“Even though we say mind and body, they are actually two sides of one coin. This is the right understanding” (Suzuki 25). In this statement, Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, is essentially summing up the concept of dualism, that is, the idea of one entity having a simultaneous dual nature, or two things actually being one. The key point in this is recognizing the opposition of two sides while still being conscious of their combination into oneness. Dualism, it would seem, is a significant thread in the American cultural fabric. The fabled land of opportunity, this country has been built on the promise of progress—of moving from Point A to Point B, whether it be by way of the corporate ladder or the Oregon Trail.
[...] The presence of ego is particularly instrumental in creating dualism in the sense that ego essentially drives ambition, thereby spurring the need to move from one state of being to another, from Point A to Point B. In her book on writing entitled Long Quiet Highway, Natalie Goldberg writes in terms of lacking ego, describing how egolessness “means we are empty of a need for result” and that “when we sink into the moment of just being, we lose our illusion of separateness, our ego[ ] When I wrote and got out of the way, writing did writing. [...]
[...] However, the superhero, while demonstrating qualities that encourage duality in American culture, represents an authority that is, of course, singular. The superhero is a singular savior figure who transcends the laws of the communities he redeems to nab villains. He ignores the red tape of a constitution, takes the law into his own hands and administers his own decided-upon degree of justice. The townspeople, having given up on the ability of democratic institutions to rescue their community, place an exorbitant amount of trust in this individual whom they expect to clean up the entire mess (whatever plight or menace is attacking the community) alone. [...]
[...] This portrayal of the superhero would leave no room for doubt in the hero's character or motives, thereby justifying the extent of people's faith and trust in his strong leadership. This kind of figure, possessing myriad physical and moral strengths would, in reality, make a wildly popular political candidate in this day and age. Given the turbulence of two wars, growing environmental concerns, and widespread social unrest, the citizenry of the United States, for example, would gladly look to a markedly strong leader for guidance. [...]
[...] The U.S.'s foundation lies in pilgrims' initial escape from an oppressive monarchy with the hope of finding something better, and what the U.S. eventually became was a conglomerate of many different types of people in search of similar improvement. What came out of our founding duality was, in fact, unity—something we have tried to maintain throughout this country's existence. Without this simultaneous and interdependent duality and unity, we face the possibility of a government just as oppressive as the one the pilgrims worked so hard to escape. [...]
[...] Though they are separate, the interdependency between them creates a simultaneous “oneness.” Engle discusses the relationship between dual identity and immigration and dislocation through the lens of Superman, stating that shape- shifting between Clark Kent and Superman is the means by which this mid- twentieth-century, urban story—like the pastoral, nineteenth-century Western before it—addresses in dramatic terms the theme of cultural assimilation” (Engle 4,5). In other words, Superman uses his identity as Kent to be both his true self (the foreigner with incredible powers under our sun) and a member of the human race at the same time. [...]
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