Why do modern audiences find anti-heroes more appealing than heroes?

Hannah Milliner

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Contents

Introduction: Pg. 3

Chapter 1: Pg. 3

Chapter 2: Pg. 11

Chapter 3: Pg. 12

Chapter 4: Pg. 17

Conclusion: Pg. 22

Bilbliography: Pg. 23

Illustrations: Pg. 28

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Introduction

Why as a modern audience do we find the anti-hero more appealing than the
traditional morally righteous Hero? Proving that many stories follow a similar structure and
have more meaning than whats initially realised, this will be done by looking at the use of
structuralism, narratology and the heros journey. Then explore how characters are used in
stories and how they fall into structure using Jungs archetypes. Then researching why the
anti-hero has become popular by using psychoanalysis, meta-narratives and postmodernism
which should suggest that our way of thinking has changed in recent years. Then applying all
the findings on the case study of why Superman has become an anti-hero to fit in with the
audiences need.

Chapter 1

Structuralism seeks to analyse and interpret subjects such as human behaviour, culture
and experiences and identify underlying rules. Claude Lvi-Strauss looks at the differences
between primitive and cultured minds, comparing the language, and cultural rituals. Lvi-
Strauss believed that there must be a universal rule for all languages; otherwise it would be
near impossible to translate and communicate between languages. Lvi-Strauss noticed that
around the world there were myths similar to one another even though there may not have
been any contact between the various locations of origin. Lvi-Strauss observes, A
compilation of known tales and myths would fill an imposing number of volumes. But they
can be reduced to a small number of simple types if we abstract, from among the diversity of
characters, a few elementary functions. (Lvi-Strauss, 1963) Lvi-Strauss noticed in the
vast amount of myths and stories known around the world, that its possible to categorise
them and boil them down into their key elements using the characters alone to do this,
making the stories and myths appear less unique and more structured, seemingly following a
set of rules. Lvi-Strauss provides an example in his book Myth and Meaning where he
explains the various versions of a single myth about twins in its different forms.

Among the Tupinambas, the ancient coastal Indians of Brazil at the time of
discovery, as also among the Indians of Peru, there was a myth concerning a woman,
whom a very poor individual succeeded in seducing in devious way. The best known
version, recorded by the French monk Andr Thevet in the sixteenth century,
explained that the seduced woman gave birth to twins, one of them born from a

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 legitimate husband and the other from the seducer, who is the tricksterit so happens
that in North America, we find exactly the same myth, especially in the northwest of
the United States and Canada. (Lvi-Strauss, 1978)

Lvi-Strauss explains there is another version from the Indians of British Columbia and
Identifies the differences and similarities between the different versions. The myth from
France has the Trickster convince the woman he is the god and she conceives from the
Trickster but later finds her real husband and conceives from him also, because of this she
gives birth to twins but because they had two fathers one grew up to be brave while the other
was cowardly. The North American one there is only one fecundation which leads to the
birth of the twins, later one becomes the sun while the other becomes the moon. The British
Columbian version entails two sisters who were mislead by two individuals, both give birth
to sons. Lvi-Strauss mentions they are not really twins because the were born from
different mothers. But since they were born in exactly the same kind of circumstances, at
least from a moral and a psychological point of view, they are to that extent similar to twins
(Lvi-Strauss, 1978) This myth and its various versions shows that the same story can show
up in other places without having any contact. In Lvi-Strauss book The Raw and the
Cooked Lvi-Strauss uses the myth The Macaws and their nest to show how a myth can have
different variations. The oldest version of the myth involves a young boy following his
mother into the woods where he rapes her, the father figures out it was him and sends him to
the nest of souls to bring back a particular item. The Grandmother warns the son of the
danger and advises him to get help from the hummingbird. With help of the bird he retrieves
the rattle and the father sends out on another quest, which is successful, thanks to the help of
another creature and is sent out and returns from a third trial. The father decides to take
matters into his own hands and goes with the son to capture macaws, which nest on the edge
of a cliff. The grandmother gives the son a wand, which will save him if he were to fall. The
son was ordered to climb a pole to reach the nest, half way up the pole the father knocked the
pole and the son saves himself with the wand but is left hanging in a void. He eventually able
to escape the void thanks to the help of vultures and returns to his village to find it
abandoned, he follows the tracks left by his grandmother he finds the new village disguises
himself as a lizard and befriends the grandmother and the young brother. He is eventually
discovered by the father and welcomed back. The hero eventually tricks his father into going
hunting, where the hero turns into a deer and impales his father with the antlers. The other
important variation that Lvi-Strauss mentions is the one from the sherente, this one is

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somewhat similar to 4 of the other variations where two people go into the woods in search of
some food, the hero is asked to climb a ladder to check a nest in a tree, he finds two eggs
which he lies about finding, the companion gets angry with the hero and removes the ladder,
leaving the hero stuck in the tree for a number of days, he is then rescued by a jaguar. Lvi-
Strauss observes within the 6 variations that:

