"I wish heroes didn't exist...[w]henever we need a hero, it's because there's a problem that needs to be solved; it's because two groups of people, or two countries, are hurting one another, so a hero is needed to save us. If everyone were at peace, if everyone were happy, why would we need heroes? The world is better off without heroes."He's talking in the context of why Hero was delayed for so long before Miramax released it in the United States. Incidentally, read the rest of the article, as it confirms my distaste for the film's nearly over the top endorsement of "greater good collectivism" at the expense of the individual.
From the angle Mr. Li is arguing, it certainly makes sense. A hero is someone who has the courage to face a problem and at least attempt to resolve it, even it if means great danger to that hero's life and loved ones. A conflict that begins to take a life of its own, consequently consuming adjacent human lives in process, can be the genesis for one person (or several) to emerge with the purpose of ending the conflict.
There is at least another way to look at a hero, though. It doesn't involve some life-ending conflict between nations or warring gangs. I think it is legitimate to define a hero as one who simply strives to be better, to do more, and to accomplish at a higher level ethically against the twin tides of "it's good enough" and lowest-common-denominatorism that permeate society. Perhaps Li sees this individualistic approach as a bad thing in addition to the above. It certainly seems possible given his comments elsewhere in the article. However, to me, a hero isn't limited to someone who pushed himself to the breaking point in order to save millions of lives and the fates of nations; a hero can also be the student who will not allow himself to be limited by expectations and mediocrity, who chooses to improve himself and his surroundings for the better despite the costs he may endure. It is our ability to extend our limits that makes humans so damn interesting.
Enjoy your weekend.
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