Heroes Analytical Exposition

Hero Analytical Exposition

in feature films the hero tends to be a product of their society and era, thus their antagonist is the personification of everything they are fighting against. But when the hero is an unwilling one are they still fighting the antagonist or the cause and effect senario which is pushing them to greatness.

In various films the antagonist is the corporation, in others it's the bully down the street. But in Battle Royale and Rebel Without A Cause, the antagonist is also the hero. Because the demon they fight is themselves. They battle through the adversity and dogma of their age and era to rise to greatness and the title of hero. but these heroes are made not born and therefore it is a process. Battle Royale and Rebel Without A Cause show the audiance a glimpse of this process.

Shakespeare once said that some people are born great, others are made great and some have greatness thrust upon them. This may be true but not always are the to-be heroes entirely willing to partisipate in the processes involved.

The heroes, Jim Stark and Nanahara Shuya from Rebel Without A Cause and Battle Royale respectively very much fit into the category of being unwillingly thrust into greatness. But also from this arises another very important question, at what point in this do they achieve that greatness and the title of hero?

Throughout each of these movies the heroes continue to fight against their title of greatness, unwilling to bend and change to become the hero, but when someone close to them is threatened they immediately step up and take the role they have been fighting. through careful scee choice this is shown step by step.

The characters in each film are products of their society and era, and since they were made in such different times and places it can be expected that they would be almost completely different types of heroes, but are they?

In Rebel Without A Cause, which was made in 1955, Jim Stark, is a struggling teenager, trying to deal with all the issues of his age and gender. He battles with thugs and the oppression of his society and most of all his parents. Jim, wanting to fit the mould but unable to cope turns to drinking and hooliganism. He is a proud character and James Dean plays this part beautifully. The dramatic emphasis of the close ups on his distort face when Plato is killed and the long shots of him stumbling around the streets at the start of the film continue to add to the idea of an unwilling hero, trying to fight his title.

The audience is positioned to see Jim as a hero in the making and to sympathize with him for his situation. After Jim is called a chicken by a gang of thugs he is challenged to a car racing game called chicken, where they race in cars toward the bluff edge and the first to jump is a chicken. Jim knows this a bad idea and tries to talk to his dad about it but only ends up frustrated at him for being bullied by his wife all the time and his inability to stand on his own two feet and defend himself.

At the race Jim jumps first, but Buzz's sleeve catches on the door handle and he drives off the edge and falls dramatically to his death. This is the first time Jim stands up to take his place as hero by stopping Judy, Buzz's girlfriend, from jumping after him. The camera angle and pauses in dialogue create a tense and desperate mood as Jim reaches out to take Judy's hand and pull her away from the temptations of despair.

Battle Royale was made in 2003 and is set in a time of turmoil in Japan where the teenagers were getting out of control. Because of this the government issues an act called the Battle Royale act, that each year a class would be chosen at random to fight out a battle to the death on a deserted island. This year Nanahara's class is chosen and they are all pinned against each other in a fight for survival, where only one person can win.

Nanahara's past is already a sad tale and with this new battle