The Thoughts of Brian W. Miller

I would like in this post to write about the subject matter of constructing the hero or villan figure in history and in popular culture.  Nicholas’ presentation of General George Armstrong Custer’s cult of personality as a hero was terrific.  He addressed the need of celebrity figures in popular culture as a reflection of cultural values during a period of time.  Custer during the Civil War and Frontier Wars was a large celebrity figure due to his own construction and with help from national newspapers and magazines.  Al Capone during the 1920’s was indeed a celebrity in his time but not to the way Al wanted so.  Capone himself at first refused to be photograph and there are accounts where he would assault the press for trying to capture images of him, but his approach to the press completely changed later on as he would smile for photographers and captured the limelight when he could.  Capone after December of 1927 did not have the luxury of political backing and he strove to win the hearts and minds of poor Chicagoians.  He painted himself as a leader of a workingman’s movement against the “bankrupt establishment” by opening a soup kitchen two months removed from the October 1929 stock market crash.  The media demonized him for his criminal acts and Capone despised them for it.  The Chicago Crime Commission labeled Al Capone as “Public Enemy #1″ and the media helped to propagate that point.