Myths and Heroes WORKSHEET
Whenever indicated, use the links to access specific
Web pages in order to complete the worksheet + Add personal commentary and/or
illustrations when necessary.
Myths
THREE DEFINITIONS:
1. A traditional, typically ancient story, revolving around the activities
of gods and heroes, which purports to explain a natural phenomenon or cultural
practice and serves as a
fundamental type in the world view of a people.
Illustration: PROMETHEUS:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/glossary/g/myth.htm
DEFINITION + ILLUSTRATION
A myth is a
traditional sacred story, typically revolving around the activities of gods and
heroes, which purports to explain a natural phenomenon or cultural practice.
The myth of
Prometeus talks about a titan named Prometeus who stole the secret of the fire
to the god to bring it to the humans. When the gods discovered it, they punish
Prometeus with the eternal tourment. He was attached to a mountain and an eagle
eats his heart dayli.
+ More illustrations of your own choice:
Ulysses is the hero of the
Odyssey. He permited to the greek to win the troy’s war. He was punished by
Poseidon because he hurts his son the cyclope. Is punition was to be erring in
the sea in the constant research of his patry.
2. An idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true.
Illustration: URBAN
LEGENDS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_legend OR
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Mi-Ni/Modern-Mythology.html#ixzz2gP8Z1tB6
DEFINITION +
ILLUSTRATION
An urban legend, popular legend, urban myth, urban tale
or contemporary legend is a form of modern folklore consisting of fictional
stories with macabre elements deeply rooted in local popular culture. These
legends can be used for entertainment purposes, as well as for semi-serious
explanations for random events such as disappearances and strange objects
The blue
star tattoo legend occasionally surfaces in American elementary and middle
schools in the form of a flyer that has been photocopied through many
generations, which is distributed to parents by concerned school officials. It
has also become popular on Internet mailing lists and websites. This legend
states that a temporary lick-and-stick tattoo soaked in LSD and made in the
form of a blue star (the logo of the Dallas Cowboys is often mentioned), or of
popular children's cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Bart Simpson,
is being distributed to children in the area in order to get them 'addicted to
LSD', despite the fact that LSD is non-addictive
+ More illustrations of your own choice:
Creepypastas are
horror-related legends or images that have been copy-and-pasted around the
Internet.These Internet entries are often brief, user generated ghost or alien
stories intended to scare readers. They include gruesome tales of murder,
suicide, and otherworldly occurrences. According to TIME magazine, the genre
had its peak audience in 2010 when it was covered by The New York Times.
One of the
most popular is the story of Jeff the killer, a boy who become mad after the
murder of his brother, he disfigure himself and killed his fathers.
3. A popular belief or story that has
become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one
considered to illustrate a cultural ideal.
Illustration: ' the American myth of individualism' / ' Marilyn Monroe is a star whose
fame has turned her into a myth'
+ The myth of the 'good savage'
http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/7872031/[The_myth_of_the_good_savage]_
The myth of the Good Savage assumes people to be naturally good, but civilization
has led them into the realm of violence, hatred, and cruelty. Besides being
naturally good, nice-minded people, "good savages" were also useful,
obedient people, most likely to be easily exploited by Europeans
+ Modern mythologies
Not all mythology dates from the days of ancient cultures. People around
the world continue to create new myths and to embroider or rework existing
ones. Modern technologies such as publishing, movies, telecommunications, and
the Internet allow folktales, rumors, and newly minted myths to travel faster
and reach more people than ever before. One distinctive feature of some modern
legends is that they originated as artistic creations, although their creators
may have drawn on earlier themes.
+ More illustrations of your own choice:
I will talk about a singer
who as become a myth : 2pac
He is one of the best rapper
ever with very clever songs , but is not only a singer. For many people Tupac
Shakur is a symbol of the black power because of his fight against the racism
present in United State. The fact that he’s dead murdered in strange conditions
helps to create an image of a myth.
Heroes/Heroines
THREE DEFINITIONS:
1. A mythological or legendary figure, often of divine descent, endowed with great strength or ability, celebrated for
his/her bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
2. A character with
noble qualities who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of
weakness, displays courage and the will for self sacrifice—that is, heroism—for
some greater good of all humanity.
3. The protagonist of a story, the principal male or female character
in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.
VARIOUS TYPES:
1.
BIBLICAL FIGURES/MYTHOLOGICAL HEROES/CULTURE HEROES:
A
culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group (cultural, ethnic,
religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. A
typical culture hero might be credited as the discoverer of fire, or
agriculture, songs, tradition, law or religion, and is usually the most
important legendary figure of a people, sometimes as the founder of its ruling
dynasty.
2.
LITERARY /FICTIONAL CHARACTERS:
The word
"hero" or "heroine" is sometimes used simply to describe
the protagonist of a story.
In modern movies, the hero is often
simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds
being stacked against him or her, typically prevails in the end.
Personal illustrations: Menace II Society is
a 1993 American hood drama film directed by Allen and Albert Hughes in their
directorial debut, and starring Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett, Larenz Tate and
Samuel L. Jackson. The film is set in South Central Los Angeles, California.
The film follows the life of a hoodlum named Kaydee "Caine" Lawson
and his close friends. It gained notoriety for its scenes of violence,
profanity, and drug-related content. It was released in May 1993 to critical
acclaim for its gritty portrayal of urban violence and its powerful underlying
messages.
