Captain America's name announces to us
that he's the spirit of the USA in
superhero form he's American values
embodied but this raises the question
what America does he represent exactly
the comic-book character began in 1941
as a Hitler punching propaganda figure
and throughout history he's reflected
various aspects of the u.s. site-geist
from Cold War paranoia to post Watergate
doubt when it comes to the MC use modern
incarnation the character is not fueling
any nostalgic or nationalistic image of
our country caps a maverick a rebel or
outside the long and strikingly in
today's contentious times he sends a
message about what it means to be a
patriot he tells us serving your country
does not mean blindly adhering to any
label or agenda but serving the moral
principles you believed in before all
else price of freedom is high
his price I'm willing to pay as Chris
Evans winds up his role in Avengers 4
let's look at the character's legacy and
how he takes a stance on what it means
to be a modern American hero sudo before
we go on we want to tell you a little
bit about this video sponsor Nord VPN as
a youtube channel we use the internet
constantly so it's super important to
protect ourselves and our content online
which is why we use a VPN or virtual
private network and you should too right
now Nord VPN is offering a great deal to
our viewers click the link in our
description below Nord VPN comm slash
screen prism and use the code screen
prism to get 75% off a three-year plan
plus a bonus month ronan for free that
comes out to only $2.99 a month so don't
wait another moment to make your
internet connection secure
as Marvel director Joe Russo put it you
cannot have a character called Captain
America without examining the politics
of what that means especially in this
day and age so how accurately does cap
represent the country's character Tony
Stark the ambitious egotistical
narcissistic capitalist is probably a
more honest reflection of the powers
that dominate the USA today I have
successfully privatized world peace cap
represents what America should be a
symbol to the nation a hero to the world
just as the American dream has always
been more idea than reality cap is an
ideal to aspire towards a modest yet we
might argue that this most virtuous
superhero is also the Avenger it's most
in our power to emulate we can't all
become genius billionaire playboy
philanthropist s' Kings or world class 5
but we can strive to be morally
steadfast people if I see a situation
pointed South I can't ignore it
sometimes I wish I could no Steve Rogers
was chosen for his role out of so many
men because of his unique moral
character I am looking for qualities but
arms of physical that's why Tony's
assertion that everything special about
you doesn't really hold up caps physical
strength which comes from the Super
Soldier Serum is not that special most
superheroes are strong
what sets cap apart is his abiding sense
of right and wrong his courage his
willingness to sacrifice himself for a
greater cause all qualities he had
before he transformed and which we come
to see are extremely rare such a will
stay who you are not a perfect soldier
good man so if Captain America's essence
is his moral code that tells us that
according to the MCU the core of the
American identity should also be our
morality what then are the tenets of
caps code most fundamentally his inner
moral compass is stronger than his
allegiance to any law or government
shield takes the world as it is not as
we'd like it to be it's getting damn
near past time for you to get with that
program captain he believes one's inborn
sense of right and wrong comes before
everything else he's opposed to
limitations or restrictions on freedom
this isn't freedom this is fear
he trusts individuals over institutions
my faith in people
I guess individuals and I'm happy to say
that for the most part they haven't let
me down and he's automatically against
anyone dictatorial or power-hungry they
almost have what they want
caps iconic shield represents his
philosophy on war shields by nature are
defensive not offensive his goal is to
stop violence and protect people I don't
want to kill anyone I don't like bullies
I don't care where they feel overall
caps code encourages us to distrust
people in power to uphold moral order
and come to the aid of the defenseless
and to always put the right thing before
loyalty to any organization the story of
Captain America is one of Honor
bravery and sacrifice
it's significant that Captain America
both the comic and the superhero is born
during World War two
you were the world's first superhero
Steve becoming a superhero in that war
mirrors how the US emerged from the
conflict as a global superpower and this
historical moment set the foundation for
the country's self-image ever since many
