistically portray the

42、 horrors of battle and the struggle for survival. And the familiar beautiful romantic tragedy appeared such as Waterloo Bridge, Sergeant York. Following this, the movie named Pear Harbor focused on the loves, lives and heroism of American soldiers again to reminded Americans that those who forget hi

43、story are condemned to repeat it. What is more, since the 9/11 event, the Americans patriotism and hero-adoring spirit have enhanced to an unprecedented level while they had went through the devastating horror and anger towards the foreign attack. At that time, the movie showed the heroism of Americ

44、an armed forces.Then milestone movies from Apocalypse Now to Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Saving Private Ryan have acknowledged the brutality, horror, heartbreaking and often futility of war. This kind of sentimental mood lasted to 9/11 Event in2001, after the tragedy, in order to inspire the hero

45、ic spirit of the whole nation who were deeply hurt; war movies revived their popularity on the screen.In this kind of war movies, they all required the patriotism and convinced the Americans that the military heroes have the ability to protect their country from being threatened again.3.5 Scientific

46、 Fantasy Movies With high speed of the developing technology, people began preparing for disasters mentally with the popularity of science-fiction movies. So the scientific fantasy movies created heroism with no restriction, time and place to comfort their anxiety.In the science-fiction movies, some

47、 of the heroic characters are from the space adventure. The Star Wars, Armageddon, and Hero with a Thousand Faces could be good examples of the space adventure movies. Also the movie named Hero with a Thousand Faces showed the radical individualism and selfless heroism of the democratic knight erran

48、t by a story of the adventurous heroes and their daring struggles from the heros journey. Besides, there are influential fantastic movies with heroic characters on earth such as Spiderman, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Kings. As the famous director Spielberg said that “science fiction is about pure

49、imagination, about dreaming. And imagination and dreaming are as close to basic belief as anything we can cherish.” The movie Spiderman represented the emergence of the heroism. In this movie, the Spiderman was a superhero and savor of the world though he was also vulnerable as an instinctive surviv

50、or. As an amazing epic, the movie Lord of the Kings which written by the Father of Modern Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien. In this movie, through the great battle between good and evil, life and death, light and dark, there are several kinds of heroism represented by the free People of Middle-Earth. 4. The Influence on America On one hand, the thousands of heroic movies made American dream