Is a Vigilante a Hero Today’s films and TV shows have a large impact and sometimes change the way people think. The TV show “Arrow” does exactly that while asking the question if a vigilante could be classified as a hero. Vigilantes have accomplished quite a few astonishing objectives, from Julius Caesar’s assassination to something in today’s time, Mr. Extreme. In films there will always be the people who criticize the actors, all the way done to the characters behavior and ideas. Avoiding a huge question, can a vigilante like Oliver Queen be considered a hero because of his actions? Since San Diego downsized its police force in 2012 the crime rate has risen like one would expect. But thanks to Mr. Extreme a hero/vigilante, he protects the night streets of San Diego. Vigilantes are people who take the law into their own hands, because they fear/believe that the courts will not accomplish what they want done. All it takes is a simple google search to see that in fact there are real life vigilantes. Mr. Extreme is by definition a vigilante. He performs citizen’s arrests …show more content…
In the ordinary world Oliver Queen started as what we would call Justin Bieber. A typical rich kid that believes they are above the law and are entitled to whatever they want. Oliver starts the journey after his father’s yacht sinks and washes up on an island. While on the island called Lian Yu, which translates to purgatory, he is determined to get off of the island to fix his father’s wrong doing. From the source Christopher Vogler wrote, he states that one must “die” and be reborn into a hero. During the death of the future hero the old person dies and the hero is born, Oliver dies on that island and when he returns to his family he is something else. When he returns attempts to right his father’s wrong doing by killing some of the people on the list Oliver was
Although not every hero shouts “Avengers Assemble” before a worthy deed, heroism is shown in all aspects of the everyday world. Webster Dictionary has exactly 5 definitions under the word hero and still no two people explain heroism the same. Superman and Captain America are a glimpse of the fictional characters society titles a hero. Firefighters and Military portray heroism each day in the lives of every civilian. As Sullivan and Venter stated “individuals are referred to as ‘heroes’ for seemingly different reasons” and even through endless studies the adjectives referring heroes is ever changing.
The vigilante is a reoccurring archetype in American entertainment and can be seen from comic books from the early 20th century to films released in 2010. Robert B. Ray in his piece about the vigilante makes it clear that the vigilante is a large part of American entertainment and culture. The vigilante is one that believes that they are above the law and that the law is inadequate. This idea that the law is inadequate or unjust stems from Henry Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Thoreau believes that when the government is unjust, that we should do what we believe is moral or right, even if it means breaking the law. The vigilante often takes violent and dangerous measures to create justice in their world and in doing so raise a moral question about our society. If we often idolize the vigilante in films and comic books, do we do the same with vigilantes that have been seen throughout our history and that are currently “creating justice” in our cities? Although the vigilante is a popular archetype in our entertainment the vigilante is not seen in the same light when it comes to reality, the “real” vigilante in American society is seen as a threat or danger and are disbanded in most cases. This idea poses a serious problem’s to Thoreau’s belief because the negative perception of vigilantes is proof that problems in society shouldn’t be solved by the individual, but through legal and civil means set up by our government.
not a superhuman with powers the common man is incapable of. He is an individual who had an
Over the course of history the definition of what makes a hero has made many changes. Beowulf, Superman, and firefighters are all examples of heroes, but they are very different when broken down. Today’s society defines a hero by his values, his strength, and his journey.
