The Heroic Impulse: Where Have All the Heroes Gone?

[Hussar]

The subject you have brought up reminds me of the first time I tried to piece together a game. I placed a call xxx-xxxx if you would like to play in a game that I would DM at the local bookstore where DnD was sold.

I got a few replies. All were teenagers (I was mid 20's) and asked what they wanted.

They all wanted to KILL< KILL< KILL. Foolishly I replied I wanted to run a game with heroes. The teenagers left.


The idea / concept of playing heroes doesn't fit in today's mentallity. Times have changed and I am still dragging my feet to "confirm" and play games based more on an evil slant.

Part of why my Creation Schema SH stalled then failed was how the players were becoming evil fighting evil to win the big prize.

It seems people no longer enjoy being good and fighting the good fight.

Why?

Well look at today's heroes.

Singers / Athletes whom all do drugs and womanize while being overpaid

Yup, like Elvis, John Lennon, and god knows how many sports players.

Politicians- more corrupt than the crimals they are swearing to catch

Not touching this one due to forum policy. But, can you say Nixon?

and even the books and comics- Batman (vigilante) , Wolverine (cold blooded killer) and Punisher (sociopath)

It seems the closest to a "LG" hero in todays world is Harry Potter and he is manipulated constantly and people don't like that and don't want to live like that.


and as a complete side to this (though related) when I first read "Where have the heroes gone?" I think of Lethal Weapon where then the bloodied and crazed Martin Riggs comes crashing in with a dead body as a shield.

There is today's hero.


someone else can preach now.......

Hrm, now there's an interesting topic. Who would you consider more good heroes in fiction today. Let's limit ourselves to 1990+ shall we?

Let's see, I can think of Spider man, Superman of course, Fantastic Four, Ellen Ripley, Leonides, The Doctor, Maximus from Gladiator, Optimus Prime, any of the cast of Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis (with a couple of exceptions for bad asses), Commander Adama.

And that's what I pulled out of my hat in a couple of minutes. If you cannot find traditional heroes in todays pop culture, you're not looking hard enough.

 

[Jack7]

I wanted to express to everyone how grateful I am for your participation in the various threads and blog posts I have been making as of late. However I also wanted you to make you aware of why I have not always been able to respond to your various posts, even when I have desired to do so.

At this moment I am involved in many different things. I run my own freelance non-fiction writing business, and lately I have been trying my hand at writing fiction as well. So work has been keeping me very busy. I am also renovating my home (I bought my father's old estate), am helping to homeschool my children, and on occasion I still consult on certain criminal cases. More rarely - but still every now and then - I also consult, invest in, or advise on various business start-up and investment ventures or IPOs. I help run various mission and ministry projects at my church, am now one of the treasurers, and when I have the opportunity I am also still keeping my hand at work on some of my newer inventions. I'm also co-writing and helping to do the basic illustrations on a graphic novel. And finally my Great Dane bitch just littered, so now I have seven new-born puppies to tend to, at least for the next two months or so, until their new owners come for them. So because of all of these things I'm not always able to respond to things on the internet, nor do I always have the time to do so, even when I so wish.

I didn't want anyone to think I was being dismissive of their questions, responses, or arguments. I'm not. And when I get the proper amount of time to respond effectively I'll try and do so.

I come to this site, and make postings here because it gives me an opportunity to relax and dismiss my mind from other matters, and to work on real world problems in the background of my thoughts while I think about other things (like gaming issues). It's the same reason I design games and become involved in projects like the contests I'm now involved in. I wish I had the time to discuss some of these matters in greater scope, but I don't always have that chance. Nevertheless I often find your comments interesting and generally try to read them all in detail. Often they give me ideas for other projects or allow me to think about my own idea sin a different way, and therefore better clarify my own propositions. That being said I'm simply too busy at the moment to respond in kind to every comment or inquiry. But it doesn't mean I haven't read and considered what you wrote. And I don't want to in any way discourage comment or debate in these threads or posts between those of you who do wish to carry on an argument or debate on some point or points of contention. Just don't take it personally if I can't always join in right now.

My apologies having been made I thought I might bring up a few more questions for debate among you guys.


Does Heroism vary according to genre, or game genre?

That is to say, is Captain Kirk (not just as an individual, but as a certain kind of sci-fi archetype of the futuristic hero) a different kind of hero than a fantasy hero like Aragorn? Is a Doc Savage different than a Sherlock Holmes?

Is a fantasy gaming hero different than a sci-fi gaming hero? If so how are they different? How similar?

Is a modern hero different than a sci-fantasy hero? Is a super-hero different than a horror game hero? If so, why? And in what ways? If not, why not?

Is there a different ideal of heroism in modern times than in ancient times, and if so how does the modern ideal different from more ancient, or Medieval ideals? Or even among modern ideals of heroism and that of say, the generation of the Second World War? Why are real heroes so relatively rare in modern culture or have they always been rare in every age?

Despite all the titles and appellations and terms of rank (heroic tier, etc.) why are real heroes so rare even in imaginary game settings, that would seem to have an interest in fostering ideals of heroism?

Is there a different ideal of heroism among women than men? If so how an in what way?

What kinds of heroes are there, and how might you classify them (you don't have to limit yourself to genre-based descriptions or classifications)? How would you rank their orders or natures? What do all heroes have in common, what differentiates one type of hero from another?

It will be interesting to see your opinions on the matter.

 

[PaulofCthulhu]

That's a lot of pondering. I'd be quite interested in hearing your answers to your own questions.

Personally I've already given my own answers several posts ago. Nothing more for me to say!