The Anti-Hero

I am sure I am not the first person to notice the trend in movies, comics, books, and other forms of media. The Anti-Hero. Years ago Captain America, and Superman were heroes, plain and simple, they did good and the thought of evil was never something they were troubled by. Kids wanted to be these White Knights. They strive towards being the king of person they saw in these images. Now we are in the age of the Anti-Hero. Hellboy, Wolverine, The Punisher to name a few. These are seriously flawed people, they have to work hard just to get the simple things right. They do good at great pain to themselves in most cases. For a glaring example X-3 in Which Wolverine has to kill the woman he cares for to save all his other friends. What has changed? Why is the Anti-Hero the norm now? Here is my idea. Our heroes have changed to match our own perceptions of ourselves. In those days (the time following WWII) I believe that most men thought they were basically good. Most able bodies men had been to war and knew what evil was and knew that they had stood their ground beside their comrades. They had proven that they were good, and strong, they had been asked to stand in the breech and had stepped up to the challenge. They knew who they were and knew they were good men. Things turned with their sons. war again came and asked out young men to fight, but this war was not only fought badly, but it was not supported at home. Men who should have come home feeling they had, like their fathers, stood in the breech, were ridiculed and spat on called. they were called baby killers, and murderers. They weren't Heroes, but they didn't feel they were villains either. So slowly from their psyches came the Anti-hero. He didn't have to be perfect, because they didn't feel perfect. He didn't have to be noble, because they didn't feel noble. He was the Anti-Hero. As these Anti-Heroes grew in popularity they became more believable to the next generation. a generation far more "self-aware" than any one previous. They had the anonymity of the Internet that allowed them to be a faceless creature on the web. evil became easier to find, you didn't have to look in dark alley or some seedy place. Evil could be seen streaming live to your PC. Even the kids that don't allow this into their heads feel that they are fight against it. So in their everyday life they struggle to be good men (in their own minds) They know that evil is out there and is as easy to access as a mouse click or a keystroke. so evil doesn't have to be sought out, you simply have to open a window and it floods into your life. The Anti-Hero is now embraced for the fact that he fights his own temptations and demons. for this young generation the Anti-Hero is easy to identify with, because they don't feel that they are basically good people. they feel that they are tempted often and that only through personal sacrifice will they be able to be good men. they no longer strive to be Superman with his shinning visage. They hope to be a flawed bus basically good person who makes mistakes but eventually does whats right. That is all they feel they can aspire to.
Now I am not condemning computer or the media or and of the wars that have been fought, I am simply saying that technology has created a conduit of evil that is hard to clamp shut. It has great things on it and great evils. It is a boon and a danger.

Welcome one and all to my Blog. This a first for me so I hope I do well. My friend Kat wanted me to read her Blog so I figured I would start one too. I asked her advise and she told me to write about what I know. That got me thinking, What do I know? I mean what do I know well enough to talk about ad nausium. I know drama well, I spent many years in the theatre, but that is kind of boring unless you ar a big thetre fan. (OH in case you are wondering I am NOT missspelling Theatre, rather I use the olde English version of the spelling) I know kids, I have three and I spend most of my time with my precousious 2 year old. She is my life and I love her very much, but who would want to read daily about a Dad who loves his daughter, that would get old quicky. So what to do with my own personal soapbox? Then it occured to me, why write about stuff I alreay know. What is the fun in that? I think I will write about stuff I don't know, or wnat to know more about, or dont understand well. So My plan is to write about whatever pops into my head and if there is anyone out there who reads this blog and knows about something I am wondering about feel free to leave a comment.

A poem I wrote

The Sands of Time
By: L Matt Hanke

The sands of time slip not only through our fingers,
But also through out hearts.
The heat they carry cauterizes the open wounds,
That inhabit that muscle.
They fill the cracks that develop over time,
They wash away the scars that remain.

The sands of time slip not only through our fingers,
But also through our minds.
The constant barrage wears away the edges,
Of the painful memories.
They filter out the darker parts of the past,
They polish the good memories until they shine.

The sands of time slip not only through our fingers,
But also through our souls.
The light they reflect illuminates the evil,
That creeps in and hides.
They cover the derelict promises that lay broken,
They cover the sins and leave us whole again.