WELCOME INTO THE HEROSPHERE! – A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH OF HEROISM AND SUPERHEROISM IN THE AGE OF CYBER-MYTHOLOGIES
WELCOME INTO THE HEROSPHERE! – A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH OF HEROISM AND SUPERHEROISM IN THE AGE OF CYBER-MYTHOLOGIES

Summary/Abstract: This article could be seen as a bold and risky enterprise, because it is just a summary attempt to argue that nowadays exists an artificial cult of heroic behaviour that, paradoxically, could enrich conformity and emotional anesthesia, activate the manifestation of the bystander effect, also could empower social apathy and the lack of civic involvement. Bringing the concept of heroism under the magnifying glass, starting with the abundance of heroes, superheroes, and role models aggressively promoted in today's entertainment or pop culture industry, we discover ourselves as mere inhabitants of a Herosphere which tends to reshape our identity. This means that we face the danger to avoid or to procrastinate our actions, to become nothing more than frustrated spectators or simply admirers feeling a deep inadequacy in a huge imaginary cyberspace populated with heroes and superheroes. If we assume that a hero is an ordinary person doing extraordinary or unusual things, do we really have the chance to transcend our own limitations? Does the superhero’s cult help us in our efforts? Ultimately, this article is a short plea and also an honest exercise of admiration not for heroes and superheroes, but for pure human dignity and also for social and cultural responsibility.

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