The Origin of Individual Heroism Essay

As a matter of fact, there are important relations between individual heroism and American history. In 1929, the historic far-reaching Great Depress emerged in the US, which resulted in the global economic recession. And the development of American animated movies also just started off from this cold winter of economy, and passed through terrifying waves to a “golden age”. Owing to the quick economic recession, large quantities of enterprises bankrupted, and tens of thousands of labors lost their jobs, which led to the whole society developing in a downturn.

Economic recession as well as the outbreak of World War? after this, caused the audience to have a spiritual demand for escaping the real life. There is no doubt that American animated movies became a comfort for American citizens at that time. People at that time experienced extreme panic in the first period, bitter struggling in the middle period and despair and helplessness in the last period. Living in the despaired situation, they could only entrust their hope to a hero, especially the hero with super powers.

They regarded heroes as the embodiment of ideal personality and desired the heroes to save the society and inject vigor for their country again. During war and economic recession period, hero complex, as the psychological hopes and pillars of the integrity and development of human beings spirit, led to a desire for peace, and expectation for future life. Just at that time, out came the superman. In the 1930s or so, superman animated movies were quickly fashionable throughout the US, during which individual heroism was further presented.

In 1950s, the US international status rose up again, and the richness of material life made people feel they did not need a superhero to save the world, but the hero complex lasting for many decades would not vanish at once, on the contrary, they appeared in front of American people in another form—that is what we can often see, ordinary hero. Different from superheroes, ordinary heroes do not have to own strong bodies or outstanding super abilities, but to be more close to the real life.

They are just ordinary people before they become heroes. But when it is concerned with the crisis of homeland and even the world peace, they will be endowed with the mission to save the world. How to settle the crisis and how to be great in the ordinary life are a universal demand of the society, and then series of animated movies images of ordinary heroes emerged. At the end of 1990s, with the further development of capitalism, American animated movie ndustry transformed from the traditional 2D to 3D, under the support of three dimension technology, the hero’s personalities in the animated movies began to have more levels and looks. And their images were not only constrained in the scope of ordinary people, but focused on the “grassroot heroes” who were even tinier than ordinary people. Such unimportant persons more or less have some different defects. They may be lazy, conceited and impetuous, but these defects can not prevent them from becoming heroes who save the masses from dangers through growing and self struggle.