Arjun Singh Rathore
Bravery is not simply the absence of fear. It’s about having the courage to be vulnerable, to act with intention despite feeling fear.
Bravery is celebrated in stories and history. From heroes who stood up to evil, to the resilience of those with tremendous adversity, we try to educate our kids on the value of being brave. Thinking a lot aboutlast week episode, I wanted to explore the science and practice of “Comic &Cartoon” bravery.
Before 6th of May 2025, born in a country of Ramayana and Mahabharata, I never thought of Comics and Cartoons offer a powerful way to communicate ideas and beliefs. I never imagined the comic and cartoon generation can play a decisive role in a real war and often dismissed comics and cartoons for my children. We the Generation X, now as a parent, grew in an era of reading the immortal bravery of our Kings and Queens in Amar Kathayen but never imagined the Gen Z while watching the cartoon characters like Pokimane can transform those characters into space war zone and hitting the targets of enemies sitting in the comforts of war-rooms pushing the boundaries beyond what other sources can do.
I had an interest in comic books and their characters for about as long as I can remember. In fact, the very first toy I remember having as a child was a Superman toy that I got when I might be two or three years old. I had just begun learning the letters of the alphabet, and I recognized the “S” on Superman’s chest as the very same “S” that is part of my middle name. I was instantly hooked and tried to get my hands on anything else that was Superman-related for the remainder of my childhood, from books to movies, to T-shirts and toys. This interest has carried over to my early adulthood, and as I have grown older, my interest in comic books has shifted from what it used to be. I certainly still enjoy them for the entertainment, but I never took comic books seriously as something more than just a throw-away read. But now I have been made to believe that Comic books, like other forms of literature can help to form the worldview of children, and so to study comic books is to understand the world through the eyes of the youth.
In 1940, Superman was featured in a comic strip titled “How Superman Would End the War.” The story was published before the United States entered World War II, hinting at a possible desire from the authors for the United States to engage. Superman makes short work of the Nazi forces in Germany and captures Hitler, grabs Stalin from Russia, and delivers the two to the League of Nations, where they are found guilty of “modern history’s greatest crime unprovoked aggression against defenceless countries”. In 15 panels spread out over a grand total of two pages, Superman managed to end World.
With an aim to inspire the young generation, the Indian Air Force launched aseries of comic book, “Heroes of the Indian Air Force”. The comic was officially released by Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, the then Chief of the Air Staff, who dedicated the book to the youth of the nation. It tells gripping tales of the IAF’s history through colourful illustrations and engaging narratives.By telling these stories in a format that is accessible and entertaining, IAFtried to connect with the younger generation. The motivebehind was to foster a sense of duty, aspiration and a call to action for the youth to join the services.
The recent war between India and Pakistan made me to realize that the modern warfare of remote controlled Drones and Missiles are in synchronization withmodern day cartoons employing several models or approaches, sometimes with one or more of the following elements: exaggerations including caricatures (distorting for effect), symbolism (representing an idea with a picture or an analogy using one situation to explain a different one), labeling (depicting something accurately, different from the first three), irony (the difference between the how things are and how they may be expected to be), and a simple caption (brief words to convey important or ironic ideas).
On the eve of 7th of May, 2025 I asked my daughter for the keys of her car, and told her that in case the war gets escalated and we might have to move for a safer place so it’s better we must get our car’s tank full. But the response from my daughter was, “Baba, return the keys and don’t try to fill the tank. Let it remain dry, we are not moving anywhere and will face whatever be the consequences from our place.” The reaction of my daughter made me feel proud that the Comic and Cartoon generation doesn’t know only the art of playing cartoon animated war games on the electronic devices but they also possess the intelligence to convert those war game tactics into reality with courage and confidence. Moreover from birth, our children are learning by observing us. Better we demonstrate brave behavior by facing our fears and challenges openly. This means talking about experiences and even conversations that were hard or frightening to us, and sharing strategies we had used and continue to use to manage and overcome fears. By seeing our experience, it normalizes these feelings for our children, and create an open and safe space too.
Bravery is a complex trait that is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. A first step is to understand that bravery does not look the same for every child. Depending on their temperament, bravery may involve a small act of advocating for themselves, like raising their hand in class or confronting a friend after an argument. Bravery is closely connected to the brain’s response to fear. The body’s biological response to fear lives in the amygdala, that small region in the brain that controls our fight, flight or freeze response to danger. Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the courage to act with intention amidst fear. Interestingly, bravery is highly linked with resilience. Why? It may be that resilience requires persevering in the face of adversity, showing optimism, and seeing options where others see barriers. These same qualities make it easier for one to access courage in a time of stress, to act with logic, and to solve the problem quickly and nimbly. And the present day Comic & Cartoon generation has proved me wrong. They despite of Chocolate and Barbie image has proved themselves AsliaurNasli in both bravery and technology, by exemplary show of defence & attack. They hit the targets by perfection by pressing the buttons of Drones and Missiles and achieving goals flawlessly &precisely and made us sleep comfortably and safely by successfully defending mid-air Drones, Missiles and Artillery.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are purely personal and do not in any way represent the views of the organization he works for)
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