James Loewen quotes Charles V. Willie at the beginning of his essay, "Handicapped by History: The Process of Hero-making." How do you think history will remember Michael Phelps and his historic performance at the Beijing Olympic Games? How has "the process of hero-making" that Loewen describes affected what you think of Phelps? Do you think he and his legacy will fall victim to "heroification"? And finally, consider how this quote applies to Michael Phelps:
By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves . . . We fail to recognize that we could go and do likewise.
24 comments:
I think that Michael Phelps will always be remembered as an Olympic hero in the eyes of our generation. People most often remember events that occur during the peak of their lives; therefore, the next generation will most likely remember the next great Olympian of their time as their personal hero. Since we were able to watch Phelps break world records, we view him more highly than someone like Mark Spitz, whom our parents most greatly remember. After reading Loewen’s essay, I view Phelps slightly differently. Although he accomplished great things, he seems to be less credible being that I know notice the way in which the media shapes him to be even greater. Charles V. Willie was quoted as saying, “By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves . . . We fail to recognize that we could go and do likewise.” We all should apply this quote to our lives by forcing ourselves to recognize our own abilities to accomplish great things just as Michael Phelps did, rather than placing him on an unreachable pedestal.
Without a doubt Michael Phelps and his eight gold medals will always be remembered. His world records and amazing athleticism is something my generation sees and will always keep in mind. Every generation has its own group of people that they remember and Michael Phelps is one of the heroes we will remember years from now. Though he will not be as important to the next generation, he has played an important motivating and inspiring many. Through America’s eyes we see Michael Phelps as an extraordinary swimmer who has accomplished what no other athletes have ever done. Though this a great achievement, as Loewen states in the quote, people in today’s society may diminish their accomplishments because of Phelps’s out of this world’s success. Phelps’s triumph has created a society where many may feel like we cannot accomplish or replicate what he has done. Since he has set the bar extremely high, people may back down from this because they are afraid that there is no way they can ever reach him. Do not get me wrong, he has motivated many, but who can seriously say that they earned gold medals. Why is it that those who have earned one gold medal appraised as Michael Phelps? It is an honor being able to earn any sort of medal, but I feel like in today’s society one has to do far more better than everyone in order to be considered for anything, especially for the title of hero.
Michael Phelps, certainly within our generation, will always be remembered as a remarkable Olympian. I fear however, that future generations will see Michael Phelps not as a sporting hero but as someone they recognize through media exposure and exploitation by firms such as advertising agencies. I believe Michael Phelps will remain to be a hero in the eyes of our generation, but not future ones. Although heroes are a rarity, it is uncommon for a generation not to possess their own, it is unlikely therefore that a huge percentage of future generations will hold Michael Phelps in higher regard than their own, relevant, heroes.
I agree with the quote given, that we should not over-idolize, but rather achieve what we ourselves strive for. I for example do not aspire to be an Olympic swimmer, but I do think Michael Phelps’s example is a great one to follow.
Michael Phelps will certainly be remembered by my generation as the greatest swimmer ever to live. Further more you might be able to go as far as to say the "Best Olympian Ever" if the newspaper articles have their way. However, Phelps record breaking 8 gold medals is something that nobody in our generation will ever forget. Yet, i feel as though the hero-making has already begun for this great athlete. I had not heard of his DUI or the fact that he was suspended from school for hitting another kid on the bus. I feel as though if i did not hear about any of that during his real time in the lime light than the hope for future generations to hear about it are slim to none. There is no question the media has gotten a hold of Phelps and already created him into a hero of the greatest magnitude. However, i do believe as of right now, despite a few stories of his flaws, there is not much to fabricate about him. He truly is living a well rounded life (as the media has led me to believe), but i also feel that the quote by Charles V. Willie, "By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves . . . We fail to recognize that we could go and do likewise." is one we must keep in mind. I am not even sure if this really speaks to people striving to be Olympic swimmers rather than every other endeavor anyone undertakes. We must never fail to see our own potential and we must always believe we can accomplish if not surpass anybody if we work hard enough.
