These are the questions you should answer in your weekly contribution to the “Class Discussion” page. Do not comment on these questions here – post your contribution to the “Class Discussion” page.
Due March 26: We will be focusing on the Superman reading for Tuesday, so please bring it to class and submit your input to the class discussion on how you see the character of Superman adding to the conversations we’ve been having about heroes – how does he compare to Oedipus? to Gregor? What does Superman tell us about American culture and its values? You don’t have to answer all of these questions – choose whichever one speaks to you, and see you on Tuesday!
Due March 12: What are your first impressions of Oedipus in Oedipus the King – how would you describe his character? Point to a moment you think really illustrates what kind of a man he is.
Due March 5th: What larger point did Tupac make when he said that ‘America is a gang’? What does he think is wrong with the way that America thinks about gangs? Would Emerson think that Tupac was a “great man,” based on the criteria he laid out in “Uses of Great Men”? Would Zimbardo? You don’t have to answer each of these questions, they are meant to be a jumping-off point for your own thoughts and contributions to class discussion about the interview.
Due February 27: Do you see connections between Emerson’s ideas about “great men” and some of the other approaches to heroes we’ve discussed so far in class?
Superman V.S American Culture
The first occurrence of superman was in 1938 created by comic book artists Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The comic book superman today is regarded as the most embodiment of comic book superhero. Superman has retained certain characteristics in the American public perception of his character, such as being flawless, gentle, kindhearted, selfless, resolute with knowledge of right and wrong and decisive in a crisis. The Superman story is a perfect mythical model that exemplifies the cultural reality of an era in US. During the time of the occurrence of superman, the U.S. was suffering the great depression. When ordinary people were not able to change the bad situation in reality, they imagined there was a mythical hero like superman save the country. Furthermore his split personality in the book most exemplifies the cultural spiritual values of American people in society. Since besides his role as a superman, he also is Clark Kent, a regular reporter for the ‘Daily Planet’, one part relates to his super-natural powers and the other to the profane reality of the everyday world. The superman part symbolizes the ideals of individual freedom and power, the reporter part is quite a contrast by the limits imposed by the reality of everyday life as represented by the humble Clark Kent. Such a contrast reveals the truth of human spiritual equivocation. Don’t we all at times live in a fantasy world but soon are awakened from our dreams and have to come down and live on earth like Clark Kent.
Hello!!! Well, I read the text and it is relating to how people are by nature with their virtues, hard situations and differences. Also, it talks about how people react and live in society. The main connection that I got is that all people are wise like heroes are, but we don’t see it because we limit our ideas of a hero when we just think that a hero is only one person as a figure with his/ her attributes. The idea of individualism and hero is that heroes have a predetermined conception (a general characteristic and figure of hero), while the individualism is affected by how great is a hero, different from a common man which is the every single person with every different characteristics.