What culture and heroism does Batman embody in America?

1985, was still a primary school student. One night, my father took me to the movies. That night, I looked at the screen and opened my mouth in surprise-people can fly in the sky!

The name of that movie is Superman.

I wasn't the only one with an O-mouth. At that time, movie audiences all over China were shocked by this movie. Later, I learned that when the film was released in the United States, the American audience reacted the same as us: God, people can also soar in the sky!

Through the screen, many viewers who have never heard of superheroes come into contact with Superman for the first time. We know that. Superman's real Clark? Kent is a stupid bookworm. Okay, it's not that stupid. He didn't hide in his room all day reading comics, or collecting 1000000 DVDs, and it wasn't for Quentin, was it? Every salute camera in Talentino is shouting. He didn't start an animated blog online, update while eating pizza, or post on the forum to discuss the director's cut version of a movie.

He is basically a normal ordinary person, but a little dull compared with Superman. Compared with Superman, do we look ordinary?

However, why does Superman, the world's strongest superhero, pretend to be a shy reporter, spending time being scolded by the editor-in-chief, ridiculed by colleagues and looked down upon by the girl he likes? Isn't this trouble?

"He decided to work in the Daily Planet so that he could know who needed Superman's help." The editor of Superman series "Action Comics" once answered in the column of letters from readers.

But who said that if you want to know first-hand information, you have to pretend to be a reporter? He can run directly to the newspaper or police station and say, "Hello, I'm Superman. In case of terrorist bombing or alien invasion, please call my mobile phone or put a big S sign in the sky. " In other words, he can hear what's wrong with super hearing. Why go to the telephone booth or the storage room to change clothes?

"He wants to live a normal life."

Come on, an alien who can fly around in the sky should not talk about ordinary life. He is on duty on a satellite 20,000 miles above the ground every day, working with the heroes of the Justice League to solve the world crisis, wearing glasses for hours and pretending that he is not a superman, not an ordinary life, but a split personality.

"He needs personal space. If he is superman 24 hours a day, he will be bored to death. "

The editorial department of a national newspaper seems to be a bad place to keep personal privacy. Superman has no crystal palace in the polar regions, where no one bothers him ... Besides, since he wants to help the people as his own duty, how can he be disturbed by others as a great hero?

Come on, he's superman. He can't always say, "I know that hundreds of people will die in the tsunami in Southeast Asia, but I have to hand in the manuscript within 30 minutes, or the editor-in-chief will kill me"; He must sneak out to save people, sneak back to write a manuscript, and deal with the suspicious eyes of female reporter Louise. If secret identity is so troublesome, why did he arrest Clark? Kent's identity?

Because Clark exists not for Superman, but for our readers.

Clark is an earthman in Superman's eyes-an ordinary person in his mind, just like you and me. Superman's superficial identity is our real identity. That's why we like him: just like we can get rid of rustic glasses and cheap suits, we can show our true selves and shock the world.

In fact, Clark is not so bad: although it is a bit bad, it is not a complete failure. He is tall, good-looking, well-educated and has a decent job. We can replace him with ourselves, but we don't have to meet someone who even feels desperate.

We watched Clark being looked down upon and underestimated, but we knew what he thought: You might think I am a nobody, clumsy, lonely and without any social connections. But you don't know that when others are not paying attention, I will take off this ugly appearance and become the most powerful person in the world.

Who hasn't had a similar idea? When others look down on us, who doesn't want to give each other some color to see see? In this sense, each of us is Clark? Kent.-You don't know me. Actually, I'm much better!

When we were young, we dreamed of being heroes. Many heroes in Shaolin Kung Fu worshipped us. Or put on a black cloak and mask, and use the sword in your hand to leave a Z word that scares the enemy. Although we know that this is just an unrealistic dream, in reality we are still just a mortal, but that kind of blood still makes our blood boil.

We call it personal heroism. However, when the lens of Spider-Man 3 is firmly fixed on Spider-Man in front of the national flag, and when we laugh that this is the main theme of American style, do we also think it is their national consciousness and admiration for heroes?

In fact, we have had such worship since ancient times. Famous soldiers, honest officials and chivalrous men have always been heroes in the hearts of ordinary people. People erected monuments for them, built ancestral temples and even deified them (such as Guan Yu); Positive descriptions of chivalrous men can be found in official history, not to mention many literary and artistic works.

There is a special chapter "Biography of the Ranger" in Historical Records, which says: "Today's Rangers, although they are unjust, will keep their words and do what they say." Among them, "misconduct is right" means disobedience to the law. They have their own moral principles: keep their promises, regardless of life and death, and talk about faith.

