The New Heroes

Today in meeting a member shared about how our American hero's consisted mainly of white guys killing and maiming others and how we need new heroes.  

We've ingested this media narrative of violence for a long time and it good to see some new heroes and heroines emerge with films like Wonder Woman and Black Panther. 

For the first time we are seeing a hero emerge as a victor that is female in Wonder Woman and black in Black Panther.  What is also interesting about these films is that even though there is a considerable amount of violence the wrong-doers bring about their own demise.  That is a new twist. 

In Wonder Woman, Ares is dispatched when he tries to turn the godkiller weapon against Wonder Woman not realizing that she has this godkiller superpower within her and redirects his thunderbolt back at him taking him out. 

In Black Panther, Killmonger is mortally injured in a battle for Wakonda, but refuses to be healed by T'Challa using the vibranium infused herbs. 

It seems that our narrative about good and evil and heroes and villains may be flawed.  Time for a new narrative.  One that includes women and people of color as heroes and heroines too. 

​Joseph Olejak