> At the same time, _Hercules_, which is on right before _Xena_ presents a
> hero that never has any explanation, why he is roaming around fighting
> everyone instead of sitting at home and raising kids. He simply enjoys
> that kind of lifestile, which is accepted and admired. And therefore, he
> can be a hero without being a reformed criminal.
>
I have a slight disagreement here. Although I don't follow Hercules
very closely I did watch enough of the establishing episodes to know
that they did explain why he is roaming around being a hero. He was
married, with children, and all he wanted was to be left alone to raise
his family, but Hera wanted to punish Zeus by persecuting him and first
she stole Hercules' wife, and he was roaming around trying to find her,
then Hera killed her. I haven't watched enough to know whether the kids
got killed to, or Hercules is just afraid to get to close to them
because it would put them in danger.
Xena was introduced as a baddie, and only reformed when they realized
how popular she was and wanted to give her her own series. This
situation requires a little more explanation than someone who was always
good. Gabrielle has always been good, and follows the adventurous path
largely because she wants to.
This association is one of the reasons I have a problem with "hera" as
the feminine form of "hero." When I see hera I think of the goddess,
who is not a particularly heroic figure.
My vote for the term to use for a woman hero is hero. A woman doctor
is a doctor, why can't a woman hero be a hero?
Peggy Hamilton
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 25 2000 - 19:06:31 PDT