NPR's All Things Considered broadcast a nice piece this afternoon on the history of the Lone Ranger, and you can read about it, and listen to it, here...This connects with my previous post that began playing with music and soon went down another trail to the Ranger and the goodness of doing good.
Because I still stand by that post, I'll disagree somewhat with the article's quote from Professor Gary Hoppenstander, who says "I think what (the mask) plays into is the audience's sense of escapist fantasy. The idea is that in their imagination, in their dreams, all they need to do is don their own mask, and they, too could have these grand and exciting adventures."
Yes, that's true, but there's probably a lot more going on. Michael Chabon notes some of it in the NPR article.
Regarding the mask again -- there's a lot of thought put into what the mask looks like to others: in the Ranger's case, for instance, he's seen as just another outlaw. In Batman's case he's seen as the nightmare of criminals. I'm wondering now, not what is seen on the outside, but how is the outside seen from the inside of a mask. Does the world look different when no one knows who you are...?
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