Up to a point these aspects of the social structure are reflected in the myth. The Bororo hero
in M1 discloses his identity first of all to his grandmother and his younger brother; the hero
in two Kayapo versions disclose his identity only to his motherin the Timbira version he
discloses his identity to his father; and in the Sherente version, to his brothers. The
correspondence therefore reflects only a partial opposition between paternal and maternal
but it is between the Bororo and the Sherente that the contrast between the two types of social
structure is most clearly marked. (Lvi-Strauss, 1970)

This is because in the original myth the boy raped the mother showing possessiveness
towards the mother and is hated by the father. In the Sherente version the hero was left in the
tree by his brother in law, and was presumed dead. He revealed his identity to his brothers,
who in turn told his mother, although at first she failed to believe them. Until the hero reveals
himself returning home with roasted meat the jaguar gave to him. The Sherente version has
been toned down considerably as the man in this version seemed wrongly betrayed where as
the original Bororo version the son was being punished and was forced on a personal journey
that awarded him the title of hero in the story. In the Sherente version the hero appears to be
on better terms with the mother as the father was never mentioned in the myth where as the
original clearly shows a possessiveness over women which in the myth was shown by the son
trying to own the woman through rape and the father owning her by murdering her so he
couldnt lose possession of her again. The way the mother/wife is used in these stories could
possibly link to the way the two groups viewed women. Which could be the reason why so
many similar myths appear with slight variations as different cultures would use the myths as
a way of describing their culture.

Narratology is the study of structures and the functions found in narratives looking at
any symbols, themes and conventions that may be found within them. Vladimir Propp studied
the structure of folktales, looking to find a structure that could link them all together. Like
Campbell, Propp has his own version of the heros journey, which consists of 31 narratemes

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or functions. Propp discusses one instance where the hero is given an item that helps in the
quest by using four examples. He then states Both constants and variables are present in the
preceding instances. The names of the dramatis personae change (as well as the attributes of
each), but neither their actions nor functions change. From this we can draw the inference
that a tale often attributes identical actions to various personages. (Propp, 1928) Meaning
besides from the different characters Propp has realised that these events are structurally the
same and from there would follow on to the next function. Propp initially created this
structure for folktales and can be applied to most stories including film as it is similar to
Campbells heros journey but has a fair few extra steps within the structure. Propp also
mentions the way characters often work within myths and folklore Going further, it is
possible to establish that characters of a tale, however varied they may be, often perform the
same actions. The actual means of the realization of functions can vary, and as such, it is a
variable. (Propp, 1928) Propp suggests narrative structures have variables, which means not
all 31 narratemes are used in a single story As for groupings, it is necessary to say first of all
that by no means do all tales give evidence of all functions. But this in no way changes the
law of sequence. The absence of certain functions does not change the order of the rest
(Propp, 1928) For example in the second stage of Propps functions, the first step can go one
of two ways, either the enemy kills or injures a family member OR a family member feels
lacking of something or feels a desire for something. Either one of these can happen, but both
dont have to occur in the same story in order to move the story on, but will always work
through the functions in the same order. Propp also discusses how characters may appear to
be different but perform similar actions as characters from other narratives.

Within all narratives characters interact with one another to create the stories. Each
character fulfils a certain role these roles are known as archetypes. In his book Archetypes
and the Collective Unconscious Jung explains that he believes that there is a system known as
the collective unconscious that give humans a basic instinct. There are as many archetypes
as there are typical situations in life. Endless repetition has engraved these experiences into
our psychic constitution, not in the form of images filled with content, but at first only as
forms without content (Carl Jung, 1959) What Jung argues that certain experiences reoccur
in human history which causes it to be stored somewhere in our minds, almost like pre-
installed software. Archetypes are part of the collective unconscious as Jung seems to be
suggesting these character profiles or archetypes are something we as humans have seen in

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real life over and over. The characteristics of an archetype are easily recognisable and have
become an instinct of sorts. As Jung states The term archetype thus applies only indirectly
to the reprsentations collectives, since it designates only those psychic contents which
have not yet been submitted to conscious elaboration and are therefore an immediate datum
of psychic experience. Archetypes as Jung has explained are part of the unconscious and so
we assign certain archetypes to people without always knowing why someone slots into that
archetype, this is because they are just forms without content, which suggests that, the forms
that he mentions are the set characteristics of an archetype. Peoples personality contain the
archetypal characteristics but would contains a certain amount of variables so that the
population is more varied with less similarities between one another. Within the media
archetypes are massively exaggerated and pronounced for effect and to create a bigger divide
between the characters. They are created from archetypes, which are used as tools to move
the story along, and yet although all characters follow a certain archetype they always have
enough variety within their character to stand out from all the other characters from their
archetype. The hero archetype is the character that saves the day. The hero is the expression
of individuals personas according to Jung. Persona meaning mask in Latin, it is what
protects our ego from anything negative that can cause the ego harm hence why the hero is
seen as a protector in media such as films. On the flip side of a hero is the shadow; if the hero
were the protector of the ego, then the shadow would be the weaker part of the psyche, the Id.
This is the darker side of the unconscious; this bit controls the survival instincts, weaknesses,
and desire. To protect the psyche the shadow is typically projected elsewhere to make the
individual feel more wholesome and less flawed. Considering the characteristics of both of
these archetypes the anti-hero, a character that is a flawed version of a hero and also the main
focus in this dissertation could be argued to represent different parts of the unconscious. The
anti-hero unlike the hero isnt bound as such to a moral high ground and saddled with as
much high expectations; he is able to bend the rules to suit his needs and not be thought of
poorly for doing so where as in comparison to the hero who would be seen in a negative light
if he were to start breaking rules like the anti-hero does. Although the anti-hero is allowed to
break the rules he is never considered an antagonist because he is still fighting for the same
reasons as the hero and still as an antagonist that put obstacles in his way. It could be possible
to say that the anti-hero could be similar to the hero in the sense of the persona and being a
shield for the ego, but what separates the two could be perhaps the Id has a little more control
with the anti-hero archetype. To look upon this from an unconscious point of view the anti-
hero could have become more popular now due to the way society has evolved and events

