Taking the Hero's Journey... Together.
- Gatharion
- Apr 17, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 26, 2021
I just happened to listen to both of these podcasts within the last week:
Both shows brought up a compelling topic that I'd never really considered before. Namely that stories, especially the stories that we tell ourselves, can be detrimental.
I've always been a big advocate in the positive and inspirational quality of stories. Heck, they can even be used to help keep robots from acting like psychopaths. https://www.news.gatech.edu/2016/02/12/using-stories-teach-human-values-artificial-agents
Drawing inspiration from stories was the topic of one of my first blog posts even: https://gatharion8.wixsite.com/codexg/home/inspiration-representation-and-bad-ass-ladies
And no one is really seeking to usurp that notion writ-large, but it's worth reflecting on how we storify our lives, how we twist historical facts to make them more narrative and digestible, and how we allow our stories to dictate our public discourse and policy decisions.
I was driving to work while listening to one of the above podcasts and noticed a bumper sticker that read "I don't call 911" and in answer to the unasked question of "why not?" such a statement might provoke
***Brake Screech***
[So… I wrote this blog post two years ago in 2019 and didn’t realize that it wasn’t complete! I’ve had uploading issues with Wix, but it could have also been a copy paste error on my part. Either way, I clearly didn’t look it over closely enough before or after hitting the publish button. And then evidently have stayed away awhile... Rather than simply remove the post, though, I thought it might be more interesting to see if I could resurrect some of my thoughts from that time as well as add some from my 2021 perspective.]
Let’s start with finishing the final thought above with the “I don’t call 911” bumper sticker. I interpret that bumper sticker as a declaration of desire. That the driver has a fantasy in which they will get to act out a scenario in which they can be the heroic action star who defends their home and family from some villainous boogeyman. Our media, movies in particular, are rife with images of heroic lone wolf figures capable of bringing down the scummy terrorists/abductors/dealers/etc. that are posing a danger in some way. If we can root for Liam Neeson to save his family in the Taken films or for Keanu Reeves to avenge his slain puppy in John Wick without simply turning the matter over to the authorities, then surely it would be heroic and laudable for us to do likewise, right?
There’s been a lot of interesting discussion regarding the adoption of ‘The Punisher’ logo by police officers, a figure who epitomizes the notion of taking the law into his own hands. To the point that Marvel Comics even confronted the issue in the pages of a Punisher comic. Here’s the Newsweek article that includes scenes from the comic and statements from Gerry Conway, one of the co-creators of the Punisher character: https://www.newsweek.com/punisher-police-blue-lives-matter-skull-logo-1449272
It seems that even the authorities want to be the renegade heroes who don’t call the authorities… This troubling trend has been further highlighted by the involvement of current and former military and police officers in the attempted coup of the US Government on January 6th 2021.
https://apnews.com/article/ex-military-cops-us-capitol-riot-a1cb17201dfddc98291edead5badc257 “I was a private citizen and doing everything right and within my rights,”
-Captain Rainey of the U.S. Army, currently under investigation for her role in the events of January 6th at the U.S. Capitol.
These self-described “patriots” had been misled into thinking the 2020 presidential election had been fraudulent and felt that taking the law and the U.S. system of governance into their own hands was the heroic course of action.
Five people died. It didn’t matter to them that what they were attempting was pointless (preventing a mostly procedural counting of electoral votes would have complicated matters, but would not have actually prevented a change in executive administrations) and it did not matter to them that they were making the declarative statement that might and force of arms should take precedent over democracy… because they had bought into the narrative that they were HEROES. Any action, including insurrection and murder, could be justified because there was a story about a stolen election and dangerously corrupt politicians and they had been cast as the heroes of that story. And most dangerous of all… they believed it.
* * *
In early 2020 (before the world shut down) I attended the Tedx event being hosted at The Ohio State University. There were some incredible and moving speakers there. One that especially stuck with me was the spoken word poetry of Imani Harris and her line, “You can’t be an activist when you’re the protagonist of your own life story.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hFF8bQABbY&list=PLsRNoUx8w3rPlP-WjJRDBE9XQn6Dh2x8w&index=7
I found it a good reminder to step outside of myself and my own limited perspective in order to be a better citizen of the world. A reminder that I found useful in the Summer of 2020 when the tragic killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd sparked the largest protest movement for social reform in history. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/30/950053607/in-2020-protests-spread-across-the-globe-with-a-similar-message-black-lives-matt A reminder I'm glad to have right now as that struggle continues. A reminder I'm glad to have as record number of anti-trans bills are introduced in state legislatures. https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/breaking-2021-becomes-record-year-for-anti-transgender-legislation
A reminder that there is real work to be done, but that in order to be an activist, to be an ally, I need to be mindful that this isn't my life story and I'm not the protagonist.
I’m not done with heroes, though. I think they can still entertain. They can still inspire. I’m embarking on a large project focused around our relationship with one particular legendary hero (more on that to come). While I think it is our duty to be critical of our heroes (whether they be real or fictitious) and to be wary of casting ourselves as such, ultimately, the greatest danger comes less from trying to be a hero and more from seeing others as villains.
* * *
I suppose I should also mention why I used the image of Meleagar and Atalanta for this post… I’m absolutely positive that I had a good reason for doing such two years ago and that it tied into the theme of heroes and the potential dangers that come from the stories we tell ourselves… Maybe it will come back to me and I can write a follow-up post about it two years from now.
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