The Hero Principle – Radio Play

By Helgard Haug / Daniel Wetzel

No culture or epoch has yet managed without heroism or the need for heroic figures. Even in "post-heroic" societies, they have by no means disappeared, even if their form and character have changed over time and their functions and settings have changed. Researchers at the University of Freiburg have conducted 12 years of basic research into the heroic, from antiquity to the present day. Nine generic terms were developed to categorise heroic figures: Audience, medialisation, role model, polarisation, transgression, agency, struggle, commitment, masculinity. 
At the end of the project, Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel spoke with numerous academics about the case studies they have compiled on the hero* principle - from A for the myth of the steadfast Antigone to Z for Mark Zuckerberg.


By: Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel
Directed by: Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel
With: Scientists of the Collaborative Research Centre 948: "Heroes - Heroisations - Heroisms" at the University of Freiburg, as well as the curatorial team of the exhibition "Prinzip* Held*" - Gatow Sommer 2024.
Technical realisation: Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel
Recordings: Jacob Hovde, Charlotte Kleinert, Michelle Kollmann, Emelie A. Mayer, Volkan Türeli
Sound and technology: Lukas Wilke and Christoph Richter
Mixing: Jean Szymczak, Studio P4
Assistance: Leonie Koll
Dramaturgy: Barbara Gerland
Production: Deutschlandfunk Kultur 2024
Length: approx. 56:30