Where did all the TV heroes go?

um...

Stupid webs....killed my img link.

Here:

Good question snicko.

Radix makes some good points. Each generation seems to become increasingly immature and self serving. More and more, people seem willing to compromise on ideals. Industrialized nations particularly in the past 50 years have fostered ideas of individualism and self serving . Everyone is rushing for the almighty dollar, but few achieve the dreams of fabulous wealth. We are also in a melting pot society where people are disconnected from their neighbors and community, and that does not foster community serving ideals. We are no longer in fairly genetically homogeneous small villages with large extended families.

Also I think some of it has to do with the fact that we can no longer portray any male as superior or a dependable ultra reliable patriarch in society (i mean patriarch in a good society benefiting way, not the sexist female suppressing/domineering way). You look at comic books for example and every male character that was strong, dependable, constantly wise and reliable in the 60s-90s is now wrought with severe emotional issues, huge character flaws and massive frailties they keep hidden. I mean every single comic hero, even Professor X of the Xmen. In the past 15 years they've all had their fall from grace. Infact you see it with heroes in almost all forms western media now days.

It doesn't mean this is the real world absolute reality, but it probably reflects the general opinion of society, their increasing cynicism, and decreasing likelihood to blindly follow leaders at the top. And a decreasing reliability of our leaders at the top. A fair bit of which we can see is justified thanks to media and science dispelling certain images of false superiority societal elites throughout history attempted to portray and uncovering their routine abuses of power.

Many of the heroes of medieval europe were royalty or nobility who would sit back and watch as their peasants butchered themselves on the front lines, while they remained in a relative safer position protected behind a cadre of soldiers and covered from head to toe in heavy armor. Afterwards they had songs, poems, paintings and statues created in their name telling of their supposed valor and greatness.

Many heroes probably serve a role in representing an ideal. They may not be quite that ideal, but they serve as a symbol for that society or for a specific cause.