One need not be a parent of a young child, as I am, to be conscious of the full-blown resurgence of the superhero in contemporary popular culture. But there is more to a hero than courage and strength.
On today’s episode of Essays On Air, the audio version of The Conversation’s Friday essay series, I’m reading my essay on Joan of Arc, our one true superhero.
She’s been depicted as a national heroine and a nationalist symbol (and also, to my and many a leftists’ dismay, a popular mascot by French ultra-nationalists), a rebellious heretic and a goodly saint. A feminist role model and a belligerent military leader, an innocent mystic and a tortured victim.
However one may choose to view her, there can be no denying that she is, and will continue to be, one of the most singular and significant exemplars of our troubled species. Forget Wonder Woman and Batman – Jeanne d’Arc may be our one and only true superhero.
Today’s episode was edited by Sybilla Gross. Find us and subscribe in Apple Podcasts, in Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Additional Audio
Snow by David Szesztay
Choral Music by dobroide
Outdoor farming sounds by klankbeeld
Superhero flash by oscaraudiogeek
I am Batman! And you are Dust! - Warner Brothers
Fantasy Orchestra by bigmanjoe
Horse Battle Sounds by Joao_de_Dues
Four Voices Whispering by geoneo0
Female battle cries by 11linda
Book shop interior by mzui
Pages turning by Zamazan
Ofelia’s Dream by Bensound
Battle Horn 1 by kirmm
Victory Cry by chripei
Rainy Day by Dee Yan-Key
Piano Movement by Bensound
Jeanne d’Arc by Gaumont