Reflection #11


I came into class thinking that I knew a lot about Batman, my favorite super hero, but when I began learning more about him I got more of an understanding of what he truly stands for. I always liked him and thought I knew a lot about him because it is who I grew up watching but I never really paid attention to meanings and representations that he presented in films and cartoons.  He stands for fighting against evil and riding it from Gotham city, which I knew, but he also puts that at top priority, no matter what.  What I have learned about Batman is working and fighting for something you believe in is something that takes much effort, time, and dedication.  If you feel strong in something then it is okay to fight for it, but you must become dedicated.  Batman also shows us that you do not need super powers or abilities to do good in your community.  I had never really thought about Batman's wealth and training to be one of the determining factors of why he is so successful.  He worked hard at something and was dedicated.  It can show us that by working for something anything can be achieved.  Batman is someone that I know much more about then I did before coming into class, and I know the "real" Batman in my eyes now.

My preconceived ideas about Wonder Woman before coming into class was she was just a normal super hero, but just female.  I never saw her as a super hero that many looked up to because of gender, and I do not mean that in a bad way I just stereotyped her in her abilities compared to male super heroes.  Throughout our course, I have learned that she has been nothing but a role model for women, lesbians, and gays.  I think it is great that she expresses these qualities and that she is someone to look up to.  I have learned, that early on in America, just like me, people did stereotype her for being a female and she was sometimes a shadow.  I am glad that I was able to learn more about her and it made me realize that stereotyping happens everywhere, even when I deny myself from doing it.  It has supported me in taking a step back sometimes to allow for people to introduce themselves and their qualities before I judge them, which is something we should all do before jumping to conclusions.

With our readings and discussions I have learned that we are all different, and that is a good thing.  With so many different types of super heroes it relates to knowing there is a place for everyone in this world.  I have been reinforced to know that everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and some of us are better than others in certain abilities.  We must also understand that it is okay to realize that we may not be as good as someone else in specific skills and asking for help is okay.  I have also learned that being open with yourself and expressing your opinions, appropriately, can help you to understand yourself even more and it allows for you to take in other peoples views.  When you are open with yourself it can help you in becoming more confident with your beliefs and allow for you to practice voicing your opinions.

I really enjoyed our discussions and analysis of the real life super heroes.  It was fun and interesting finding out about these people and I wish that we could have learned more about them or even found out if there were any living around us.  It was interesting learning about them because they were working for the better of their communities and that is what we ultimately want with all citizens.  I think it would have been cool to follow up on some of them to see how their progress is coming along currently and what their views of us are-having a class developed around super heroes and working for the better of society.  It would have also been cool to dress up like them and walk around campus just to see the reactions of what our peers would be thinking about us and their opinions of agreeing or disagreeing with having real life super heroes.

This class has helped me a great deal of understanding what the traits of a good citizen should be.  It is a fun and realistic way to view our society because super heroes are fun to learn about but their is always more to the story that they are telling.  I think that reflecting on our lives and thinking about our actions can help us to understand who we are and who we want to be in our future.  This class has also helped me in understanding that their are hundreds of paths to take within our lives, and we cannot dwell on a path that we may have felt was the wrong one.  We must continue forward and learn from our past.  I think that any of the real life super heroes are great models for a good citizen.  As I said before, they are solely working to make their communities better.  We do not necessarily have to take it to the extreme of revolving our life around becoming a real life super hero but we can do the little things throughout the day to make this world a better place to be.  Changing the world will not happen over night, but doing the little things is what makes a difference sometimes and they do not take up an enormous amount of time to perform.  By helping others, we will only be rewarded in the end.