My teenage son and I have been discussing pop culture lately. Mainly, we’ve been
chatting up how real life spices up entertainment and how different forms of
entertainment feed off each other. (Books becoming movies is an example of this.)
These discussion always end up focusing on characters, and we get into lively
discussions about real and fictitious people, and how they would interact with
each other, or how they would react in a different setting.
My argument is usually that a hero would be heroic, no matter what setting they
are put in. It is not the circumstances that make the hero, it is the inner
strength they have that drives them to do the right thing.
Did Catniss need to be in the Hunger Games to be selfless? No. She was already
this way. How do you think she got into those gosh-awful games to begin with?
So lets talk for a bit about my personal favourite heroes from pop culture. I’m
going to list them off the top of my head, because if I have to think about it
too much, then the character were probably not strong enough to stay with me for
one reason or another.
So, here is my top ten list of heroes or heroines from books or movies:
Honorable Mention:
Oskar Schindler from Schindler’s List: Schindler is a
sentimental favorite because he really existed. Management training everywhere
talks about serving your employees rather than having your employees serve them.
Wow, did this guy take this to heart. Imagine really putting your life on the
line in the shadow of a horrid, unfeeling totalitarian government in order to
save as many lives as you can. Bravo Oskar!
#10 Grue from Despicable Me: Everyone has a soft and mushy
side, right? Grue is a “despicable” man, who is softened into hero status by a
few orphan girls. Talk about turning a character around!
#9 Batman: I know there is a long list of comic-book characters
that I could add to this list… but they all have super powers. Batman does not
have super powers. He invents things, and builds his strength for the sole
purpose of fighting evil. Yes, it is all in the name of vengeance, which could
be seen as a bad thing, but no one makes Batman risk his life every night. You
could also say he does so out of love for his parents, who were murdered right
in front of him. Such a tragic character.
#8 Harry from True Lies: All right, I will admit I am an Arnold
fan. He is a great action hero. Harry was my favorite of Arnold S’s characters.
Here is a guy who is a mild-mannered husband by day, and a super-spy at night. I
just loved his strength, and how he worked with his reluctant wife to save the
day and beat the bad guys.
#7 Ripley from the movie Alien: Being a big sci-fi person, I
can’t help but add Ripley. Talk about being on the wrong space ship at the wrong
time. But boy did she fight for her right to live!
#6 Harry Potter: Harry Potter is the classic rags to riches
story. For as long as he remembers, he has been pushed down and treated like
pond-scum by the family that raised him… only to lift himself up and save the
world. I like Harry Potter because he didn’t just up and save the world one day…
it took a lot of books to get him there. He became a real hero over time, and we
learned to love him through his challenges.
#5 Catniss from Hunger Games: How brave is it to volunteer to
most-likely be murdered just to save your little sister? Holy cow! I’m not sure
I could do it, and I love my sister very much. Talk about selfless!
#4 Bryan Mills from Taken: "I can tell you I
don't have money... but what I do have are a very particular set of skills." It
is really amusing, but my 15 year old son quoted this line the other day, but he
has never seen the movie. I just love Bryan Mills. Could you imagine this being
your Dad? He will do absolutely anything to save his daughter. You don’t want to
get on this guy’s bad side!
#3 Helen from True Lies: “I married Rambo!” I just love Jamie
Lee Curtis’s portrayal of Helen. She starts out being this meek woman, and ends
up a super-spy. My favorite scene is when she drops the machine gun down the
stairs and screams while the weapon takes out all the bad guys. Talk about a
great reluctant heroine!? And when she ends up in the limousine at the end, and
gives “that look” to the villain that she is driving with… boy was I ready for
Helen to take that b*tch out! This is my favourite movie of all time by the way.
If you haven’t seen True Lies, and you like action, adventure, romance, chase
scenes, and comedy this is the movie for you!
#2 Mr. Incredible: Super heroes by definition are heroic. But
Mr. Incredible, from The Incredibles truly shows heart. Even when forced into a
day-job, he still tries to help to poor old lady even though he knows he might
lose his job. And the way he slumps over, defeated, when he thinks his family is
dead… HEART WRENCHING! My favorite line to his wife (paraphrased): “You keep
trying to start a fight with me, but I’m just happy you’re still alive.”
#1 Charly Baltimore from A long Kiss
Goodnight: "Life is pain. Get used to it!" When I thought of heroes,
Charly was the first person who came to mind, although I must admit that I
needed to look up the name of the movie and the name of her character since this
movie is pretty old. (1996 – Wow, am I dating myself? Ha!) Here is a quiet,
unassuming woman who suffers from amnesia and as her memories slowly return, we
find out she was a super-assassin in her past life. Although she may have been
bad at one time, Charly ends up good. And I just love that closing scene, where
you see her settle back into the life she is most comfortable with. Woe to any
flies in that house!
So looking over this list, I suppose what I really look for in a hero is
selflessness… being willing to risk your own life to save someone else, and
stepping up to the plate when others cower in fear. A hero is someone
believable, with faults, but who can overcome them in order to save the day.
While running through this exercise, I realized that there is probably a little
bit of all these characters in my Fire in the Woods series. Jess and David are
both pretty into themselves when they first meet, but they discover that they
can use each other’s strengths to do great things. And in the end, they are both
willing to sacrifice everything for what they believe in.
What do you look for in a great hero?
Three winners: each to get an e-Book of ASHES IN THE SKY Just tell
us what you look for in a great hero! (Open Internationally).
Jennifer M. Eaton hails from the eastern shore of the North American
Continent on planet Earth. Yes, regrettably, she is human, but please don’t hold
that against her. While not traipsing through the galaxy looking for specimens
for her space moth collection, she lives with her wonderfully supportive husband
and three energetic offspring. (And a poodle who runs the spaceport when she’s
not around.)
During infrequent excursions to her home planet of Earth,
Jennifer enjoys long hikes in the woods, bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and
snuggling up by the fire with a great book; but great adventures are always a
short shuttle ride away.
Who knows where we’ll end up next?
After inadvertently saving the world, eighteen-year-old Jessica Martinez is
ready to put adventure behind her and settle back into the familiar routine of
high school.
Though when she’s offered an opportunity to photograph the inside of an alien
space ship, Jess jumps at the chance. After all, she’d be crazy to turn
something like that down, right?
Spending time with David on the ship has definite advantages and the two seem to
pick up right where they left off. But when Jess discovers a plot to sabotage
David’s efforts to establish a new home for his people on another planet,
neither David’s advanced tech nor Jess’s smarts will be able to save them.
ASHES IN THE SKY is an action-packed, romantic Sci Fi adventure that will leave
readers screaming for more.
5 comments posted.
A true hero is one that doesn't ever think about what he is doing , like running into a burning building to pull another life out when you haven't considered you could lose your life . True heroes are the solders , the policemen, all the people that puts their own life in danger so it will be safe for us .
(Joan Thrasher 11:36am March 5, 2016)
A hero have honor, courage, bravery, and willing to risk his life in his beliefs.
(Kai Wong 5:11pm March 6, 2016)
I look for honesty, loyalty, and the ability to know right from wrong. true heroes are people in the right place at the right time and just think that they did what needed doing.
(Melinda Marks 12:21pm March 7, 2016)