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that have occurred in recent history, perhaps an unconscious fully controlled by the super ego
and ego is no longer an option.

Figure 1 Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell is known for the heros journey monomyth. Joseph Campbell used
the heros journey to be able to show structure in myths and fairy-tales. The heros journey is
the 17-part structure that breaks down many stories, and films into key elements. Figure 1
shows the 17 stages, 5 stages occur in act one: Separation, 6 stages in act two: supreme
ordeal, and 6 stages in the third and final stage: unification. The heros journey takes place
within two worlds the ordinary world, which is the place that the hero would call home or at
very least the place he is most comfortable in, and also the special world which is where the
hero is unfamiliar and is put through many challenges so he is able to become a hero.
Campbell explains the heros journey in his book titled The Hero With a Thousand Faces

The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been
taken, or who feels there is something lacking in the normal experience available or
permitted to the members of society. The person then takes off on a series of
adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what has been lost or to discover
some life-giving elixir. It's usually a cycle, a coming and a returning. Campbell
(2008)

This gives a brief explanation of what the heros journey is; Campbell is also suggesting that
this cycle happens regularly within stories.

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 There are many films that also follow the heros journey one example of this is Star
Wars in which the hero is Luke Skywalker. In Star wars the ordinary world in which the first
five stages occur is the planet Tatooine where Luke lives comfortably with his Aunt and
Uncle. He later receives his call to adventure which Campbell would refer to as a blunder:

A blunder- apparently the merest chance-reveals an unsuspected world, and the

individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood. As
Freud has shown blunders are not the merest chance. They are the result of
suppressed desires and conflicts. They are ripples on the surface of life, produced by
unsuspected springsThe blunder may amount to to the opening of a destiny.
(Campbell, 1993)

The reason it would be considered as a blunder is because Lukes uncle initially purchased a
different R2 unit, which quickly malfunctioned which was then exchanged for R2D2 who
later shows a partial message of a call for help from a mysterious woman. The next stage is
the refusal to call which Campbell states The Myths and folk tales of the whole world make
clear that the refusal is essentially a refusal to give up what one takes to be ones own
interest. (Campbell, 1993) Luke tries to dismiss the message and refuses the call, this would
be because Luke cant leave before the harvest because he cant let his Uncle down that is
until R2D2 tries to deliver the message to the intended recipient and Luke and the other droid
(C3PO) is forced to go after the missing droid. For those who have not refused the call, the
first encounter of the hero-journey is with a protective figure (often a little old crone or old
man) who provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon forces he is about to
pass. (Campbell, 1993) The supernatural aid occurs when the three of them are then
ambushed by the sand people; and are rescued by his soon to be mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan then gives Luke a lightsaber, which would be the amulet that Campbell mentions.
Next is the crossing of the first threshold, Campbell explains that With the personifications
of his destiny to guide and aid him, the hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to
the threshold guardian at the entrance to the zone of magnified power. (Campbell, 1993)
Luke is forced to accept the call when his Aunt and Uncle were killed, he decides theres
nothing left for him and he crosses the threshold by going to Mos Eisley which is the
spaceport on Tatooine so the four of them can find a pilot to help them leave Tatooine, which
is where he meets another ally Hans Solo. In this case the threshold guardians would be the
stormtroopers that initially stop the group when they first arrive. Luke enters the belly of the
whale which is where his final separation from the ordinary world, the belly of the whale in

