>

Tell that to little Jimmy who’s living a rough life with deadbeat parents and no good role-model, except his favourite character Spiderman, ofc
I think that fictional characters make the best role models. You’ll likely never come to find out that a fictional hero was actually just pretending to be a hero and is actually a shitty person. I can’t say the same for real people though.. >


You’ll likely never come to find out that a fictional hero was actually just pretending to be a hero and is actually a shitty person.

You can still find out that they become a shitty person in later installments of their work >

Well yes, hence why I said ‘rarely’. You hardly ever see the protagonist become a bad person in later installments, but it does happen occasionally. Regardless, your role model could just be a fictional character in a particular installment, if they change you don’t have to acknowledge it, since it’s fiction. >

not saying you have to exactly model your life after a character's but if you just don't acknowledge what doesn't suit you about a character why not just create some OC idealized version of yourself to aspire to >

Well there is a difference between completely ignoring a major aspect of a character that is always present and ignoring other media that contains the character. I don’t think there is anything wrong with, say, having your role model be Captain America in the first movie. That is a whole and complete character that you are looking up to. You aren’t creating your own character, you are just taking one piece of media as standalone. In terms of making your own fictional version of yourself to aspire to, I suppose there is nothing wrong with that. However, to me, a role model that you can actually see in media is far better than a role model you can only see in your own mind or drawings. >


Your hero should not be your favorite musician, artist, athlete, etc because you likely actually have no idea who they are. You only know what they show you, what they want you to think about them

...So?
You're allowed to aspire to be what they show you and not what they really are. >

I don't know, a lot of people didn't know Superman or Spider-Man personally. >

A comic book character as a hero is even worse than a celebrity, thanks for the reminder >

I think they are better, not only you will never meet them, you can also idealize them, humans are flawed, celebrities will let you down and even people that you know irl could get into some shady stuff. Comic heroes are just archetypes, as good as they could be and if they ever do something bad you could blame the writer and have your own headcanon. >

And if all the people I know irl suck? >

Extremely dismissive to people who do not have a good surrounding or support system and consuming content of their favourite actor/musician/etc. helps them get through their tough lives >

You can enjoy and draw strength from things/people without idolizing them, though you make a good point. >

I think you are further from the truth. Heros should be fantasy.
Gandhi saved India, sure... but he also diddled kids.
MLK Jr. Constantly cheated on his wife.
Any hero that is mortal is flawed. Fantasy heroes are not mortals. They are the truest form of hero. >

Steven Hawkins cheated on his wife as well >

doesn't mean you can't aspire to be as great a physicist or it'd doom you to cheat on your eventual spouse any more than it'd doom you to have ALS >

That's not the point. The point is all human beings are flawed.
It's better to look up to something higher than that. To not worship man as if they were a God. >

what higher thing that isn't a god (as gods have flaws too, some just have followers saying that their nature defines perfect/good) should people look up to that isn't just concepts/be a good person >

well what they show you, its what you wanna be when you grow up, many people dont have good examples in their personal lives >

To me, a hero is someone who made a great sacrifice or took a great risk to benefit others.  It CAN be someone you've never met, but being famous or rich doesn't fit the bill. >

What you describe is antithetical to a hero. You should not hold people in your personal life to super-human standards. It is unfair to them and yourself. The point of a hero is to idolize them as a larger than life figure that inspires you to embody their virtues. >

This isn't unpopular. >

TIL that enjoimike49 is the authority on other people's idols. >

Its an honor SplashbackDeuce. >

Jesus, Santa Claus, and Batman have probably impacted a lot of lives and they're fictional. A hero is someone that makes you want to be better. You can get that feeling from people you've never met. >

What if you're actually trying to make it big in that industry and have met that person in more than just a meet-and-greet sense, does it not count because they're not, like, your parent or childhood best friend or w/e (and are you saying parents and childhood best friends are your only option for heroes and if your parents were bad people and you were an introverted little kid sucks to suck) >

i feel like you're fundamentally wrong because you never *actually* know who someone is like...you just get the perspective of what they show you. even if you personally know the person doesn't mean you know every detail of their life. if they killed 10 babies yesterday but saved 1 today, the difference being you don't know about yesterday. are they still a hero to you? all you know is they saved a baby. 
in essence: you only ever see what someone shows you, celebrity or otherwise...so knowing them is irrelevant...the "thing" they inspire in you is all that's relevant. >

Yes, except Dolly Parton >

No. >

i mean, ya, lets just ignore the fact that millions of people grow up surrounded by bad/ the wrong people. >

The hero is the image these celebrities display, the ideal they represent. They might or might not be that, closer or further, but what matters is what you see, as for such a role model. >

I disagree. In ancient times heroes were people that hadn't even existed whom you would learn from through sung poems.
I think a certain degree of idealization is needed to have someone as a hero so it makes sense that it's someone you never met, will never meet, or doesn't even exist.