Michael Phelps will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest
athletes of our time, well at least by my generation. He achieved
something so extraordinary that it is difficult to say that it could bebeaten. However, isn't that what people said about Mark Spitz? The sameapplies to Phelps, even though he did something great, it is very likely that his record will be beaten. But it seems like the media tries to buildup his record so much so that no one will think that they can beat it.This heroification of Phelps may become a big issue later seeing as Phelps' history is not that golden or great. But Americans don't know thathe received a DUI and committed several other offenses. By hiding these facts, it hurts societies idea of what a true hero is and thus we honor those men and women in history that might not have been truly heroes. The quote is so great because it shows that we all shouldn't put someone on
such a high pedestal because we can also do extraordinary things. We all can be heroes in our own way.
Many of my fellow students think that other generations will forget the accomplishments that Phelps strived so hard to achieve. However, I believe that his legacy will be felt for several generations more. The media, as of right now, love Phelps and will continue to watch and be amazed by his swimming talents. I would have to disagree with Isela in the fact that people have to do so much to be considered as heroes in todays society. I strongly believe that heroes walk amongst us everyday and all we have to do is have an open eye and a ready ear so that we can find them. Everyday someone is doing something heroic, but just because its not on the media
doesn't make it anyless heroic. The way we choose heroes in this society is by great fame and fortune, but should we not honor those that did the right thing when faced with a tough decision? Should we not uplift all those men and women who work hard everyday and keep this nation running? To me, those are he real heroes, the working citizen who is willing to
help others in need and willing to do the right thing when the time calls for it.
Michael Phelps will be remembered as one of the greatest swimmers in the world and as a U.S. hero in the Beijing Olympics. He will not, however, be remembered as a man who changed the direction of the world through swimming. Phelps' historic achievements, like many other athletes and other figures, will be over exaggerated by the U.S. media in the future, for the U.S. people want someone to rally around and help build pride. It is hard to say whether Phelps will last as a hero figure for he is still young and has not really shown what he is out to do with the rest of his life. As of right now the U.S. media portrays Phelps as a guy who grew up and had a hard childhood and experienced being told he would never succeed. Phelps appears to have fought obstacles and overcome personal issues while also doing nothing wrong, however the D.U.I. he received is hardly ever mentioned. I agree with Charles V. Willie's quote in that I think that we should honor what people have done but not dwell on them too much or make the achievements of people seem unattainable, but to use it as a bit of motivation to say well he did so I can do it.
Evidently, based on what we have read and seen on the media about Phelps, his record has been set on "stone" and will never be forgotten. Phelps will always be seen as the hero who broke world records despite having learning disabilties. However, this may only be until the day that someone better than Phelps comes along. Nonetheless, Phelps will be juxtaposed with the one better than him, but his one disability will for sure always win him the eternal "hero" figure; unless, that other better person has a worse disability that he superceded.
Although Loewen did persuade me with the idea that heroification takes away the negative aspects of a person being put on a pedestal, I believe that it does not take from Phelps' achievements. He broke world records and probably worked very hard his whole life for them, and I believe that that's all that counts. If he did anything else, I believe that that's his personal problem, unless it affects a large amount of people. In the way that Loewen gives the term "heroification" a bad connotation, I don't think that Phelps could really be a bad person at all. Phelps is not influencing world politics in any way, but giving the United States a good "reputation;" regardless, if Phelps got a DUI, as someone had mentioned in class, it did not shun him from showing the best of his abilities at the Olympics. However, sometimes facts as such should be kept away because they do in a sense affect how young America could potentially copy from him as a hero if they venerate him.
I believe that the quotation doesn't really apply to Phelps in the greater skeem of things. When idolizing someone, it does not mean that we don't live up to those standards because we think them to be impossible to reach. Sometimes idolizing someone is a good thing because we try to strive to be that person, and in Phelps' case, having achieved honors of worldly ranks is something to be venerated for.