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star wars would be where Luke enters Hans ship the Millennium Falcon leaves Tatooine and
starts his lightsaber/Jedi training, this stage shows his commitment to the adventure. The road
of trials would start when the Luke first enters the death star in order to rescue the mysterious
woman in the message now known as Princess Leia. This is where Meeting the goddess also
occurs as Luke meets Princess Leia. The next stage known as temptation is the moment when
Luke encounters the dark side and is presented with the opportunity to join it. The atonement
with the father is the stage where the hero must confront the character that holds the most
power in the heros life; this stage is also in the middle of the journey. Apostasis as explained
in figure 1 is when someone dies a physical death or dies to the self to live in spirit, the hero
moves beyond the pairs of opposites. In Star Wars this would be the moment where the
mentor Obi-Wan dies and Luke becomes a Jedi. The ultimate boon is when The ease with
which the adventure is here accomplished signifies that the hero is a superior man, a born
king. (Campbell, 1993) In Star Wars this would be the Death Star being destroyed. The
refusal of return would be when Luke wants to stay on the Death star before the destruction
to avenge Obi-Wans death. The magic flight would be using the Millennium Falcon to get
away from the Death Star. The rescue from without, this stage would be when Luke is injured
from the battle with Darth Vader and Hans manages to rescue him. Crossing the return
threshold is when the Millennium Falcon destroys the Tie fighters that were following them,
and return to safety. The Masters of two worlds is the Victory ceremony where Luke and the
team receive medals for their heroism. And finally the freedom to live as Campbell explains
is The battlefield is symbolic of the field of life, where every creature lives on the death of
another. A realization of the inevitable guilt of life may so sicken the heart that, like
hamletone may refuse to go on with it. (Campbell, 1993) For Luke this would be the guilt
from the death of Obi-Wan however unlike Hamlet who Campbell mentions Luke has the
knowledge that the Rebellion was successful in defeating the Empire, which outweighs and
eases his guilt. This shows how easily films and other stories can be structured, even
characters themselves can be to some categorised and can be a repeating cycle.

Chapter 2

The anti-hero archetype has appeared in many myths and stories and for many years
going back as far as ancient Greek plays and literature. The first anti-hero is thought to be
either Odysseus from The Odyssey written by Homer in the 8th Century, or Kaoru Genji from

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The Tales of Genji written in the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu. Odysseus is considered to
be an anti-hero because of many reasons all of which are characteristically seen as unheroic
the first is the amount of lives he sacrificed in his search for glory in his battles and also
because of his affairs with Calypso and Circe. Kaoru Genji on the other hand is a story about
a child who was so indecisive and was constantly doubtful of himself so he never achieved
anything and was pitied by many of the other characters. Although The Tales of Genji was
written much later than The Odssey the reason it is undecided which is the first anti-hero is
because although The Odyssey was written first it is based upon opinion as to whether
Odysseus is an anti-hero or not, because he shows bravery, and strength and many other
heroic traits the unheroic deeds are considered overshadowed so many consider Odysseus to
be an epic hero instead like many of the protagonists seen in Greek literature. Genji on the
other hand shows no signs of heroic characteristic and his indecisiveness is considered a
major flaw. What makes a character considered as an anti-hero instead of a hero is the lack of
qualities that is attributed to the hero, qualities such as courage and selflessness and instead
can show signs of antagonists such as greed, violence, and recklessness. This is why
Odysseus as an anti-hero is debatable because he shows bravery and defeats his foes in battle.
Genji however doesnt accomplish anything and shows no signs of heroism. What defines an
anti-hero from an antagonist is the way the anti-hero however flawed they may appear they
are still relatable from the audiences point of view because they accept the flaws they have
and most if not all anti-heroes show signs of self hatred which means they know they are
flawed in someway and often show attempts of fixing the flaw. For the audience this makes
the anti-hero much more relatable and is less likely to be categorised as an antagonist because
unlike antagonists they are aware of right and wrong. Having said that anti-heroes can
sometimes be considered reckless and can often have the attitude that as long as justice is
done the means of which it was achieved shouldnt matter which means they are more likely
to break rules and less likely to follow the conformity of the society in which they live. Other
anti-heroes include Shakespeares Hamlet who is cast away when trying to get justice for his
fathers murder, he later kills an innocent man before he himself is poisoned and dies soon
after. His want for justice like many anti-heroes isnt of a selfish nature its often for someone
elses benefit, which is another reason they cant be classed as protagonists, although the way
they achieve justice may seem selfish and unjustly this is typically a means to an end.

The definition for anti-hero can be a broad one; this means many of the characters we
consider to be heroic may not be as heroic as we thought. The anti-hero like the hero works to

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receive justice not just for themselves like a villain but also for the world around them.
Batman for example initially starts his crime fighting to get the criminal who killed his
parent, however he discovers that theres a huge amount of corruption in Gotham and decides
to continue his crime fighting to save Gotham. The anti-hero can be morally flawed which
means he would do whatever is necessary to get the job done regardless of if it involves
breaking a few fingers or stealing from a few people in order to get some answers. Or it is
possible to be something simpler or more personal such as an addiction, or an illness or
something that handicaps the anti-hero and stops him being a hero.

