Heroes IRL: What Movies Can Tell Us About Virtue and Vice
posted 7/1/25 

You will probably not find relevance listed as a virtue in any compilation of virtues. Google's AI tells me "Virtues are typically understood as stable, positive character traits that guide a person's actions and judgments." It says, "While it [relevance] can be beneficial in certain contexts, like communication or education, it's not a fundamental character trait that makes a person good or morally excellent."

I consider relevance to be a characteristic that modifies or regulates all virtues, without which the practice of virtues becomes less meaningful. I think relevance is similar to discernment: "the ability to make sound judgments, particularly in distinguishing between what is true and false, good and evil, or right and wrong." The difference, as I see it, is that the wisdom and judgment required for exercising discernment are by definition limited to the experience and personality of the individual, while relevance is a broader term, and being dependent on factors that connect individuals and circumstances, invites the articulation and participation of several individuals. In fact, relevance looks a lot more like judgment (but not in a judgy way).

Relevance extends to the recognition that some (perhaps many!) situations would benefit from the application of knowledge and experience that is not present (or strong) in your own sphere of influence. It involves knowing your limits, the ability to ask for help, the humility to step aside and let others who may have more relevant insights act, and the perseverance to see a matter through to a satisfactory conclusion for all the parties involved.

The context in which I started thinking about relevance (okay, let's not call it a virtue just yet, let's say virtue-adjacent?) was a study of stereotypes in movies. I was interested in how the heroes and heroines in movies are portrayed because of the (presumably powerful) influence that media such as mainstream movies exerts on the lives and behavior of their audiences. Heroes show us how to aspire, what to aspire to, and how to solve problems alongside people with different beliefs and attitudes.

To a large extent, successful movies portray heroes who do it all, almost single-handedly. The takeaway is that there are a select few who are destined to lead and to achieve great things for the good of a grateful world. Heroes battle against (of course) anti-heroes, who may be individuals (your standard power-hungry villain), powerful interest groups (such as corrupt governments or cabals), nature/natural disaster (animal, mineral, vegetable, climatic, or viral), or even fate/God.

What happens if we try to model our own lives after the lives of such heroes? An interesting movie I haven't watched yet is "Last Action Hero" (1993) in which the hero (Jack Slater, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) in an action movie is magically brought to the real world through the agency of a young fan. This blog post, written in July 2018, provides some fascinating facts and analysis on the film. Its author describes the film as "a movie which attempted to deconstruct the myth of Arnie’s role as one of the modern action cinema Gods." 

In the real world (irl), our hero "learns the hard way that in real life breaking glass hurts, bullets can kill heroes, and the bad guys can win." (Source: another Blog post about Last Action Hero - April, 2022). The first blogger considers this film to be "some years ahead of its time," and says, "Were it simply a parody, it perhaps would have been more successful." These bloggers don't think much of us average movie-goers, do they?😏 

Heroes matter because stories matter. The stories we hear, experience irl, and watch unfold on screens, in literature or scripture, and on social media don't just count as entertainment. They have an impact on our behavior. [You don't have to look very hard to find evidence for this point of view from people who have studied the matter**. Scroll down for links to relevant resources] 

Of course, if you deny or disagree with this premise, then it isn't relevant to you, at least not at this time. In fact, you probably wouldn't still be reading this if you didn't think my thoughts have some relevance to you. So the point I am exploring about relevance is how, in real life, unlike in many popular movies, there is untapped power in the collective experiences and knowledge of non-virtuoso (but nevertheless uniquely virtuous) human beings. 

Tapping into that power would require us to join forces with fellow movie-goers, which I suspect is a fairly diverse group. Check some statistics here: Hollywood Diversity Report 2024 (PDF)

To further my understanding of the power of the non-heroic but intentionally virtuous collective, I plan to study, along with anyone who chooses to join me, two recent books by John A. Powell: "Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World," and "The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong."