Notion myths et Heroes: Why do society create myths and heroes?

Notion Anglais BAC : Myths and heroes

        I am going to talk about the notion of myths and heroes. A myth can be defined as a story about gods or heroes. It can be a popular belief or a tradition, or a false notion. A hero can be a mythological figure, a person who is admired for his or her achievements. We can therefor ask ourself why do society create myths and heroes?

        To illustrate this, I have chosen two documents. The first document I have chosen is a cover of a comics of captain America draw by Al Avison and published in America in 1946. In the center of the cover is Captain America, carrying his famous shield. He gives a violent blow to a Japanese officer. Behind the Captain is Bucky Barnes, a companion of the Captain. In the background, there is a naval battle scene, which is actually a reference to Pearl Harbor: we see kamikaze aircraft rushing towards the American fleet. The Captain's phrase also refers to it ("you have begun"). Finally, there is an opposition between the flags of the two countries: that of the Japanese Empire is located on the lower left; The flag of the United States is present between the legs of the Captain, on his shield and his costume.

Everything on the cover refer to the Pearl Harbor attack and the US retaliation. The Captain's blow fades the face of the officer. Symbolically, it shows that the United States will wage a war of annihilation, and will not stop until the Japanese empire is reduced to nothing. Captain America is muscular, fast and very powerful. He carries values such as honor, courage or patriotism. Captain America embodies United States. The drawer wants to show that this country is stronger than the others.

This advert illustrates the notion of myths and heroes because captain America by embodying the values of united states and by beating the Americans enemies, is considered as a true hero and allows to convey the myth of the power of America.

        The second document is a song from Bruce Springsteen called American Land. Through this song, he evokes the thoughts and aspirations of a young immigrant who sees America as a land of home. The narrator is a young adult. His aim for the future is to settle down in the United States.

Moreover, he wants to live the American dream. And for him, every American can live in luxury, abundance and wealth. We can notice it : «Over their all the woman wear silk and satin to their knee». According to the author, the United States is a paradise for workers, a kind of Eldorado. He thinks it’s a land of opportunity. We can see it in line 28 :  «There’s treasure for the taking, for any hard working man». The narrator says that America welcomes everyone, regardless of religion, nationality, or social class. He comes from a small village and arrived in New York city. So he feels amazement, surprise and fascination towards this city and this country that seems to be perfect.

The author of this song wants to show to people from all the countries that America is the best land to succeed. It is a kind of propaganda to attract people to build their country.

This song illustrates the notion of myths and heroes because it explains the myth of American dream and uses it to attracted people with promises.

        Both the cover and the song make us realize that myths and heroes are used by the societies to influence the population. Indeed everyone can recognize themselves in captain America or the American dream, both are used as propaganda objet.

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