Chapter 3- The Rise of the Anti hero

Psychoanalysis is the study of looking at how the human mind works on a

subconscious level. This includes the idea of the ego, super ego and the id. The id is the
darker side of the psyche it contains the primitive instincts that helps humans to survive in the
book Introducing Freud: A graphic guide Zarate and Appignanesi summarises Freuds work.
They discuss the unconscious and state that the unconscious made up of desires, impulses or
wishes of a mostly sexual and sometimes destructive nature, These unconscious wishes get
their energy from the primary physical instincts (Zarate and Appignanesi, 2007) Here they
mention the unconscious which is where the id primarily functions and would be the physical
instinct that they mentioned this would make the unconscious wild, unpredictable however
the pre-conscious and conscious often supress the desires from the id and the unconscious as
this part of the psyche is responsible for the violence and the chaos. The opposite of the id
would be the super ego which isnt fully conscious, its influenced by ones parents and people
around us, the super ego is the part of the psyche that discovers what is socially acceptable
and has a strong sense of good and bad. The super ego is often extreme as it strives for
perfection and is the source of guilt if the ego temporarily succumbs to the ids desires and
causes a fear of punishment. The ego is the centre point for the id and super ego being part of
both the conscious and pre-conscious, the preconscious being the gate way between the
unconscious and conscious only allowing acceptable thoughts and desires to get through to
the conscious. The ego creates balance between the two to create a realistic set of rules for
what is acceptable by societys standards. The ego is heavily influenced by the outside world
and the society that surrounds it. Palmer backs up this idea in the book Structuralism and post
structuralism for beginners. The main function of the ego is that of compromise between the

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id and super ego, through delaying tactics (theres a time and a place for everything), or
through displacement and sublimation. (Palmer, 1997) This is suggesting that the ego is the
realistic thinker of the three, where as the super ego is more idealist. Freud explains that "The
poor ego has a still harder time of it; it has to serve three harsh masters, and it has to do its
best to reconcile the claims and demands of all three...The three tyrants are the external
world, the superego, and the id." (Freud, 1932) this reiterates that the ego is the neutral part of
the brain and has to balance itself between the id and the ego so that it can then conform to
the external world. Its possible to relate the three archetypes, hero, anti-hero and the shadow
to each part of the subconscious. The hero would be the super ego, being expected to be
perfect, representing the idealisms, extreme sense of right and wrong, the hero even creates a
fear of punishment to criminals like the super ego would to the ego. It can also be argued that
where the super ego isnt fully conscious so its not easily accessible or controllable in the
similar way that many heroes have traits that are exaggerated beyond regular human abilities,
for example Sherlock Holmes is a regular human but his power of deduction is beyond
human and is almost impossible to imitate in the real world. The ego role could then be taken
by the anti-hero, the reason for this would be that the anti-hero isnt striving for perfection
like the ego, but doesnt act on primal instincts like the id.
The hero often looks down upon the anti-hero if they act too chaotically giving in to the id
instincts, and like the ego the anti-hero often listens to the side of good or the super ego more
than the id with its primitive instincts another reason why the anti-hero is more a hero than a
antagonist. The anti-hero would also be considered usually to be the most relatable to the
audience because it isnt perfect and does make mistakes. The shadow would take the role of
the id acting on primal instincts, known for being chaotic, selfish and unpredictable, and like
the id, the shadow can be suppressed or defeated by the hero and the anti-hero.

Lvi-Strauss focused on how similar myths can appear in different places without any
kind of contact. Lvi-Strauss also researched where the myths could have come from. One
theory that he had suggested that the myths might be formed based upon the culture in which
it was made and the opinions that it had. In Structuralism in myth Lvi-Strauss explains that:

if a given mythology confers prominence to a certain character, let us say an evil

grandmother, it will be claimed that in such a society grandmothers are actually evil
and that mythology reflects the social structure and the social relations; but should

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 the actual data be conflicting, it would be readily claimed that the purpose of
mythology is to provide an outlet for repressed feelings (Levi-Strauss, 1955)

This is suggesting that the myths could be linked to the culture when it was created or at very
least it could be considered as Lvi-Strauss said a representative of a repressed feeling about
something. It can be said that the film industry follows a similar pattern. It is often seen in
modern cinema theres a number of popular films released within a certain time frame and
they are usually of a similar genre and approach similar subject. An example would be the
topic of 9/11 one of the most tragic events in recent American history. Since the 9/11 attacks
that occurred in 2001 there have been over thirty films that have the 9/11 attacks as part of
the story line many of which were released between 2004 to 2006. This helps to support the
idea that myths and films are often linked to the society in which it was made because around
2004 the world was still in shock and still remembering and many still living the events that
occurred in that attack. As we now see a rise in anti-heroes in film including Batman in
Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012, Sherlock
Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Iron Man (2008), Iron
man 2 (2010), The Avengers Assemble (2013), Iron man 3(2013) and The Avengers: Age of
Ultron(2015), Ant man (2015) and the upcoming film Deadpool (2016), this could help to
suggest that the world is currently seen as flawed and we have become untrusting of the
world around us because of all the betrayal and unnecessary violence, it could be that the
usual hero that fights for good and justice, the hero that stands for all that is good in a nation,
may be too perfect for the audience to trust in at the moment. In an online article The Rise of
the anti-hero the author Jonathan Michael wrote Endless cultural progress was
Modernisms empty promise, and it resulted in a deep-seated mistrust of the establishment,
including is boundaries between right and wrong. (Michael[U1], 2013) Michael refers to
amount of trauma our parents and grandparents had to endure mentioning the terrors that
soldiers witnessed from WWII. He also mentions the Kennedy assassinations, cold war, the
Korean war and the Vietnam war as well as a number of others he named as some of the
worst acts in human history. It becomes clear that the regular heroes we are used to seeing are
even less relatable to the audience. Although Michael was referring to the anti-heroes seen in
cinema between the 1940s and the 1970s this has become true again in 2016 in the last 20
years theres been countless terrorist attacks including the previously mentioned 9/11 in 2001
there was also the 7/7 in 2005 bombings in London targeting the public transport. Then
theres the Isis attack in Paris where dozens of people were killed and in retaliation the UK

