The History Of Morgan Freeman Hero Film Studies Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

A hero is someone that has made the largest impact in a persons life and has influenced their life for the better. Morgan Freeman is a perfect example of a hero. Morgan Freeman is someone who cared for other people. He loves being on stage and acting. Morgan Freeman is not only a hero to me but to many other people.

Morgan Porterfield Freeman was born on June 1, 1937. He was Born in Memphis, Tennessee. Morgan Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College, and after that he served in the US Air Force from 1955 to 1959. Morgan Freeman's first dramatic arts experience was on the stage in an all African-American production of Hello Dolly!. He Continued during the 1970's. Freeman won the Drama Desk and Clearance Derwent Awards, and he also received a Tony Award. Morgan Freeman is best known for his acting in Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, and Batman Begins (Morgan Freeman Biography)

In 41' Freeman's dad enlisted in the war and was soon discharged. "He was not war material" (Freeman, 5).When Morgan was little he was raised by his Grandmother. During the summer he would go stay in Chicago with his parents. His dad worked in stockyards, and his mother played piano in a church. They lived in Chicago's South Side, that became known as Bronzeville by the residents. When Freeman was six years he suffered the first major loss of his life. His beloved Grandmother died. "Not only did he lose his emotional touchstone, but he also lost his childhood home" (Freeman,5). Morgan found himself roaming around gritty, cramped neighborhoods. "The South Side was just chock-a-block with black people living in small apartments with indoor plumbing. There was no great exposure to another world. I was in fourth grade when I saw a white teacher for the first time" (Freeman,5).

Morgan Freeman doesn't like to be called African American. He says "There are African-Americans here-They're from Ghana and Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Sierra Leone. They can name the country that they're from. A lot of them are first-generation African-Americans. If you want to give me an adjective, call me black. That's a Diaspora. But don't call me African-American. I'm American; long, long bloody history, just like every other American. When I was a kid, we were "colored." Then we became "Negoro." Then we became Afro, in the sixties, Afro-American... so this quest for identity-it's like, No. 1 misguided" (Freeman, 2). In my opinion this is how Morgan Freeman's heroism impacted society.

When Freeman lived in Chicago with his parents, he had a rough time adjusting.. " It was a jungle. You had to belong to some kind of gang just to survive; you couldn't be a loner. And we were all budding street hoodlums, because to be in a gang you had to do something criminal. I stole; I conned; I passed the tests. I didn't like it but I was scared. I'm not the violent type. It was about turf. And I was just not cut out to be a gangster or to lead a violent life where you're ready to go to the mat with somebody all the time just because they were on the wrong side of the street or whatever. I was personally happy with books. I didn't want to fight"(Freeman,6). This to me is why Morgan Freeman became who he is, and why he earned the title of a hero.

The standards of why Morgan Freeman is considered a hero are, that he has faced some hardships along his journey to become an actor. He is a caring, and charismatic man. Morgan Freeman says that the movie Glory was inspiring to him. HE says he didn't have any black hero's when he was growing up and he wanted to be a hero to someone. He said that the few heros he did see were more than a little stereotypes. " I have a special affinity for seeing to it that our history is told. The Black legacy is as noble, is as heroic, is as filled with adventure and conquest and discovery as anybody else's. It's just that nobody knows it" (Freeman, 59).

To Morgan Freeman the movie Glory " Is one of the most important things I've done. It think it's one of the most important things anybody has done, Everybody involved in it, I think, was very spiritually involved. This is a moment in history that has been excised, forgotten about; to bring that back to where it belongs, close to the heart, it's a wonderful undertaking" (Freeman, 59). This to me is why he is considered a hero. He believes of what is right.

To me Morgan Freeman will be forever remembered in history because he is a well known actor around the world, and he plays in almost every movie that comes out. I think future generations should look to him for inspiration because he got very far in the acting business, and he knew what he was doing. He faced some harships along the way, like discrimination, but he still fought on. He wanted to be an actor so he went for it.

A hero is someone that has made the largest impact in a person's life and has influenced their life for the better. Morgan Freeman is a perfect example of a hero. Regardless of what hat he might occasionally wear- producer, entrepreneur, sailor, pilot, cowboy- as long as the phone keeps ringing, Freeman will keep doing what he does best. "I'm a firm believer that things happen as they should. The universe unfolds just as it's supposed to. I can say that life is good to me. Has been and is good. So I think my task is to be good to it. So how do you be good to life? You live it" (Freeman, 178).