I agree with Tyler in that media hypes Michael Phelps, but he is not the only one. There are many celebrities and athletes that the media overexpose. As a result many people see them as role models and heroes. The media tends to make people look a certain way so they would be approachable and anyone can relate to them. Though this benefits many, I personally do not have any heroes who are celebrities or athletes. It is amazing to see how many athletes, such as Phelps accomplishes such world breaking records, but for me a hero has to be someone who is currently in my everyday life; someone who I know personally, like my family members who work every day to make a better future for me and my siblings. Celebrities and athletes and many others who are considered heroes may have done great things, but I feel like many people don’t know them so therefore how can we believe they are heroes. Society makes their own decisions based on what the media puts out on their heroes, leaving information that would make them look bad. Personally, I feel like there are an endless kinds of heroes.
I believe a great athlete like Michael Phelps will always be remembered by history for his extraordinary performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. However, I am afraid that he will not be viewed by the people of future generations as great a hero as the people of my generation do. My reasoning behind this fear is that anyone who watched the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games witnessed his amazing accomplishments but the only way for people of future generations to learn about Michael Phelps is through media or texts so they will understand that Michael Phelps was a hero but they will not understand how great a hero he was. A similar case would be that people of my generation are aware of the fact that George Washington was once a hero but we really do not know him as much as those who lived in his time. Unlike George Washington, who was a war hero, Michael Phelps is a hero in our society whose achievements are bound to be recognized by generation after generation. After reading James W. Loewen’s article, I think that Michael Phelps is probably not as great as he is depicted by media.
I totally disagree with the quote. I do not think anyone can do what Michael Phelps has done even if you spend years training. It is not merely about how much effort you put into achieving your goal, it is also about the talents that can make it possible for your dreams to come true.
I may be a strange case, but I had never heard of Phelps before the 2008 Olympics, even though I thought I had followed the 2004 Olympics quite closely. Having read the essay, only after reading the news reports on Phelps I think that there is some aspects of heroification taking place. The negative aspects of Phelps career have been removed from public knowledge, such as his DUI. and a cynical argument would say that only those stories only fitting within the narrow bounds of the image that is being created of Phelps remain. However as the reading public we expect a certain amount of heroification. During the Olympics we looked to Phelps as an interesting athlete, now however the reading public wants the image of him as a Super Hero to be created. If this heroification were not the case then the media would not be able to sell newspapers depicting Phelps in this way, and individuals would switch off broadcasts that illustrate this. An example of this is the front cover of Sports Illustrated showing Phelps in an almost Captain America pose with his medals swept out across his chest (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0808/oly.michael.phelps.covers/content.1.html). Although this echo’s Spitz’s pose, it is likely to be made into a poster that is predicted to be a best seller. The individual skill that Phelps shows and the abilities he posses do get marginalized as is described in the quote. Fans start to assume that Phelps will win. If he doesn’t, (and sometimes the best don’t win all the time fans will often feel that they have been done a great disservice and personally let down by the individual when they tried their best, the ultimate moral aim of most sports. I also think that Phelps new charity the Michael Phelps Foundation, which aims to help get kids swimming may actually counter the problem that Charles V. Willie describes in his quote, of individuals feeling unable to reach the heights of the “hero”. In the long term I think that Phelps will be remembered the way that Spitz is only seriously when someone tries to remove his title, and also as an interesting trivia fact. However I could be wrong which is one of the joys of history.
I disagree with Isela, mainly because I do not think that Phelps will join our generations small group of select individuals lauded above others, but this is my subjective opinion. Phelps own motivational force Michael Spitz is not known by many individuals outside of the USA, and even there almost exclusively around the Olympics, looking at the Google trends report on Spitz (http://www.google.com/trends?q=Spitz) his searches only peak during the Olympics or in relation to Phelps. Google trends is a way of measuring the number of searches for a particular subject and also individuals interests. Compare this to a less disputed hero such as Mahatma Gandhi (http://www.google.com/trends?q=Mahatma+Ghandi&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0) it can be seen that he is more popular and more often at the for front of individuals minds. Unfortunate as it is, and undeserving as it may be, this is likely to be the end result of Phelps place in history.
