Task 2: Why Do We Need Vigilantes? (Assignment 1: Exploration on Archetypes)

Vigilantes, by definition is "an individual or group who undertakes law enforcement without legal authority". In other words, they punish crime when laws are inadequate, or rather when they feel like they can do what the law cannot.

Another synonym for “vigilante” is also “avenger”, so Marvel’s Avengers can definitely be considered as vigilantes, all of them fighting to avenge a cause. In fact, most superheroes from comic books can be considered as vigilantes.

Comparing the two famous superheroes, Batman and Superman, for example. It’s interesting to see how the two are different, where Batman puts on a mask to hide his “true identity”, donning his bat costume and transforming from regular billionaire Bruce Wayne to dark knight Batman. Clark Kent, on the other hand, takes off his disguise to /show/ his true identity instead, Kal-El from the planet Kryptonite, a.k.a Superman.

The thing that both of these superheroes, and vigilantes in general, have in common is that they represent a symbol of hope to the masses. In this postmodern era where the government and “The Man” is not all trusted by everyone, vigilantes provide a source of hope by protecting their city where the government or other forces of authorities fail to provide. This stems from the concept that people always need something to fall back to, whether it’s a set of rules, a concept, or a form of authority.

Even in real life, vigilantes exist. They can be considered as unsung heroes, since you don't usually hear about them in the news. It's just that fiction takes it to a whole new level with superheroes.

When it comes to the question of whether the law enforcement is doing their job or even doing it right, it depends. However effective the law enforcement may be, I think that vigilantes would still exist as long as there's someone out there who thinks they can do better than the cops.

One movie example of this phenomenon can be seen in the movie, Kick Ass (2010).

I noticed that the whole concept of avenging and revenging is mostly adopted by Western cultures, due to the fact that they do not rely on religion to guide their life. They think that it is up to them to take matters into their own hands instead of allowing Karma, God or some other divine intervention or earthly authority to take care of things. Something to think about!