4 Reasons that Caused American Heroism 7
4.1 Historical Reason 7
4.2 Economic Reason 8
4.3 Value 9
4.4 Characteristics of Personality 10
5 Conclusion 11
References 12
A Study on American Heroism from Captain America
1 Introduction
The film is the product under the development of the times and technology, therefore, there is a close relationship between the development of society and development of the film. As a way of artistic expression, it expresses different thoughts and feelings, and reacts different national culture by creating different human image. The story of hero has always been the flavor of the American movies, there are a lot of movies about heroism, and Captain America is one of the heroism movies’ representative works. Captain America, he was regarded as a symbol of the American spirit, whose real name is Steven Rogers. He was originally a frail recruits, after receiving the experimental transformation performed by US government called "super soldier”, the experiment makes strength, speed, endurance and other physical fitness are far more than the ordinary, and he was also given by the US government, one of the world's hardest metal: acoustic shields made of steel, since then, he showed up as the name of Captain America and he set an illustrious military exploits in World War II for the United States, and later in an action at the end of World War II, Captain America fought with his old enemy red skull , he fall into the sea and he was frozen for nearly 70 years, until Agents of SHIELD found him, he joined the SHIELD and became the member of Avengers, then under the leadership of captain America, the Avengers went through fire to win the improbable victory again and again.
The background of the movie is set during the World War II. In the year 1941, World War II was fiercely played in Europe, but the United States has not entered the war, nevertheless, the domestic anti-fascist voices have become stronger. At that time, the Timely Comics (later Marvel) launched a patriot, a hero who represents the American spirit, and his name is Captain America. There are so many superheroes in America, but Captain America is the most patriotic hero. He uses the country name as a title, and his uniform uses the same color as American flags. And his birth is without doubt derived from the purpose of patriotism (Berson, 1994). Captain America was not born to be a hero, and he does not have immortality. He is just stronger, braver and wiser than ordinary person. He faces enemy and sublimates the theme to a new level. When the United States announced to enter the war, Captain America spares no effort into the war. These comic books which describe the war are sent to the front line and become the spiritual food in the army, and these comic books encourage soldiers to fight bravely. Although there also has been a lot of similar styles with Captain America comics work, Captain America is the most popular and the most prominent superhero during World War II.
Unlike other superheroes, Captain America doesn’t have cool equipment and super abilities, but he is the most respected superhero in America. There are a lot of lofty characteristics behind his ability, and his most admirable character is his country's enthusiasm. Moreover, he has the courage to stand out at the crucial moment, even devoting his life, and it is the true reproduction of the American heroism in people’s minds. This paper analyzes the artistic charm of a mainstream Hollywood superhero movie and core humanistic spirit and cultural connotations from Captain America series.
2 Literature Review
America is a country which worship heroes, therefore, American heroism has become the core of American values. If people want to study American culture, heroism is a subject which should not be avoided. Li (2008) thought that movies can reflect the humanities of person, Hollywood movies combined the superb technology and spiritual values into one in her paper named The American spirit in Hollywood classic film. In addition, she also pointed out that inpidualism appeared in the history of America, and it is also the core of American spirit, while hero is the embodiment of inpidualism. When freedom and personal interests are hurt, the fight against the authority will erupt, and the classic hero images are born with this kind of trend, 从《美国队长》看美国英雄主义(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_48351.html