Who are your heroes? Being inspired by London artist Martin Firrell's public art project Complete Hero, blogger Kell Harker discusses the meaning of heroism, and invites you to challenge your own conceptions about who we should admire:
Believing in a New Kind of Hero
You see, I’m an abuse survivor. When you grow up in a home filled with real-life monsters, it’s hard to believe in real-life heroes. As a child I remember wondering why my favourite superhero wasn’t flying in to save me from what I was living through. It wasn’t long before I realized that Superman wouldn’t come to rescue me. I barely survived the physical and psychological abuse that I suffered at the hands of my own father, but now as an adult I’m finally able to recognize what heroism really is.
And as the Head Of Publicity for this project, it’s my extreme pleasure to be able to invite all of you to the Complete Hero digital projections of text and video at The Guards Chapel, Birdcage Walk, St James’s Park SW1, November 4-10 from 5-9pm nightly. Most of the contributors are coming, confirmed are:
Who do you think future generations should admire, and why? What is the meaning and value of heroism? Everyone has different ideas of what heroism is because we all experience life differently. My heroes are those who use their compassion as a strength rather than their muscles, because I’ve had first-hand experience that violence is nothing to admire. Yes, I still read comic books and enjoy television shows and movies about superhuman heroes, but the heroes I really believe in are those who don’t need superpowers to do ordinary things in extraordinary ways.
This is a personal article by Kell Harker. Are you familiar with the Complete Hero project? Will you be attending the projections in London this November? Is your hero a fictional character, or do you have a real-life hero? Thoughts are welcome below as always.