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government decides to bomb Syria. Heroes can no longer be considered trust worthy when
people are barely able to trust the world around them because of the violence and then theres
the amount of mistrust towards the people in the government because of the stories that arise
revealing its abuse of power. The higher power in which people should naturally follow
without question, is now being constantly questioned and criticised because of the choices its
making. So the higher power in which the hero poses is entirely wasted upon the audience as
theres too much corruption in the real world to trust anything, which is why the anti-hero
could have become so popular, because the audience can see the flaws and the anti-hero isnt
trying to be perfect like the traditional hero so the audience arent surprised if they do
something thats considered morally wrong. The audience are starting to question the meta-
narratives of the real world and this being reflected in the film industry.

A meta-narrative, in basic terms, is a story within a story, one big ideology from
which many smaller stories derive. As Glenn Ward explains Metanarrative is an
overarching story which can supposedly account for, explain or comment upon the validity of
all other stories, a universal or absolute set of truths. (Ward, 2010). As Ward explains
Meta-narratives are usually seen as absolute truth or a utopian dream, many meta-narratives
are still seen as absolute truths but only by certain people. Take for example Christianity,
many years ago England was solely a Christian country there were no doubts that Christianity
and the bible were true. However people have now started to question the truths that
Christianity believes in and so the country has started to divide, specially when they will not
allow gay marriage because it is considered against Gods will because it is a sacred unity
between a man and a woman. Then theres as previously mentioned the Vatican who were
accused of setting policies that allowed priests to sexually abuse thousands vulnerable
children without being investigated. So people are unable to trust the church, as theres too
much hypocrisy and wrong doing which they justify by using god as a scapegoat. In a similar
way that Hitler was about to carryout the holocaust, in which millions of people died because
they didnt fit into Hitlers ideals, his targets included the Jews, the gypsies, mentally and
physically handicapped, political prisoners, homosexuals and resistance fighters to name but
a few. The slaughter of all these people happened because of the technological advances that
were made was manipulated to give one man what he wanted. Hitler and his followers
believed that killing these people was the right thing to do for a better world but for a long
while the gas chambers and the mass shootings and all the scientific experiments were kept

15
secret from the world. When it eventually became known people who didnt believe in this
ideology can see that it was wrong and twisted. When considering this and putting into
consideration people have become mistrusting because if Hitler is able to keep something like
this secret from the world, what is everyone else hiding? In The Postmodern Condition Jean-
Francois Lyotard stated

To the obsolescence of the metanarrative apparatus of legitimation corresponds,

most notably, the crisis of metaphysical philosophy and of the university institution
which in the past relied on it. The narrative function is losing its functors, its great
hero, its great dangers, its great voyages, its great goal. (Lyotard, 1993)

Lyotard explains that meta-narratives are now becoming obsolete because of the crisis of the
metaphysical philosophy, which means that the existence of the meta-narrative itself is being
questioned, Lyotard mentions the great goal of the meta-narrative being lost, this could be
because people are becoming more and more incredulous because the belief in a meta-
narrative is slowly being chipped away by hypocrisy and wrong doing which leaves people
being able to see some of the faults of the meta-narrative. This is important to the rise of the
anti-hero because as mentioned previously films can be a reflection upon the views of the
society, so the anti-hero becoming so popular may be because of the lack of belief we have in
an overall ideology because it often ends up becoming manipulative and corrupted. The anti-
hero becomes relatable because they arent perfect, and theres often no higher power
controlling them, so are less corrupt than a traditional hero who works within a societys
ideals. People are therefore starting to look at things differently, and the film industry is
trying to keep up with this by producing a new kind of hero that doesnt represent a higher
power. For these reasons, the use of Meta narratives has shifted and made way for
postmodernism; which specifically focuses on the changes in which society views heroes and
anti-heroes.

Postmodernism can be considered as another reason as to why the anti-hero has

become more popular in recent years. Postmodernism is something that celebrates changes
and the disobedience of rules. Postmodernism can be considered as another reason as to why
the anti-hero has become more popular in recent years. Whats considered as postmodernism
is constantly changing because something that is considered postmodern is supposed to be
considered as a different way of thinking, or purposely breaking the rules to create something

16
new and exciting. Sarup explains that postmodernism reaches out and is applicable to many
people. One thing is clear: postmodernism is of great interest to a wide range of people
because it directs out attention to the changes, the major transformations taking place in
contemporary society and culture. The term is at once fashionable and elusive. (Sarup,
1993) As Sarup explains, postmodernism is about making a major adjustment to what society
knows and changing the way it thinks about a subject. When looking at the anti-hero it
becomes clear why they are so popular when considering postmodernism. Within cinema we
as an audience have been used to the hero being strong, practically immortal either as a super
power or by sheer luck avoiding danger. The hero is morally just and is typically a symbol for
a society, take for example Captain America, he stands for everything that should be good
within America he fights for justice and continued to believe the wars he was fighting were
fully justified and showed full support for them, which now we dont find hugely desirable
thanks to the amount of wars that have occurred and the devastation that has been witnessed
because of them. However Marvel has managed to give Captain America a new lease for life
by adding him into the Avengers, his old ways and traditional patriotism and optimism is lost
within the modern world, which has become highly sceptical.

