The Assassination Of Jesse James

A hero is defined as a person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities, "A war hero". Synonyms include brave man, champion, the man of courage, great man. (Dictionary.com, retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hero ). Throughout “The Assassination of Jesse James, by the coward Robert Ford”, Jesse James was perceived by others as this hero figure. However, it is the way in which the filmmaker, Andrew Dominik, has presented Jesse, that leaves the audience questioning whether Jesse really is this hero. Andrew Dominik presented this idea, through the way in which Robert idolised Jessie. He wanted the audience to question whether Jesse really is this hero people perceive him as,
This description matches Jesse to how he was portrayed in the film. For example, Jesse was seen as a hero and a good guy in the films, but he shot innocent people. It is this examination of the characters that enables us to think about this idea, and if we should be looking up to these so called “heroes” if they too have traits of evil. We are all not perfect, all not 100% hero material, and this examination enables us to question if there are such things as heroes. Why is it that we admire these so-called heroes if they do these bad things? Is it that people are blinded by the good side of these heroes that we don't see the other side of them? While analysing different critics opinions on the film, and looking at recent studies, I have found contrasting opinions to what a hero is, and if Jesse James was really this hero perceived. In this report, I will investigate this further, looking into why Jesse James has conflicting views around him, and if the word “hero”, is simply a matter of
Rob Cipriano,CEO of the All humanity Group, states that “A hero is someone who we determine to have demonstrated behaviours and decisions that are ethically and emotionally worthy of our awe. We see in them something we think is not in us. Someone who inspires us by their example. Someone who moves us emotionally to connect with them at some level in order for us develop a connection with them. In many cases, it is their accomplishments. We have been granted access to their triumphant consummations of acts and deeds which, we believe, are beyond our own capacities. Their achievements become the new “superhero” standard to measure against. That we connect with a hero because a hero connects with us. Even though they have done that which, we think, is beyond us, they connect with us.” (What is a hero, Rob Cipriano, Sep 06, 2014 retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-cipriano/what-is-a-hero_b_5560441.html) We admire those because of their accomplishments. It hints at the idea that there is no such perfect hero, but individual that do good things. If we look at the Jesse James movie, Robert would be a prime example, as he looked up to Jesse as a man who does things only he wished he could possibly do. Philip Zimbardo, a professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University, says that we all have inner