From Steve Jobs to Anna Hazare: Why we need personal heroes

By Tristan Stewart-Robertson In a recent repeat episode of The Simpsons cartoon on British TV, Lisa becomes obsessed with getting a “Mapple” product. When she downloads 12,000 tracks to her “MyPod”, she has to appeal to the firm’s boss, “Steve Mobs” for leniency. . . from inside his underwater glass cube where he controls the entire company and all its customers. The obvious spoof of Apple seems apt with the news that Steve Jobs is quitting as CEO of Apple and will become chairman of the board, with chief operating officer Tim Cook set to take over at the helm. For centuries, humanity has looked to the individual as hero, saviour, icon or even simply a reduction of an otherwise complex situation. [caption id=“attachment_69565” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Today in India, Anna Hazare continues his hunger strike to fight for strict anti-corruption laws. AP”]  [/caption] Thousands of people may have had their phones hacked by the News of the World, but it was the hacking voicemail of the murdered school girl Milly Dowler that captured Britain’s attention. Almost a century ago, as millions died in the trenches of Europe in the First World War, it was the war poets such as Siegfried Sassoon or Wilfred Owen who came to represent the nameless and faceless millions. We couldn’t access the scale of the horror without the individual figure. In the “Arab Spring”, Google executive Wael Ghoneim became a symbol for many fighting for a more free Egypt after he was detained for 12 days. There were countless problems with the regime its structures beyond former president Hosni Mubarak, but it was the removal of that president that was seen, initially, as key to Egypt’s future. Today in India, Anna Hazare continues his hunger strike to fight for strict anti-corruption laws. Battling corruption is nothing new in India or anywhere else for that matter, but it is the personal commitment and unique personality of the 74-year-old that has been essential to pushing the movement as far as it has to date. Some might ascribe this to “cult of celebrity” of today, as we obsess ourselves with an individual, frequently as a form of escapism. Even in the days of Ancient Rome, “bread and circuses” easily centred around the gladiatorial heroes of the arena. They were personalities you wanted to see win. . .but secretly wanted to lose. Continues on the next page Think of the classic 1960 film Spartacus. When each freed gladiator stands up and says, “I’m Spartacus” to protect their friend, it isn’t merely an example of repetition. The individuals identify with the hero, the central personality. They win with him, they mourn lost comrades with him. It is similar to mob mentality in the almost switching off of individualism for the sake of a strong central figure. Obama tapped into that very effectively in his 2008 presidential campaign. The words “hope” and “change” are so non-descript that almost anyone can apply to them their own hopes and ideas for change, even if they didn’t match those of the then candidate. [caption id=“attachment_69594” align=“alignright” width=“380” caption=“Obama tapped very effectively the words “hope” and “change”, which are so non-descript that almost anyone can apply to them their own hopes and ideas for change. Getty Images”]  [/caption] Even when the healthcare bill was enacted by Congress in 2010, it has continued to be branded “Obamacare” because of his personal push for it, and because it is easier for opponents to attack the man, rather than a 2000-page document. In a world of endless information and constant bombardment by news via Twitter, Facebook, news websites, radio, newspaper, television, we need ways to reduce and summarise. The famous Live Aid concerts of 1985 in response to African famine coalesced around the 1984 reports by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of little Birhan Woldu who survived. We can’t process “millions dying of hunger” but can connect with a starving child held by her father. In Canada this week, there was an immediate outpouring of public sympathy and grief at the passing of Jack Layton, leader of the left-of-centre and official opposition in Canada, the New Democratic Party (NDP). Within 30 minutes of the news breaking, the “RIP Jack Layton” trend had climbed Twitter and within another hour or so, it was the most talked about item in Canada, number four in the world. The 61-year-old was already known to be struggling with a second bout of cancer, but the fact he succumbed less than four weeks after he announced he was undergoing treatment came as a shock. Even political opponents recognised that it was the personal brand of “Jack” that won the NDP 59 seats in the province of Quebec in May’s Canadian elections - 58 more than they had previously. The party became the man. And without him, questions abound about the future of the movement. Political leaders, gladiators, anti-corruption campaigners. . .and the CEO of a company that makes our phones and computers - why do people ascribe such devotion to an inventor and corporate entity? There is no doubt Steve Jobs has been instrumental in some of the most groundbreaking and innovative pieces of technology of the past 30 years. The New York Times showed off many of the 313 Apple patents that list Steven P Jobs amongst the creators. But of course it takes teams of designers and experts and even marketers to make Apple the powerhouse it is today. The celebration of Jobs, by both investors and the wider public, comes from the desire to find success in the individual. Part of this is our own jealousy or aspiration to achieve through an invention that will change the world and make us millions. And part of it is to personalise the technology we use. The fact that less people use Mac computers than the PC variety has long created this sense that Apple users are somehow special or more unique, and many profess more devotion to the product and company than you would see on other corporate products. Even with millions of iPhones and growing numbers of iPads, people buy into the style, the brand and man behind it. We want to work for a company where the boss makes excited announcements in t-shirt and jeans. We want the glass staircases that are replicated in Apple’s signature stores around the globe. And most of all we want the products that look cool and represent status. Aspiration, envy and the desire to connect people has made Apple a global powerhouse of technology because they are very human qualities, and Apple expertly tapped into them. Whether we reduce movements to an individual, or companies to an apple logo, we will always try to identify with the solitary, because we too are solitary beings. There are billions of us, but we each want to be special, as Anna, or Jack, or Steve.