Chapter 4

Since the film Superman (1978), Superman has undergone a massive transformation.
Starting as the bright suit, all American hero, who fits into the society, Superman has recently
become a dark brooding alien who stays isolated. Superman (real name Kal-el) is an alien
from the extinct planet Krypton and is known for his iconic blue and red suit with the red and
yellow S symbol. He was raised on a farm in Smallville, on earth with two earth parents; he
was given the name Clark Kent after they found him as a baby. When hes grown up he
moves to Metropolis and works for the newspaper company The Daily Planet. The three main
reincarnations of superman in films were played by Christopher Reeve (Figure 2) who starred
in Superman (1978) Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983) and Superman IV (1987) ,
Brandon Routh (figure 3) in Superman Returns (2006) and the most recent, Henry Cavill
(figure 4) in Man of Steel (2013).

17
Figure 2 Christopher Reeve (1978) Figure 3 Brandon Routh(2006) Figure 4
Henry Cavill (2013)

Just by looking at the suits and the way the characters are photographed theres a
visual correlation between the suits and the personality superman is being given. In Figure 2
Superman is given a bold traditionally heroic pose, which shows a headstrong, powerful
character, he is clearly seen as an American patriot with the flag used as a backdrop. The suit
has bright bold colours, which to the audience would suggest safety and friendliness, which
reflects the personality of this incarnation of the hero. Figure three retains the brightness of
the blue but the reds have been toned down, suggesting that this particular incarnation is
following the personality of the predecessor however the darker tones suggest that there are
more serious aspects to this character or a less confident character. Figure 3 shows a
determined, protective figure, who shows an element of insecurity. Figure 4 shows the most
recent incarnations of the character. The darker tones make him less approachable compared
to the previous two, but his pose shows confidence and power while crossing his arms
making him appear closed off and defensive. This image shows independence and doesnt
answer to any one. Comparing figure 2 and figure 4 its clear to see that superman has lost his
patriotism and has managed to isolate himself, the dark background gives a feeling of
coldness and isolation.

The Christopher Reeves version of Superman is probably the most charming and
innocent of the three. This version of Superman is the most altruistic and sincere rendition of
the character; being a good influence doing whats right. This Superman fits the hero
archetype perfectly, with his characteristics including selflessness, bravery, and a good sense
of right and wrong he is the representation of the American dream and everything America
wants to stand for, he fights for truth and justice, believing in freedom and equality, he is

18
constantly searching for ways to find peace going so far as to collect up all the nuclear
weaponry in Superman IV (1987). Throughout the four movies the meta-narrative of the
American dream is in tact, with Superman essentially being the provider of this by making
sure the villains who are typically the high end business entrepreneurs arent able to take
advantage of the common wealth, so he is providing the equality and the freedom that the
American dream stands for. However as perfect as Superman is in Superman III (1983) he
becomes corrupted by the hands of synthetic kryptonite, which was laced in tar. Pure
kryptonite is Supermans one weakness which can kill him if hes exposed to it long enough,
however the synthetic version didnt kill him but in fact divided him, so his mind was battling
between an evil Superman and the goodness of his alter ego Kent Clark. During this battle its
easy to see the conflict within superman as his suit darkens (Figure 5) and Superman is found
consuming alcohol which is something he would never typically do. This mental battle could
be considered to be a battle between his super ego and the id. Kent Clark being the
perfectionist striving for good and perfection giving him the human compassion that people
on Krypton were lacking, and his kryptonian descent and power thriving as the id, helping
him to survive. Superman III (1983) Could be considered the start of the downfall of
Superman because of that moment, Supermans morality was put into question, because of his
behaviour, he betrayed peoples trust by turning against them. Then in Superman IV (1987) as
mentioned before Superman tries to remove all threat of nuclear war, however he himself
admits this task is too big a job for him, in which case this can be interpreted as Superman
admitting the American dream isnt possible.

Figure 5 Dark Superman (1983)

Brandon Rouths incarnation of Superman is the bridge between the two extremes. As
he feels the need to return, but isnt trying to be the main show. Superman Returns (2006)

19
continues the story of Superman II (1980) and begins with Kent Clark returning after being
away for many years, and is trying to pick up from where he left. Lois Lane who was once a
huge fan of Superman disowns him by writing an article titled why the world doesnt need
Superman. In the films Lois from this film is the first to express her cynicism of the reliance
on Superman. Lois questioning of their need for Superman reflects the audiences own
curiosity as the meta-narratives in reality are starting to break down and being interrogated.
This film was created post 9/11 and the film cut down on the American patriotism, and even
questioned it when the owner of the Daily Planet asked if Superman still stands for truth and
justice when he finally makes his return. So the people of Metropolis arent fully trusting of
him, which reflects upon the idea that films correlate with societies own opinion. After 9/11
everyone became mistrusting of outsiders to a point where airline security was tightened up
and everything was restricted.