3.
SUPER-HEROES:
In some movies
(especially action movies), a hero may exhibit
characteristics such as superhuman strength and endurance to the point of the
hero being nearly invincible.
Personal illustrations: Batman's secret
identity is Bruce Wayne, an American billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and
owner of Wayne Enterprises. Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a
child, he swore revenge on criminals, an oath tempered with a sense of justice.
Wayne trains himself both physically and intellectually and crafts a bat-inspired
persona to fight crime.Batman operates in the fictional Gotham City and is
assisted by various supporting characters, including his butler Alfred, the
police commissioner Jim Gordon, and vigilante allies such as Robin. Unlike most
superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of his
genius intellect, physical prowess, martial arts skills, detective skills,
science and technology, vast wealth, provocation of fear and intimidation, and
an indomitable will in his continuous war on crime.
4. HISTORICAL/NATIONAL HEROES WITH POLITICAL/SOCIAL/CULTURAL INFLUENCE:
---> Abraham
Lincoln/George Washington/Franklin Delano Roosevelt/John F. Kennedy
---> Martin Luther King, Jr./Rosa Parks
---> General De Gaulle/Winston Churchill
---> Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela (...)
More illustrations of your own choice:
Malcolm X was an American Muslim minister and a human
rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of
blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes
against black Americans; detractors accused him of preaching racism and
violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African
Americans in history.
5. REAL-LIFE HEROES WITH PERSONAL SKILLS IN A
PARTICULAR FIELD:
---> Steve Jobs / Bill Gates
---> Felix Baumgartner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_baumgartner
is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper. He set world records
for skydiving an estimated 39 km (24 mi), reaching an estimated speed of
1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25, on 14 October 2012, and became the
first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power relative to the
surface on his descent.
---> Sportsmen/women / Artists/ Scientists /...
6. EVERYDAY LIFE HEROES / EVERYMAN HEROES:
---> Firefighters/Police Officers/Rescuers/Doctors Without
Borders/...
7. CONTEMPORARY VIRTUAL HEROES:
---> You Tubers & SocNet users (=Social Network users)
8. ANTI-HEROES:
---> In post-modern fictional works (literature/films/series/plays...):
The antihero or antiheroine is a leading character in a film, book or play who lacks
some or all of the traditional heroic qualities, such as altruism, idealism, courage,
nobility, fortitude, and moral goodness.
Personal illustrations: Rorschach (born
Walter Joseph Kovacs) is a fictional character and an antihero of the acclaimed
1986 graphic novel miniseries Watchmen, published by DC Comics. Rorschach was
created by writer Alan Moore with artist Dave Gibbons, but as with most of the
main characters in the series, he was an analogue for a Charlton Comics
character, in this case Steve Ditko's the Question and Mr. A.
---> In real life:
--->Julian Assange / Edward
Snowden/Bradley Manning: heroes or traitors?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Manning
Julian Paul Assange
(born 3 July 1971) is an Australian computer programmer, publisher and
journalist. He is known as the editor-in-chief of the website WikiLeaks, which
he co-founded in 2006 after an earlier career in hacking and programming.
WikiLeaks achieved particular prominence in 2010 when it published U.S.
military and diplomatic documents leaked by Chelsea Manning. Assange has been
under investigation in the United States since that time. In the same year, the
Swedish Director of Public Prosecution opened an investigation into four sexual
offences that Assange is alleged to have committed. In 2012, facing extradition
to Sweden, he sought refuge at the Embassy of Ecuador in London and was granted
political asylum by Ecuador.
Edward Joseph
Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American privacy activist, computer
professional, former CIA employee, and former government contractor who leaked
classified information from the United States National Security Agency (NSA) in
2013. The information revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run
by the NSA and the Five Eyes with the cooperation of telecommunication
companies and European governments.
Snowden was hired
by Booz Allen Hamilton, an NSA contractor, in 2013 after previous employment
with Dell and the CIA. On May 20, 2013, Snowden flew to Hong Kong after leaving
his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii and in early June he revealed thousands of
classified NSA documents to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Ewen
MacAskill. Snowden came to international attention after stories based on the
material appeared in The Guardian and The Washington Post. Further disclosures
were made by other newspapers including Der Spiegel and The New York Times.
On June 21, 2013,
the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden of two counts
of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property. On June 23, he
flew to Moscow, Russia, where he reportedly remained for over a month. Later
that summer, Russian authorities granted him a one-year temporary asylum which
was later extended to three years. As of 2015, he was still living in an
undisclosed location in Russia while seeking asylum elsewhere.
A subject of
controversy, Snowden has been variously called a hero, a whistleblower, a
dissident, a patriot, and a traitor. His disclosures have fueled debates over
mass surveillance, government secrecy, and the balance between national
security and information privacy.
Chelsea Elizabeth
Manning[4] (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) is a United States
Army soldier who was convicted in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act
and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly three-quarters of a
million classified or unclassified but sensitive military and diplomatic
documents.[5 Manning was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years' imprisonment,
with the possibility of parole in the eighth year, and to be dishonorably
discharged from the Army. Manning is a trans woman who, in a statement the day
after sentencing, said she had felt female since childhood, wanted to be known
as Chelsea, and desired to begin hormone replacement therapy. From early life
and through much of her Army life, Manning was known as Bradley; she was
diagnosed with gender identity disorder while in the Army