I agree with what Colin said about how the U.S media portrayed Michael Phelps as a tough man who has been through lots of hardships prior to his success in his endeavor and has also survived many difficult times.Howver,the U.S Media seems to neglect the fact that Michael Phelps was once sentenced to 18 months probation for drunken drving. Instead of displaying a complete truthful image of Phelps, the media choose to show the good side of him only.This perfectly shows how the media can stretch the truth by tactics and the way media portrays Michael Phelps has a huge impact on how we view him.
I agree with Isela’s comment about Loewen’s quote. She talks about how our society uses others accomplishments as a way to compare our own achievements. This, however, is a fault of our society. It is hard for anyone to accomplish anything if they continuously compare themselves to
others as opposed to setting their own personal goals. Everyone has
focused so much on Phelps winning eight Olympic gold medals that they
forget to acknowledge those who have won any medals at all. Winning any medal in the Olympics, or even making it as far as the Olympics is a tremendous achievement in itself. Our society should learn to focus more
on personal achievement and growth rather than continuously comparing
everyone to one another. I think that this is especially important for the youth, because they should look up to people like Michael Phelps and strive to accomplish great things instead of feeling as if they cannot compare to these heroes.
Michael Phelps is without a doubt an American hero. Even if the media had not done so many stories about his success, he would still shine over all other athletes at this point in history. His performance is Beijing was one of the greatest thing sports in general has seen. What makes him a true hero is the fact that by just watching him on the Olympics would make anyone look up to him. The media may increase America's obsession with Phelps, but they are definitely not what started it. I do not believe that what Loewen discusses in his essay applies to Phelps. All of Phelps's mishaps have already been exploited by the press, and America loves him just the same. Actually, his flaws have brought him closer to our hearts because they humanize him. The quote by Charles V. Willie does not apply to Phelps in my opinion. Phelps is so easy to relate to because of his faults and the way he rose up for a troubled childhood.
I have to agree with most of us on the fact that Phelps will be remembered by our generation. However, I am not quite sure about the next generation as occurred to me, the first time I heard about Mark Spitz was about 3-4 weeks ago and from now on I am sure I will not hear much, perhaps never of him again now that Phelps broke his record. I also have to agree with Loewen’s essay in the fact that media, especially the US media, acts as propaganda in giving out the message that Phelps as a perfect American-figure, and that we do not know about his flaws such as DUI or how he was sentence to 18 months probation as suggested by the Russian media.
As for the quote by Charles V. Willie, I disagree with Xin's comment. I believe that all of us have a potential to be like Phelps. It perhaps depends on how we exploit the potential we have because you never know what you are capable of until you give it a try. I am sure Phelps did not know he could be at where he is right now years ago, but because he worked hard, believed in himself, and the coach was able to bring the best potential out of him, he is the man with the 8 gold medals in one Olympics.
In thirty-five years, Michael Phelps will fade into the history books, just as his predecessor, Mark Spitz. Michael Phelps has accomplished an amazing feat, but as Grant Hackett, a three-time Olympic swimming medalist from Australia, said “when you come out and swim fast times, people realize that it can be done. You set the bar a bit high and people are going to come with you.” In 1936, Jesse Owens won four gold medals in Berlin, in 1972, Mark Spitz set the bar high in Munich, thirty-six years later, Michael Phelps has raised that bar even higher for the proceeding generations. All three of these men serve as heroes for their generations, but they have also provided the driving force that has motivated those after them to succeed. Without Spitz’s seven gold medals in Munich, would Phelps have driven so hard to win eight? James Loewan discusses how heroes fall victim to heroification, but in the case of Michael Phelps, does it really matter of his image succumbs to heroification? Perhaps the process has already started, but what negative aspects of Phelps will detract from his accomplishments? Some may argue that Phelps’ DUI after Athens is a victim of his heroification, but others argue that it is the natural course of history. This blemish on Phelps’ past has not become a reoccurring problem, nor did he harm anyone in the process. Heroes are heroes, but they are also human. It does not do heroes a disservice when they are idolized, nor does is harm those who idolize them. As history has shown, yesterday’s heroes set the bar high for tomorrow’s heroes to break.
