Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Captain America and Superhero Worldviews, Part 2 | Reflections

Here is part 2 of Dr Kenneth Sample's reflection on the worldview illustrated in Captain America: The First Avenger. I liked his analysis and I agree with him. I'd add in saying that the way Captain America's ethics were demonstrated reminds me of the America I've always wanted and heard about but never actually experienced. Samples is right that America is far from the Triune all-powerful God of the Bible but many moral things were there in the beginning. Rather than rugged and selfish individualism and entitlement the permeates American culture today, Captain America was very much a product of the America of the 1940s - a generation that came of age during the depression and in many ways in the movie, Captain America represented some of the best that generation had to offer. The desire to serve and protect others. The dislike of bullies. There was a line in the movie where Steve Rogers said he wanted to fight Nazis because he does not like bullies. I've seen interviews of real-life WWII veterans expressing the same sentiment. He also said that men were fighting and dying for freedom and said he could do no less. He was not more concerned with his own life than he was about the people around him. He was humble and powerful and he was striving to do the right thing because it was right even when it was hard or inconvenient. This is the America I'd like us to be. It's also the kind of man Captain America is in the Comics. By that way, I also thought the movie was great.

Captain America and Superhero Worldviews, Part 2 | Reflections
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