Final Essay: Superheroes As A Reflection of Society

Our favorite superheroes were traditionally linked with perfection because they have always been perceived as role models in their own ways. But as time goes by, we somehow require our superheroes to adapt with our present situations. No longer do we simply embrace Superman or Captain America because they are innately “good.” We want our heroes to be flawed and conflicted, just like we are. I repeat, just like we are. We want to see them struggle and sometimes even fail before they do the right thing. Maybe because its the human way of discovering the right step or the next decision in life, and as humans we want to witness that even the superheroes we look up to are just like us and they posses imperfections similar to what we have. These mythical men and women first try to reject, then battle and finally accept their shadows. It is their shadows that propel them forward to their quests. Just like us, it’s our life’s work to wrestle with our demons, to move through that battle to the other side with acceptance, and finally, to integrate this shadow, moving from shame to light, from powerlessness to action. On our human heroic quest, we are learning to take what we formerly denied, to make actionable what used to terrify, petrify and immobilize us, and to harness it for a higher purpose. To be human is to be real in all its complexity and to be real is part of what make us truly heroic. Today these same qualities are not only forgiven, but in a way embraced. We don’t want our superheroes to be perfect, because we aren’t perfect. We want to watch them struggle and make mistakes because, as ironical as it seems, it somehow gives us hope.