While I think Sydney makes some excellent points, I disagree with the last statement that says we should force ourselves “to recognize our own abilities to accomplish great things just as Michael Phelps did” rather than “placing him on an unreachable pedestal.” While some people have the potential to do great things with their lives, not everyone has the potential to accomplish what Michael Phelps has accomplished. For most people, the pedestal on which Michael Phelps has been placed, will forever remain untouchable. While Phelps has the potential to inspire individuals to achieve their individual goals, it is very few dedicated athletes that will actually be able to reach the bar the Phelps has set.
I agree with what Taylor said about the likelihood of another athlete breaking Phelps's records. it is easy to say that Phelps is the greatest athlete of all time, but we must remember that that title is probably only temporary. It would be amazing if no one ever did break his record and we were able to witness literally the greatest Olympic athlete of all time. That is why I still believe we should enjoy the success Phelps has achieved for the United States while we can. I think it is fine that we all look up to him and admire him, because we most definitely need someone to look for for inspiration. The media will always find some sort of mishap in any public figures past, but it is important for the public to look past them. I do not see what is so wrong for a man who has truly achieved greatness to accept the praise he has earned. Why does there always have to be something in the past that hinders a true hero's present or future.?
I think that I am going to disagree with Stephanie and her point about Phelps overshadowing all other athletes with his accomplishments. To me Phelps will go down as one of the greatest swimmers to ever live, but I am not so sure about an athlete in general. There have been other athletes who have accomplished incredible things and that the U.S. people will always regard as heroes and icons of U.S. sports. Muhammad Ali is one of the most recognizable figures in U.S. athletics. Lance Armstrong and his seven tour de France victories. However in researching my statements I did find a article that directly supports Stephanies claim about Phelps and the article explains why Phelps is greater than any other athlete. Read it if you like, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26194188/ . There are quite a few articles comparing the other great athletes like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky to Phelps but these are all opinion based. I think that Phelps will just join the ranks of those athletes and not necessarily become known as the greatest athlete ever.
Everyday records are being broken, records that have stood for many years. Records that were thought to withstand the test of time are getting broken. When we are talking about athletic records like those of Michael Phelps we must consider several factors. Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz’s record that had stood for 36 years; many people had guessed that would be a record that would stand for much longer than that. However, we must consider the advantages that Phelps has on his side. Technology, Phelps is able to analysis many aspects of his swimming because of new technology that were not around when Spitz was breaking records. Phelps’ Beijing performance will go down as the greatest individual effort The Olympics and the world has ever seen. Americans love Phelps, they rank his accomplishments in the pool as the greatest ever. Americans put his accomplishments on an entire different level that we feel will never be reached. However, this is how Americans felt about Spitz in 1972. Someday Phelps records will be broken and a new man or woman will be placed high in American eyes.
Xin I disagree with you. Michael Phelps has accomplished what no one else has ever done before, winning eight gold medals in on games. A record you say will be unbreakable. When Mark Spitz set his record many people thought that his record would stand. However, technology changes and training regimens get harder. The new technology of the swimsuit helped Phelps win gold. Phelps was also in the Weight room doing special workouts designed for swimmers. These are changes that swimmers in Spitz’s generation never had the ability to use or could they predict that something like this would ever occur. Don’t get me wrong, Phelps’ accomplishments are remarkable. However, unless you can see into the future, it is hard to say that his record will never be broken
History will remember Michael Phelps as one of the greatest Olympians of all time. The man won more gold medals in a single Olympics than anyone of all time. In the process he broke numerous world and Olympic records. Michael Phelps is arguably one of the greatest athletes of our time, which is why our generation will associate him as a hero. After reading Loewen's essay on the process of hero making, my opinion of Michael Phelps changed somewhat. The media does an excellent job these days of driving their point across to people and an excellent job of influencing people's ideas and perceptions. After reading the article, it makes you stop and second-guess your perception of a star like Michael Phelps because the media portrays him as a "god" per se and that influences us. Charles V. Willie once said, "By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves...We fail to recognize that we could go and do likewise." This is a very powerful statement because Willie is exactly right. Instead of being totally mesmerized with someone's
accomplishments, why don't we go out and work hard to accomplish our goals and dreams just like Michael Phelps.