of us tend to look back on World War two
as a relatively clear-cut showdown
between good and evil and the First
Avenger is a morally black-and-white
film the traditional hero personifies
bravery and goodness and the villain is
a Nazi Hydra Steve begins as such a
patriot that he keeps trying to enlist
in the army even though he's told he's
too sickly there are men laying down
their lives I got no right to do any
less than them then once he becomes
Captain America he's trotted out to sell
war bonds as a kind of Uncle Sam figure
series a Defense bonds each one you buy
is a bullet in the barrel of your best
guys gun at the end of the first movie
cap crashes into the future he doesn't
age slowly into the modern era
he literally wakes up in the present day
he'd been asleep cap for almost 70 years
and he maintains a kind of square
vanilla forties American personality
language as Joe Russo said cap quote
escape sort of the deflowering of
America as we slowly were beat into a
cynical state as a culture he missed
Watergate Vietnam he missed everything
internet so helped been reading that a
lot trying to catch up so what becomes
so interesting about cap is the way he
brings this traditional good versus bad
guys mentality into the 21st century he
can't shake values his wartime
experiences have instilled in him a
strict view of right and wrong a
commitment to fighting evil and a
wariness of any person amassing too much
power you know
time I was in Germany and saw a man
standing above everybody else we ended
up disagreeing in the comic books he
spent majority of his time in the modern
time in comics so most of his stories
take place in the modern day but they're
always informed by his early experiences
in the past caps enduring loyalty to
Bucky Barnes because I'm lucky to be no
especially demonstrates the way his
morality was formed in this black and
white period whoever he used to be the
guy he is now I don't think he's the
kind you say he's the kind you stop I
don't know if I can do that
Captain America may not fully fit in the
present but he's very much needed and
that tells us that if there's one thing
from the past that we should keep around
it's precisely this unbending sense of
morality that ideal of clear-eyed
uncomplicated goodness that once upon a
time we pinned our American identity on
really should never go out of style
everything that's happening the things
that are about to come to light people
might just need a little old-fashioned
waking up in the present day cap has to
adapt his moral code to a more ambiguous
world I went under world was at war I
wake up they say we won he no longer
finds it so straightforward to decipher
the good for as long as I can remember I
just wanted to do what was right I guess
I'm not quite sure what that is anymore
and serving his country gets more
complicated when he doesn't agree with
what his leaders are doing and I thought
I could throw myself back in follow
orders sir so caps arc becomes a
progression as Joe Russo put it from
Patriot to insurgent in the first movie
his country's actions were in sync with
his morals you want to serve your
country on the most important
battlefield of the wheel sir that's all
I want but by Civil War we see him
dropping his shield in action that as
Anthony Russo has said is a rejection of
the Captain America identity cap and
Tony have a showdown over the revelation
that Bucky killed Tony's parents
[Music]
yes and it ends with this doesn't belong
to you
you don't deserve it my father made that
you
[Music]
caps shield represents that time in his
life when he was on the same page as the
US government when it was still possible
to see things as black and white and
that's far from where he finds himself
now he's my friend
so bizarre by the time infinity war
picks up caps uniform has gotten darker
and he eventually gets a different
shield in the form of armed guards
representing his new unapologetic
vigilante identity I'm not looking for
forgiveness and I'm Way past asking
permission
so caps progression reflects the
question of what does it mean to be a
patriot or a good guy in today's complex
world trying to save as many people as
we cap spate reott ism at its core is
not about paying lip service to a
particular word or ideal it's about
staying true to the deepest values that
America at its best has represented he
affirms that dissent can be patriotic
serving your country means different
things in different times sometimes it's
falling in line and other times it's
challenging tyranny but always the
patriot is guided by an unswerving sense
of what they believe is right we
compromised sometimes in ways that made
us not sleep so well but we did it so
that people could be free
one of the most interesting
contradictions of Captain America is
that this character who was conceived as
the image of allegiance to the u.s.