Chivalry is righteousness. Ren Xia, also known as "after taking office" and "Qi Ren Xia", also means the chivalry of taking responsibility with passion. Jing ke stabbed the king of Qin to repay the kindness of Taizi Dan, not for the Yan people. It was not until the whole Chinese nation reached a critical juncture that Wushu rose to the commanding heights of national morality. "The great man of chivalry is for the country and the people."

However, the so-called "chivalrous people use force to prohibit", chivalrous people have not been active in the system since ancient times, they ignore the existing laws, do not recognize the power of authority, and act according to their own principles. Therefore, this is unacceptable to the Government. Since the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, the deeds of the Rangers have disappeared from the official history of China. However, although it is not recorded in the official history, people still worship chivalrous people in their hearts, or just forces outside this system. There are many bad guys that the government and the law can't limit. The common people have no choice but to hope that they will do harm for the people.

The traditional western chivalry comes from chivalry. The virtues advocated by knights are humility, honesty, compassion, courage, justice, sacrifice, honor and sacredness. When King Arthur formed the Knights of the Round Table, he swore: "My respected warriors, let us swear together here. We only fight for justice and fairness, never for wealth or selfish reasons. We should help all those who need help, and we should also support each other. Be gentle with the weak, but be hell to pay with the wicked. "

Like the Oriental Knights, they also advocate force, loyalty and integrity, pay attention to faith and help the weak. One of the differences between the two is that the ranger is a force outside the system, while the knight is a part of the system.

Chivalry is gradually evolving, and it is also absorbed by rangers, and is no longer limited to chivalry in a narrow sense. The long-standing legends "Robin Hood" and "Zorro" are all such representatives. They are no longer representatives of the system, but a member of the anti-system and the destruction of the system. Humility and sacredness, which are closely related to status, gradually fade away, while other attributes are passed down in different ways.

As a moral superhero, he learned many elements from it, and even Batman himself was called the "Black Knight". They don't kill people (at least they don't take the initiative to kill people) and help the innocent; Otherwise, people like "punisher" kill people like hemp. Although they kill bad people, they can only be regarded as anti-heroes.

But superheroes are also in a gray area between law and justice. Batman faces gangsters who are in cahoots with the police and judges. Spider-Man himself is the bad guy advocated by the newspaper. They can only solve the problem by means other than law, and violent investigation, illegal eavesdropping and other means are not on the table; But they are not fighting for their hatred or fame or loyalty, but for more people to live a better life, knowing that it is impossible to sweep away all the evils in the world, but still knowing that they can't do it.

Because of this psychology, superheroes are usually called so-and-so chivalrous people in China, such as Batman, Spider-Man and the Brave … although their original names are just so-and-so "Xia". We replaced the word "Xia" with a word "Xia", pointed out their heroic identity and gave them our dreams.

Each of us knows that our eyes can't emit lasers, and we won't wear fancy clothes to do heroic deeds. We will not fly over the eaves and walk over the walls, nor will we be unarmed. We can't lift the car, and we can't run as fast as bullets. Just dealing with work, mortgage, girlfriend ... is enough.

The reason why a hero is a hero is not because he or she has magical power, nor because he or she has caught many bad people; But because of their righteous behavior.

This is not just a hero's patent. People in China often say that "if you are poor, you will think about change" and "heroes will emerge in troubled times", but the West pays more attention to the heroes of ordinary people. In their view, sports stars who strive for victory on the field are heroes; Police, firefighters and doctors in real life ... people who go all out to save lives are heroes.

A teacher who trains students to be useful people and teaches them to be human is a hero.

Politicians who are not afraid of power and plead for the people, even ordinary people, are heroes.

Scientists, engineers, programmers, they solve problems and make life better, even just a little-they are heroes.

Pastors, rabbis, or old wise men in the village help people solve their doubts and point them in the right direction-they are heroes.

And your parents, family and friends, who provide support when you need it, so that you can cross the obstacles in your life and get to today ... they are your heroes.

Superheroes are just their incarnations. They are empowered by people's imagination in their good deeds, thus helping the world and saving mankind more effectively. The value of a hero is not a slogan to fight for truth, justice and mankind, but to show people the meaning of existence.

This does not mean that hero is a cheap title. Even superman will encounter kryptonite that can hurt him, and he will also meet his old enemy who wants to hurt him. Everyone has experienced numerous setbacks along the way. Poverty, discrimination, injustice … sometimes people who don't believe you and want to hurt you; They may be your classmates, colleagues, bosses, or even your relatives … but as long as you persist, you will win in the end.

This is everyone's super power-to pursue the goal and never give up. No matter young or old, no matter men or women, no matter what occupation, race or belief. Make good use of your abilities and believe in yourself.

Each of us is the embodiment of a hero.

-"Save the World Tonight" (Jiang)