Holdin' out for a Hero

We started out the culture class talking about the myth of the hero–the fact that every culture holds out a some individuals as role models, and that these role models will tell you a lot about the culture. I started out the section on English culture teaching King Arthur, not because I wanted to but because the woman who is teaching the other sections of the course with started teaching Arthur before I started. Since we are supposed to try to coordinate the class, I thought I would make a gesture by trying to begin with the myth of Arthur, which I would not have chosen on my own, nor would I have chosen on my own volition to show the movie that "The Mists of Avalon," which I sort of a feminist take on the Arthur legend. But its been an interesting experience. As I told the class, if you want to know a culture you have to know its heroes. So the Arthur myth was probably a good place to begin the study of English culture.
One thing I did was ask the student to write out who their own heroes were. About half listed their mother or father. A standard response:"My father is my hero because in my heart he is perfect. He is magnanimous and always plays with us. He is not really like a father, more like a friend." "I think mother is the most great person. She gives life and look after us. Whatever she bear, she always thinks about us and tries to solve our problems." Next came political leaders Chou en Lai (1898-1976)and Mao Ze Dong (1893-1976), with about 11 an 8 votes (out of 60) respectively. Various other military figures were on the list, from common soldiers whose deeds of valor made them famous to emperors from other dynasties combined for five or six votes. The 100 m hurdle record holder, Liu Xiang, netted four votes.
Jackie Chan got a couple of votes. And Mariah Carey netted one vote "for her consistent spirit in favor of her own music she has taught me to be stronger when facing adversities."