eventually rejects the idea that he
should be regulated by any governing
body whatsoever if we sign this we
surrender our right to choose after he
finds out that shield is using the
tesseract to make weapons we never see
him blindly trusting the powers that be
again for once we're way ahead of the
curve i holding a gun to everyone on
earth and calling it protection
the Winter Soldier encourages us to take
action against corrupt institutions just
as cap does if you launch those
helicarriers today Hydra will be able to
kill anyone that stands in their way
unless we stop them but by the time we
get to Civil War the set up is far more
complicated the Avengers are divided
over whether they should allow
themselves to be overseen by a UN panel
and both sides have a point
now caps enemy is essentially the
establishment itself the very concept of
an establishment even if that
establishment hasn't been proven to be
bad we may not be perfect to save his
hands are still our own he can't accept
the idea of being restricted because he
fights for good itself not for a
specific party that might not always
fall in line with his moral compass this
is the United Nations we're talking
about it's not the world Security
Council it's not shield it's not high
jump but it's run by people with agendas
and agendas chained if we look back at
the earlier movies we see clues that cap
has always been an individualist to the
core from the start he's had no qualms
about breaking the rules to do what he
thinks is right as we see when he
disobeys orders to rescue Bucky and
other captured soldiers caps staunch
individualism is very recognizably
American we're already putting together
the best man with all due respect sir
saw my and his attitude can be seen as
either admirable or arrogant depending
on your point of view
his ethos is to do whatever he thinks
the right thing is start to tell you
anything else you're wrong you think
you're right
makes you dangerous she has the capacity
to be selfish you know and every other
incarnation of the character we've seen
him always fight for what other people
need and I think in this one he fights
for what he wants
cappen bodies American exceptionalism
the idea that the u.s. is unique
national character sets it apart from
other countries we were meant to move in
this way
there is a dangerous potential in this
philosophy for a superpower to overstep
boundaries just as the US has been
accused of viewing itself as the world's
policeman as Joe Russo has said quote
there's a certain level of imperialism
we're examining what right do those that
have power have to use that power even
if it's to do good how do you govern
that kind of power so in addition to
embodying America's best self
Captain America reflects some of the
struggles and dangers of America's role
in today's world when taken to extremes
our national spirit of individualism
distrust of institutions and global
exceptionalism can get in our way
caps journey reveals that our national
shortcomings are intrinsically related
to our core principles and this goes
some way in explaining perhaps how
today's nation can be so polarized
between two sides who passionately
believe they stand for the right America
you're trying to keep you from tearing
the Avengers apart did that one you
sighed
[Music]
chris evans' public persona adds another
interesting reflection of what it means
to act like Captain America in our
modern life Marvel Studios President
Kevin Feige put it this way even when
you look at his Twitter account and
taking a stand on things it's like is he
becoming Captain America Evans political
tweets reinforce the idea of speaking up
when you think your country is moving in
a direction you don't agree with his
political consciousness seems very in
line with cap stance in the Winter
Soldier that maintaining American values
means going against powerful
institutions that have taken a wrong
turn even though Evans is a voice of
liberal dissent he avoids being a
divisive figure and makes an effort to
promote unity first and foremost Evans
comes across as a good humble guy
underneath his celebrity status
he's very huggable he's very very
huggable look at that look at that just
my cap what made to you so special
nothing I'm just a kid from Brooklyn
Evans also embodies a fundamentally
decent positive masculinity
he called out Piers Morgan for making
fun of a picture of Daniel Craig using a
baby carrier he's also spoken about the
need for men to listen to women in this
me to moment so he plays against the
stereotypical defensively macho version
of the strong American hero instead
putting forward a warm more nurturing
idea of what it means to be a strong
modern guy through cap we see how the
meaning of being a patriot evolves over
time in world war ii serving your
country meant enlisting to fight fascism
in the modern day it's about folding
your country to a high moral standard
and taking action when it fails to live
up so as Evans hangs up his shield the
legacy of his character reminds us that
being a hero means thinking for yourself
and swearing to uphold the principles
you believe in no matter the cost if you
need me
I'll be there hi guys this video is
sponsored by Noor DPN a service that we
truly believe in none of us can afford
to take cybersecurity for granted right
now as we go into the holiday season
many of us are shopping online and
sharing our financial information and
that makes us vulnerable to cyber crime
especially if you use public Wi-Fi
networks it's actually not that hard for
hackers to access your personal data so
if you want to give yourself some peace
of mind you should use a VPN a virtual
private network here's a popular analogy
for what a VPN does imagine you're
trying to get between two Islands
separated by an ocean using a public
network without a VPN is like taking a
ferry that leaves you vulnerable and
exposed but going online with a VPN is
like taking a submarine it gives you
privacy and security the choice is clear
if you're ready to start investing in
your internet security Nord VPN is by
far the best option out there they're
the only VPN that got a perfect score
from PC Mag they offer double data
encryption for increased anonymity and
they have a no data logging policy and
on top of all this added security you
don't have to compromise the quality of
your internet browsing experience more
VPN has super fast servers and with just
one account you can connect as many as
six devices simultaneously they also
provide 24/7 customer support if you
watch our videos chances are you spent
as much time online as we do so start
protecting your internet experience
today click the link in our description
below north VPN comm / screen prism and
use the code screen prism to get 75% off
a three-year plan plus a bonus month
thrown in for free
that's only $2.99 per month and what
could be more worth it so go to Nord VPN
comm / screen prism and check it out
right now
[Music]
you