Why is John Wayne so often considered to be an American hero?!


Question: I dont have a problem with the Duke but he never served in WWll. He had his flaws as we all do. I just dont get why he was a 'hero' - for doing what exactly?


Answers: I dont have a problem with the Duke but he never served in WWll. He had his flaws as we all do. I just dont get why he was a 'hero' - for doing what exactly?

I'm with you on this one. I love John Wayne movies, and he did portray many heroic characters. But there's something a bit off in our society when we confuse the actor with role. Besides, we make way too much of actors and other celebrities here in the US. They entertain us and they work hard to do so, but heroes? No.

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  • lol who?

    Well, it was the roles he played, and how they shaped his persona as a star. That doesn't necessarily overlap with who a person is in real life.

    On screen he was tough-talking, usually honest, and fighting for the American dream (for land, property, wealth, honour etc). That - arguably - is what Americans like!

    Much of it had to do with him becoming an American icon. They often remarked how many wars he had fought in. Many of the World War II films served as morale boosters, especially when the War in the Pacific wasn't going well. He came to symbolize Americans. Maybe people have fallen away from admiring someone like him. We knew his strengths and weaknesses, that he was a hard drinker but always a completely professional actor. It says a lot when you look at the array of people who remained his friends for life. He helped them whenever he could, whether giving them a job or suggesting them for a role, such as when he turned down "Gunsmoke" but suggested longtime friend and co-star James Arness.

    Did you know they gave him a special Congressional Medal of Honor? That's truly remarkable. Such an honor isn't given lightly.

    Here's an anecdote that gives some insight:
    His production company, Batjac, was originally to be called Batjak, after the shipping company owned by Luther Adler's character in the film Wake of the Red Witch (1948). A secretary's typo while she was drawing up the papers resulted in it being called Batjac, and Wayne, not wanting to hurt her feelings, kept her spelling of it.
    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000078/

    You can read about him here. Maybe it will give you some idea of the length of his career, for one thing, as well as other fascinating bits and pieces of his life, including his battle with cancer. For a man of his time, it had to be difficult to admit that he was ill:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne

    Don't write off his films. There are some amazing performances to be seen. He was in our lives so long that it's easy to take him for granted. I know that I did from time to time, then I'd see an especially fine performance that straightened out my thinking.

    He usually was the hero in his movies. People put him on that pedestal.



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