Savior figures Savior figures in U.S. media in U.S. media and literatureand literature

Lone Rangers:Lone Rangers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxIuIxqo2So

Michael Fitzgerald April 9, 2008

History of the Lone Ranger•Commissioned by WXYZ (Detroit) owner, George Trendle, in 1932.•Written by Fran Striker of Buffalo, N.Y. Trendle and Striker also created The Green Hornet, another vigilante crime-fighter series.•Lone Ranger character was loosely based on Zorro, but a similar character had been introduced in 1932 on WEBR (Buffalo), where Striker was GM, announcer, and writer.•LR became the first hit series for Mutual Broadcasting System (WXYZ, Detroit; WOR, N.Y/N.J; WGN, Chicago; and WLW, Cincinnati) in 1934.; ran on radio until 1954.•Appeared in a series of dime novels from 1936 to 1956.•Made into a series of B movies by Republic Pictures in 1938.•Serialized in newspaper comic strips dist. by King Features Syndicate (Hearst), 1938-1971.•Became a TV series starring Clayton Moore in 1949, which ran on ABC-TV until 1957, appeared in reruns for several years.•Moore appeared in movie versions in 1956 and 1958.•Appeared in Dell Comics in 1948-1962; also in Gold Key Comics, 1964-1977.•Appeared in TV cartoon from 1966 to 1968 on CBS-TV, also in 1980s.•Remade as a movie in 1981.•Appeared as video game, 1990. •WB network tried to revive the series, 2003. •Appeared as an action figure from Shocker Toys, 2006.•New movie being developed as of 2006; still on hold.

Other savior figures in literature and media

What do these figures have in common?

•They are almost always “strangers.”•They possess extraordinary or superhuman powers.•They are better, smarter, more capable and more trustworthy than ordinary mortals.•They are often exposed to temptation but never succumb to it.•They are never married or have families to attend to.•They do not operate according to man-made laws but answer only to a “higher law” or “code of honor.”•They materialize to rescue us from evil-doers, because our established leaders and institutions are either ineffectual, corrupt, or both.•They are nearly always white.•Ninety percent or more are male.

Superhero scaleVirginian Lone Ranger Superman Green Hornet Batman Spiderman Equalizer Paladin

Wonder Woman

Year introduced 1902 1933 1938 1936 1939 1962 1985 1957 1941Type Hired gun Vigilante Vigilante Vigilante Detective Vigilante Vigilante Hired gun VigilanteUnattached 1 1 1 1 1 1Refuses money 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Independently wealthy 1 1 1 1Has secret identity/alter ego 1 1 1 1 1 1Wears mask 1 1 1 1Wears special costume 1 1 1 1 1Has sidekick/assistant/servant 1 1 1 1 1

Disappears/leaves town after deed 1 1 1 1 1 1Has super powers 1 1 1Employs violence 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Employs lethal violence 1 1 1Loner/outsider (no friends or family) 1 1 ? 1 1Symbolic death & resurrection 1 1 1White 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Male 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Not affiliated with government 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Motivated by revenge 1 1Motivated by justice 1 1 1 1 1 .5 0.5 1Has strict code of honor 0.5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Self-appointed 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.5 1Cool under fire 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Impatient with bureaucracy 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Fights crime 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Young (under 40) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Extraordinarily modest/selfless 1 1 1 1 1TOTAL 7.5 22 20 20 21 15 12 15SCORE 30.00% 88.00% 80.00% 80.00% 84.00% 60.04% 48.00% 60.00%

Superhero pantheonSuperhero pantheon

Greek pantheonGreek pantheon

Archetype: avenging angelArchetype: avenging angel

Archetypes: Classical hero vs. American superhero

Classical hero: •Goes on a journey or “quest.”•Exposed to temptation or distraction, usually from females.•Symbolically dies and is resurrected.•Gets tested in some sort of battle, and becomes competent (possible ritual of passage for young men into adulthood). SOURCE: Joseph Campbell, Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton. N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972 [1949].

American superhero:•Appears from nowhere •Probably a god or demigod.•Has supernatural abilities.•Represents/carries out vengeance and retribution.•Promotes “pop Fascism.”•SOURCE: John Sheldon Lawrence & Robert Jewett. American Monomyth. Lanham, Md. University Press of America, 1988.

Avenging-angel figures found in• The Bible: Michael the archangel, Book of Daniel (OT), Malachi,

Book of Malachi (OT), Jesus in Revelation (NT).• Arthurian legend (England): Lancelot, Galahad, et al.• Dime novels: Robert M. Byrd, Nick of the Woods (1837), Owen

Wister, The Virginian (1902), et al.• Comic books: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Capt. America,

Daredevil, Thor, et al.• Radio: the Shadow, the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet .• Television: Lone Ranger, The Virginian, Superman, Batman,

Green Hornet, Wonder Woman, Buffy, Xena.• Movies: John Wayne, Rambo, Steven Segall, Luke Skywalker (Star

Wars), Charles Bronson (Death Wish), Chuck Norris, Terminator, et al.

• Video games: Requiem: Avenging Angel.

Archetype: avenging angel

Michael the Archangel, Book of Daniel (Old Testament)

Avenging Angel, 2007 TV series, Hallmark Channel

The Avenging Angel (later renamed The Angel,

Marvel Comics character

“You are Malachi, the Lord's avenging

angel. You have been charged with

kicking demonic ass, and saving

humanity. Are you up to it?”

SOURCE: Jon Simon. “Game Review: Requiem: Avenging Angel.” Sharky Extreme Games.com. http://www.sharkyextremegames.com/games/reviews/3do/requiem/.May 19, 1999. Retrieved April 6, 2008.

Archetype: avenging angel

Avenging angels— G-rated:

First issue of Action Comics, June 1938, featuring Superman.

Other avenging angels—not so nice:

• Movie version, 1914. • Movie version, 1929

feat. Gary Cooper.• Movie version, 1946.• TV version, 1962,

feat. James Drury.

The Virginian, (Owen Wister novel, 1902)

Other avenging angels—not so nice:

John Wayne in The Searchers, 1956.

Other avenging angels—not so nice:

• Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey in Death Wish, et al.)

• 1974• 1982• 1985• 2009?

Other avenging angels—not so nice:

• John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone in First Blood, et al.)

• 1982 • 1985 • 1988 • 2008

Other avenging angels—not so nice

• The Terminator (Arnold Schwartzenegger)

• 1984• 1991• 1993

National policy ramifications

“Powerful myths aren’t confined to literature’—they can influence individual actions and national policy…. Sometimes politicians will consciously try to exploit the mythic appeal of certain symbols. But most people use [and respond to] myths unconsciously.”

SOURCE: People. “In His Own Words: The Iran Arms Scandal, Says a Historian, Shows How the Power of Myth Can Cloud People’s Minds.” Jan 19, 1987. Database: ProQuest E-library.

Political leaders as avenging-angel figures: Teddy Roosevelt

“We stand at Armageddon, and we battle for the Lord!”Theodore Roosevelt. “Address to the Republican Convention in Chicago.” June 17, 1912. Quoted in Joseph Bucklin Bishop. Theodore Roosevelt and His Time , Shown in His Own Letters. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1920, 336.

Political leaders as avenging-angel figures: Harry Truman

Referring to the dropping atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed more than 200,000 civilians, Truman said, “I didn’t hesitate a minute, and I’ve never lost a minute of sleep over it.” SOURCE: Time. “The World of Harry Truman.” Jan. 8, 1973.

SOURCE: Tom Shales. “’Speakes’ ‘Rambo’ Reaction.” Washington Post. July 4, 1985, D-1. On microfilm. .

Avenging-angel figures as political leaders: Ronald Reagan

“After seeing Rambo last night, I know what to do next time....”

Ronald Reagan, referring to the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979.

Avenging-angel figures as political leaders:

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Political leaders as avenging-angel figures:

George W. Bush

“God told me to strike at al Qaida, and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam….”SOURCE: Aarnon Reqular. “’Road map is a life saver for us,' PM Abbas tells Hamas.” Ha’aretz (Jerusalem). http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=310788&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y. Retrieved April 6, 2008.

“George Bush: Elite Force Aviator” action figure from KB Toys.

http://www.kbtoys.com/genProduct.html/PID/2431939/ctid/17?_ts=y&ls=toys.

Political leaders as avenging-angel figures:

George W. Bush

Political leaders as avenging-angel figures:

“The Bush Warriors: America’s Battle Against Evil.” Der Spiegel (Germany). August, 2002.

Colin Powell as Batman

Donald Rumsfeld as Conan the Barbarian

George W. Bushas John Rambo

Dick Cheneyas the Terminator

Condoleeza Riceas Xena, Warrior Princess

Recap:•Lone Ranger can be considered a superhero, even though he has no superhuman powers.•American superheroes are based on biblical avenging-angel archetype rather than the classical-hero type.•There are dozens of these figures in U.S. literature and media.•Sometimes U.S. leaders see themselves as such figures.

Closing question• IF:

The avenging-angel figure feels that the use of unsanctioned (i.e., illegal) violence is always justified whenever he sees fit to use it;

• THEN:What does the U.S. public’s hunger for an unelected, self-appointed vigilante, who has unlimited power to commit violence without societal approval, indicate about our true attitudes regarding democracy?