Emo Heroes

Singaporean Jessica Lim wrote to our local papers yesterday, talking about how "Emo Heroes" are being popularised in this day and age. In it, she suggested that our acceptance of such "antiheroes" is a mirror to our society today. I'm sure you all have had your own experiences with "emo" kids, either first-hand or otherwise. Here's my take on it.

After reading Jessica Lim's take on the character Michael Scofield from the hit TV show Prison Break, I do have a few rebuttals of my own.

Firstly, him "giving up his future" to save his brother would, of course, be unthinkable to all but the most romanticised of individuals; and indeed the character's behaviour was questioned time and time again during the course of the first season of the show. "Pope", the prison warden, confronted him with the fact, and it was also mentioned how the Scofield character actually suffers from a sort of clinical psychological disorder which implores him to help others (hence his marrying the "hooker" to let her stay in the country, albeit it was part og his "master plan").

Jessica's next point, on the relative short-sightedness of his tattooing the prison blueprints on his back instead of his thighs, also made me raise an eyebrow or two. The high-security prison that he was sent to (and that he helped design) was always portrayed as a state-of-the-art facility, as efficient as it is sprawlingly huge. The human back is perhaps the largest expanse of skin available to a person, and since the whole facility is so big (and remember, he bothered to include detailed blueprints, with power cables, pipes, etc), it would not be exactly feasible to have it printed on his thighs.

Another point to consider about Jessica's suggestion of having the blueprints tattooed on his thighs would be the simple fact that he would have to remove his pants to take a look at them. Now, I'm no expert on the socio-relations and culture within prisons, but I would imagine that while walking around shirtless is accepted, or even common, sitting and staring at your lap when you don't have your pants on would attracts some unwanted attention.

Anti-heroes have always existed. Batman, the "Dark Knight", has never been protrayed as the typical hero. Some even call him the flipside of Superman. Marvel's Wolverine, of X-Men fame, has also been the posterboy for the company for many, many years. While the X-Men movies may not be totally accurate when compared to the original comics, the "anti-hero" portrayal of Wolverine is still there to be seen. Others which fit into this mould would include Blade, Punisher and Todd McFarlane's Spawn.

So while it is indeed a little evident that the "emo" lifestyle seems to be growing more popular (something which is a sort of paradox in itself), "emo heroes" as Jessica Lim branded them, have existed for a while. At the very least, Michael Scofield has kindred spirits in Heros' Isaac Mendez (drug addict), Lost's Sawyer (swindler), Vic Mackey (vigilante cop) from The Shield and even Horatio Crane from CSI:Miami.

Do this "emo heroes" actually influence and promote the "emo" culture today? Television, and other forms of mass media, have always been attributed to the development of culture within a society. In this day and age, where near everyone has the ability to watch anything they want to, be it Barney the Dinosaur or Will and Grace, the argument seems more valid than it might have been in the past. Satellite and cable television, the Internet, simple imports of DVD's and VCD's (pirated or not) allow anyone the freedom to view whatever they please.

The audience however, is not exactly "passive". I seriously doubt anyone in their right mind (remember, Scofield hasa psychological disorder) would commit a poorly conceived crime just to get into prison to break out his wrongfully convicted brother. The same goes for those who argue that "violent" television shows (and video games) promote similarly violent behaviour in teens. The "Dodo bird experiment" (where a group of toddlers are allowed to watch cartoons for a time before being left with a stuffed toy) would suggest that younger children are more impressionable, but that is only natural. They don't know any better; they believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy. They think Barney is an actual dinosaur and that sponges with pants live underwater.

Lastly, Jessica Lim posed the question, "Can't a hero be cute, brainy, kind - and smart?". I believe it's rather redundant, seeing as how the one she antagonised the most fits the bill perfectly. For three of the four categories anyway, my female friends tell me he's cute, I don't quite know. Of course, the definition of "smart" differs, but you get my point.