When Sydney speaks about putting people like Michael Phelps on an
unreachable pedestal, she is exactly right. The people in the UnitedStates, for the majority, are always on a star craze. This includes the stars of Hollywood along with the great athletes of our time. The thing is that by doing this we are downplaying ourselves. These stars obviously are talented in their field of work but we have to realize that we can go out and do the same types of things. Maybe not become an Olympic champion but we can go out and accomplish our goals and dreams. By being focused with other people we are only stopping ourselves from achieving our personal greatest.
After reading James Loewen’s essay it made me realize that Michael Phelps
was not as much of hero as it appeared to me initially. Although he did
win 8 gold medals Charlie V. Willie’s quote, “by idolizing those of whom
we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves…We fail to
recognize that we could go and do likewise.” This quote alone makes me
realize that I can do anything that I put my mind to. Phelps records
makes me just want to strive to be the best athlete or person that I can
be in whatever task that I am involved in. I agree with Nick when he said
something about Michael Phelps being remembered as a not a hero but as
someone being exposed by the media. I believe that this comment is true
because generations are changing and although he may have been looked at
as a hero in our generation does not necessarily mean that the Phelps that
we know, The American hero, will not be remembered the same as of today.
I diasgree with Gabriela only because she seems to be suggesting that there is a set pattern of the amount of time someone else will take over a world record. I don't think this is true because the likelihood of breaking Phelps' records are as high in the next Olympic events as well as in 35 years. Other countries, as we saw, were very close to breaking Phelps' record, however, his height, arguably, gave him an advantage. Phelps is not a God of any sort, so his record could be broken anywhere; if Phelps could do it, so could any other human that puts his or herself to the test.
Years from now, Michael Phelps’ name will remain renowned for his
accomplishments in the Beijing Olympic Games. No one will forget his performance in the cube, as they will certainly remember his world records and his eight gold medals. His statistics will never lose their luster; however, depending on future Olympians’ performances, his records could be
overshadowed. If someone breaks his records and performs better than he
did in Beijing, he will no longer be considered the best Olympic swimmer of all-time. No one has forgotten what Mark Spitz accomplished years before Phelps, but you cannot deny that his legacy has been overshadowed by Phelps’ achievements this year in Beijing.
I do not believe that Phelps legacy will fall victim to “the process of hero-making”. I have recognized the media’s portrayal of Phelps as a
hero, but I find it more difficult for athletes to suffer from Loewen’s “herofication”. This is because, as non-athletes, we are able to (or should be able to) appreciate the greatness of an athlete’s accomplishments without equating these accomplishments with the requirements of being a hero. In other words, one should be able to distinguish between a hero and a terrific athlete.
In response to what Sydney said about putting Michael Phelps on an
“unreachable pedestal,” I would have to say that I agree that it is a disservice to any individual to place someone else that far ahead of their own capabilities. However, I find it equally a disservice to believe that everyone has the same capabilities as athletes such as Michael Phelps. At some point, individuals need to accept the fact that there exists natural
ability that some have and others do not. Sure, practice and training help to improve someone’s natural ability, but some people have such a high level of natural ability that all the practice and training in the world could not equate their ability with others’.
History will remember Michael Phelps as a tremendous and strong athlete. He will be remember as a
great Olympian. The process described by Loewen makes me question whether or not Phelps is thought to be a great Olympian because of how great he is or because of the media. When I think about the statistics and what I have actually seen, I don't think that the media made Phelps a hero. His legacy might not actually fall victim to heroification because most of the things that make Phelps great come from his negative things.
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