Saturday, July 13, 2013

Wrapped in Cape: Whose Stories Are Covered Over in the Primacy of the Hero

Who is on the other side of the hero narrative?  We (and I mean I) spend a lot of time thinking about and problematizing and wondering about heroes.

Another interesting and maybe more equitable and participatory approach would be to concern our selves over re-seeing the stories of the saved.  I mean they are the ones whose stories might be hidden away in rippling layers of cape swooshing over the possibility until they are lifted safely out of danger of being heard or given any credit.

So what if...

We moved our conversation from loving or hating the he--- who?  Toward considering the storied lives of the swept off her feet- lifted to safety poor thingified person, who might give insight into the fluidity and tension of lived experience, especially for those of us often peeking over the flexed muscles of Superman.


3 comments:

  1. Yes! You are articulating an point that I had been wrestling with also...how to reframe the conversation so the hero isn't the focus of the story, with all other conditions and people fading into the backgroud, creating and reinforcing stereotypes and giving the impression that others are out there solving the problems that exist. I'm feeling like when we reframe the story so the person cast as a hero fades into the background, and cast that individual as one of many who is intersecting with the experience, we can refocus on the significance of our own roles and places in the story.

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  2. The concept of heroes is fascinating because everyone seems to be interested - whether idolizing or emulating or despising. The idea of heroes reminds me of how often individuals do not think they are heroes but everyone can be a hero to someone. It also reminds me of a feature that used to be on a morning show where the newsman took a dart and threw it at the map to find a location. With that location, they then looked at a yellow pages and randomly picked a name. They then interviewed the person to hear their life story and it never disappointed.

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  3. Lacy, you always find a way to rock my mental world! This is one of the reasons why I love SI so much...multiple stories, multiple lenses beget multiple ideas which swirl around in head constantly making said person excited but going a little bit insane in the membrane with thoughts! We don need to shift our gears toward a quieter character (such as the saved)in order to get all points of views. Today, you are my hero!

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