Vigilantism - The term vigilantism is defined by the textbook as "the act of taking the law into one 's own hands" (Schmalleger 140). Although today this term has a negative connotation, most of the original vigilantes of the American West were honest men and women trying to forge an organized and predictable lifestyle out of the challenging situation which they encountered. Furthermore, vigilantes, who often times faced unscrupulous, money-hungry desperadoes, did what they could in order to bring the standards of civilization, as they understood them to bear in their communities. The idea of "vigilante justice" is often rationalized by the idea that adequate legal mechanisms for criminal punishment are either nonexistent, insufficient, or inefficient. Additionally, vigilantes typically see the government as ineffective in enforcing the law and often claim to justify their actions as a fulfillment of the wishes of the community. As defined by the legal-dictionary.com website, vigilantism is referred to as "Taking the law into one 's own hands and attempting to effect justice according to one 's own understanding of right and wrong; action taken by a voluntary association of persons who organize themselves for the purpose of protecting a common interest, such as liberty, property, or personal security..." (thefreedictionary.com). An example of vigilantism would be George Zimmerman, who decided to take law into his own hands by profiling someone as a criminal and shooting
There are many different perspectives of what a hero is but one opinion that most people would agree on is that a hero is someone who selfless and would sacrifice their own feelings for others. In The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus does not present the qualities of a hero but instead shows how one might lack true heroism. The character traits of being self-centered and unfaithful describe Odysseus as non-heroic. Odysseus must leave home to defend his people in the war for 10 years, but isn’t able to get home until another 10 years later. Throughout his journey, Odysseus selects lousy decisions that ends up making him unheroic such as being unreliable, unsympathetic of someone else’s emotions, and barbaric. This clearly shows that Odysseus is not hero material considering the fact that he is untrustworthy and manipulative.
Some definitions of heroes are people, who have noble qualities, and put the lives of others before their own life. They are expected to be reasonable and calm, during scary times, like when a shooting is going on, looking out for
To the world today, a hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, or strength; but really, anyone can be a hero. A hero can vary from someone as well-known as George Washington to someone as unheard of as anyone’s very own mother. Someone who has done a good deed for someone else is hero. The biggest heroes are the ones in well-known books and plays, such as Odysseus from The Odyssey, or have made a huge difference in the history of this world, like Mahatma Gandhi. Siddhartha Gautama is a hero, but not in the same way Odysseus or Gandhi are. Although these three influential people went through different journeys in order to accomplish different things, they are all heroes in their own way and have been through the same cycle of the road of trials and crisis/salvation.
Vigilante Justice is it good or bad? The book And Then There Were None written by the infamous Agatha Christie, Key Point is the use of vigilante justice. Vigilante justice can be fine if used the right way.
“He mercilessly deals out his own brand of vigilante justice. He smashes any and everything in his way while pursuing his ends.” This quote was taken from
You also don’t have to kill anyone, conquer foreign land, or risk your life to be a hero. Anyone who influences anyone else by saving or helping save his or her lives is a hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of millions of people by bringing justice to minorities. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest heroes, led a nonviolent revolution to free his country.
There are many types of heroes (such as the ones in comic books, myths, movies, or even just everyday life heroes) but all of them have perseverance when they’re going through a conflict. Heroes are role models and they’re people that we look up too. They all have unique and special qualities that make one another different from each other. For example policemen battle crime everyday and when they’re overcoming a conflict they have determination, courage and other traits that people admire them for and that make them as a hero. Typically a hero is admired for their achievement/actions and qualities.
In today's modern times we hear the word hero all of the time. The news media throws the term around as if it is an everyday word. What exactly is a hero? Who, or what, can be classified as heroic? The correct definition of the word hero is: One invested with heroic qualities in the opinions of others. That is a fine definition for books and intellectual minds. To the average person, however, a hero is much more.
But not all heros end with a happy ending, some end up in depression, hate or just betrayed from a loved one. As in the past we use to have an enemy, a threat to our nation that goes by Osama bin Laden but not a lot of people know his backstory. Before he was known as the enemy of our nation, he used to be our ally. The United States supported him from a war that the man was facing in his country. He won the battle against his foes, all thanks to the United States but as our country is known for lies and betrayal, we betrayed this man and put him as our number one terrorist in the nation.
Heroes can be can be anyone; they can be everywhere. But every society needs heroes (The Making of a Hero). Surprisingly every society has one; we just don't see them because we don't bother to open our eyes. But if you open them you shall see, they can be anyone, and that's why you must look carefully.