I KILLED A MAN AND BECAME A HERO - Pop Art Re-Interpretation
As humans, we love to think that we are the superior inheriters of the earth. We hold the power to destroy and save the world. However, as humans, we also love to think that there are other greater beings than us, who can either destroy or save us. The idea of a higher deity, for example. Or that we are just an alien's biological terrarium. Or that life is just a simulated dream and we are connected to a larger metaphysical computer network. We justify our existence by illustrating how we're part of a bigger picture. We emphasise our importance by creating figures whose sole purpose is to maintain or destroy us.
And thus superheroes were born.
People with extraordinary, and often otherworldly abilities, fighting to keep the human race alive. Of course, good can only exist if evil does, so we have matching supervillains, whose sole purpose is to destroy the human race either out of a) spite b) revenge c) they're just evil and that's what evil people do. So there.
Their supeowers range from the awesome, such as flying or controlling time, to the plain bizzare, such as creating harnessing explosive sweat or turning---physically turning---into a flying saucer. And don't even ask what a Bee Nazi is. You don't want to know.
Movies, comic books, merchandise---the superhero industry is a commercial mogul that's growing faster than ever, with Hollywood vomitting superhero blockbusters at terrifying speed. Still, we idolise superheroes because of their sheer awesomeness, their ability to change the world with a touch of the finger.
All of us have dreamt of being a superhero at some point. I used to have a teacher who was so obsessed with Superman that he hired someone to photoshop his head onto Superman's body, which he then framed and put on his desk.
It's not about doing good as much as it's about the glamour---fighting villains, flying around in flashy outfits, being adorned on headlines, the endless stream of admirers, and saving the world, all in a day's work.
Unfortunately, violence is also one of them. If I were to ask a child who his favourite superhero was and why, he'd probably reply with, "So-and-so, because he's strong and can punch the bad guys and they go flying over the roof!" (insert verbal sound effects) Violence becomes the norm---no superhero blockbuster is complete without explosions, sadistic murder, and destroying half a city. Or cities. And yet, it's considered right. Even though citizens in movies had their homes destroyed, their workplaces annihilated, and their family members mutilated from collapsing avenues, they clap for the superhero anyway. The so-called "Man of Steel" could have decreased government expenditures by taking his fight to the Baltic Seas or something. Did the Avengers have to take everything out on skyscrapers? That's what Antartica is made for.
But no one would be watching in Antartica. And that's the whole point, isn't it?
"I Killed a Man and Became a Hero" is my take on the glamourisation of violence. It's okay to "accidentally kill" hundreds of pedestrians, as long as it's in the name of good. It's okay to take someone's life, as long as it's in the name of justice. It's okay to destroy the world, as long as you're planning on saving it later.
Because that's what being a superhero is all about.