Henry Cavills Superman is the darkest of the three. His suit is the first sign of such as
its the darkest tonally reflecting on his personality. Where the previous incarnations show
Superman coming to terms with his powers easily while in the care of his earth parents
Jonathan and Martha Kent, then shown a massive contrast of character of Superman and
Clark Kent. Superman is seen as brave, confident and powerful where as Kent is seen as
weak, unconfident and clumsy but all round an unusually good character who usually
disguises himself using large framed glasses and an oversized suit with a job at the Daily
Planet and a permanent residence and a well maintained life. In Man of Steel (2013) Kent is
seen as a child struggling to come to terms with his powers, and still struggling with his
identity, as he becomes an adult. The adult Kent unlike previous versions is able to appear
more confident and appears more intimidating wearing clothes that show off his build. Hes
also shown to be unable to hold down a job and has no permanent residence and is shown to
have an issue controlling his anger at the beginning of the film. This version of Superman can
therefore be considered as flawed thus he enters the realm of the anti-hero archetype. This is
backed up by the way he remains isolated throughout the film not making any real
connections to the other characters. And he isnt trusted by the military and is constantly seen
as a potential threat because he is more powerful than they are and also because he isnt
human. This is shown when the military have locked him in isolation because he may have
alien pathogens that could harm humans ignoring the fact he states that hes been on earth for
33 years. This again can reflect on the meta-narrative becoming incredulous. Real life events
that were explained previously have been building up in the back of the audiences minds,

20
creating a lack of trust in high powers. Which is being reflected by the military not trusting
Superman assuming he could turn against the humans and try to destroy them like the villain,
General Zodd who was also from Krypton. This reflects on the audience as our mistrust from
outsiders or the unknown is being formed because of various wars and direct attacks on one
anothers society. This idea is backed up even more in the upcoming film Batmans v
Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) where the plot synopsis follows the events of man of steel
and people are divided as to whether Superman is a superhero or a threat, based on the
amount of destruction he caused in his fight with General Zod as he managed to destroy a
large part of Metropolis and considering he in fact ended the battle with his foe by killing him
in cold blood its no wonder people are starting to fear him and question his heroism, he is
unable to be classed as a antagonist because he was protecting earth for the humans sake,
where he could have turned against the humans and helped General Zod to bring his people
back from extinction, instead he chooses to destroy the chance of re-creating Krypton so that
the inhabitants of earth are able to live on because its the selfless thing to do. However for
the audience this darker side of Superman in some ways more relatable as a character hes a
flawed character who is struggling to fit in and unable to understand his own identity, so hes
no longer an icon for the American dream or a perfect specimen whos untouchable, in Man
of Steel he is able to be hurt without kryptonite making him appear more human giving the
audience more to relate to, he even shows grief for the death of his earth father in a way that
people are able to relate, his personality has also become more complex and less transparent,
so has become more real in some ways. So although he has many superpowers and is
considered now more of a threat than a friend, on the subconscious and emotional level he
appears more relatable and more human than the original Superman.

Conclusion

In conclusion, using the works of Lvi-Strauss, Propp and Campbell it was proven
that stories are based upon a similar structure which is typically known as the heros journey,
it was also found that many myths are reflections of the societies repressed feeling about a
subject which was then successfully translated to the transformation of Superman to prove
that the audience in modern times are no longer in need of traditional heroes but in fact need
more complex characters with questionable morality so that they are more relatable,
characters with an extreme sense of right and representative of a higher power lose the
audiences trust because of the failing of the meta-narratives in reality. The audience has
entered a postmodern era where everything is questioned and is in need of something that

21
they consider different and new. Which superman was able to provide by becoming more
complex and torn away from any connection with the government allowing the audience to
create a connection with the character relating to certain emotions which isnt possible with a
hero because of their perfection and our mistrust, theyve now become un-relatable and
Unnecessary. The anti-hero has taken the place of the hero because its something different
and are usually in some way relatable to the audience.

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Illustration list

Figure 1. Heros journey (Illustration)

http://www.sfcenter.ku.edu/Workshop-stuff/Joseph-Campbell-Hero-Journey.htm (accessed
on 16/11/2015)

Figure 2. Christopher Reeve (1978) (Illustration)

27
http://culticon.blogspot.co.uk/2015_04_19_archive.html (Accessed on 20/1/16)

Figure 3. Brandon Routh (2006) (Illustration)

http://www.factfiend.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/superman_returns_25.jpg

Figure 4. Henry Cavill (2013) (Illustration)

http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/man-of-steel-henry-cavill-superman.jpg

Figure 5. Dark Superman (1983) (film still)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6xoH967aC00/TRyFOz8YOvI/AAAAAAAAb_w/DU6bYjD6XV
Y/s1600/reign072.jpg

28