The American Hero and the Standard Image of Him or Her

     Our previous class, we discussed the topic of American exceptionalism and how it has affected the standard image of the American Dream. I found that particularly interesting, due to the fact that most of the world does not believe in the idea that one can achieve any status through blunt continuous hard work. At a young age, kids are told to work as hard as they can in whatever they chose and they will succeed. But what society does not tell you, is the amount of cheating that is done in all aspects to achieve any sort of goal. Therefore, the new height of achievement with the cheating becomes the standard of perfection.
     I was recommended a documentary by a friend. The movie was called "Bettter, Stronger, Faster : The Side Effect of Being American." The documentary was centralized on the idea that America, since its conception has always needed a hero figure to look up and aspire to. Another focus of the movie was comparing cheating and drugs, in the sense that in certain fields the cheating standard was overlooked.

     The most flagrant example the movie was Arnold Schwarzenegger. This idol is the one of best exemplars of American exceptionalism; an immigrant teenager worked himself to the bone and conquered three different careers. Schwarznegger is seen across the world as an icon of masculinity and persistence. An interesting point that the documentary pointed was the amount of steroid usage that this individual used to start and continue his career. Yet society chose to overlook how he got to where he is and take him for face value. In contrast, Lance Armstrong was stripped of his medals, sponsors, and dignity for the use of EPO. The entire cycling community was using some sort of performance-enhancing drug at the time. One can mention that Armstrong overcame cancer and used to the money that he won in the races to give back to the community, yet society bashed him.
     Here is a prime example of a contrast standards in the field of American exceptionalism. Armstrong and Schwarznegger both used drugs in some form to gain an advantage, yet one is accepted and praised by our society and the other shunned. What constitutes which person is in the right and who is in the wrong?
     Captain America, the most American Marvel hero, was someone who did not make the cut into the army. The character risked his life to become exceptional in the army, by taking a drug in a lab to help him get to where he needed. So one can infer this Adonis Complex and exceptionalism that America instills in the youth is a problematic standard, due to the means that it takes to get to the goal.