English 103

Introduction

Beginning the 19th century sparked the transition of the Classical era to the Romantic era thanks to the rebel Beethoven. His music broke through the Classical's traditions in length and form. However, many of the Viennese society thought it bizarre, but as a rebel - he redefined what symphonies ought to be.

Much like another rebel, Nia Nal from Supergirl, made the U.S., going through an anti-alien era, full of xenophobic radicalization, believe that both aliens and humans can live in peace. And much like Beethoven, she overcame her conflicts of self-doubt and embraced her powers to take up the mantle of Dreamer.

Before moving on, the hero's journey shouldn't be used as a template for all stories. Therefore we shouldn't think Eroica and Dreamer should match it exactly, but as it's a way to analyze these two great works and how they relate and differ from each other.

Status Quo

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German pianist and composer, whom many consider being the most significant musical geniuses in history. At age seven, he gave his first public piano performance. However, he started losing his hearing at age 26, but from that struggle came many beautiful arts of work, such as Eroica.

Dreamer is the first transgender superhero on television. However, she wasn't always a superhero; she was Nia Nal, a political speechwriter in Washington, D.C. for the White House Press Secretary, Cat Grant. She later moved to National City to learn from Kara Danvers, Supergirl, to become a reporter.

Markings of a Hero

But even as a rising reporter and without even realizing she had powers, she stood up to anti-alien supporters. When Brainy was ordering pizzas from a shop owner he thought was his friend, his image inducer, the device that makes him look human, was hacked.

After Brainy's reveal, the pizza shop owner attempted to attack him with a steel baseball bat. Nia defended him, reminded in how Aliens and trans were discriminated against, and stood up, holding a mirror to their faces, showing they, themselves are traitors.

Call to Adventure

In the Call to Adventure, the quest often passes through an unfamiliar, special world, but always starts and ends in the ordinary one. Strangely, the scenario is the reverse. She's returning to her hometown, Parthas, Irish, for paradise, "where aliens and humans lived together in harmony for decades," for the Harvest Fest.

Nia sees her family and sister against but tries to mask her dreaming powers from them, asking Kara to not even mentioning it to her family due to her sister eagerly waiting for her abilities to arrive. The powers are passed down matrilineally; only one daughter can receive the power. Yet, her sister has devoted her life, assuming she would receive it.

Trials

There aren't a lot of similarities between the two individuals until the trials. In Eroica's Second Movement, titled "Funeral March," Beethoven creates an ambiance of grief and sadness, with the oboe solo, in the beginning, tying off the private pain he must've felt alone. And it evokes these feelings since it was years before he wrote Eroica that he was going deaf. He felt terror and shame, trying to keep it a secret, as what kind of a musician is not able to hear?

Please have a listen below (Adagio assai):

The second movement also matches with Nia's storyline since it's just when her mother finds out that she inherited the Dreamer power and dies. However, when her sister found out, she stated how it's her fault since she should've gotten the Dreamer power already since her powers should've come by now. And stating she would've saved her.

Nia is conflicted with both grief and guilt from her mother's death and hiding that she had it - though encouraging that her sister would get it ONE DAY. But imagine the layered shame, thinking if I were like my sister, studying how to interpret dreams and being serious about the powers, I could've saved my mother.

However, her sister does end up finding out.

Although it's clear that Nia's mother died, I feel that, internally, she lost both a part of her mother and sister. Much like, who died in Beethoven's Funeral March was himself, internally.

Assistance

Dreamer seemed always to have Supergirl and Brainy, whether it's for emotional support or guidance to become a superhero.

However, Beethoven didn't have that luxury. After telling his close friends about the deterioration in his hearing, he escaped to a village in Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament. He contemplated suicide, but his love for music gave him the strength to go on, which moves on to the next movement.

Although not traditional to the traditional assistance where a hero meets a wise wizard or karate master, I think it was more of the Heiligenstadt environment and his love for music that was assistance. In itself, possibly one's inner-strength can be accounted for as assistance in the hero's journey.

Approach

O you men who think or say that I am hostile, peevish, or misanthropic, how greatly you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause that makes me seem so to you. From childhood on, my heart and soul were full of tender feelings of goodwill, and I was always inclined to accomplish great deeds. But just think, for six years now I have had an incurable condition, made worse by incompetent doctors, from year to year deceived with hopes of getting better, finally forced to face the prospect of a lasting infirmity (whose cure will perhaps take years or even be impossible).

From his testament and second movement, adagio assai, meaning very slowly compared to his third movement allegro vivace, meaning cheerful lively in Italian, one can see that he began overcoming his shame and sadness due to his deafness. It starts off quiet with violin and flute, then it becomes more energetic and bold, getting louder with French horns, showing off his confidence.

Please have a listen below (Allegro vivace):

Nia also builds up confidence and realizing her responsibility to help others and starts training, mastering her powers. However still uneasy about becoming public, due to her half-alien side and being transexual.

Crisis

In the fourth movement, Allegro molto, meaning very happy, appears very bright and chipper. It begins very simply, but it goes into a lot of fugues, villages dances, and virtuoso solos, perhaps inspiration from his time in Heiligenstadt. But this movement seems to have many similarities in his previous work, Creatures of Prometheus. He was alluding to the titan, Prometheus, who risked his life stealing the sacred fire from the hearth of Olympus to help humanity, fitting of Eroica. A rebel and a hero, I believe Beethoven thought himself as Prometheus, but instead bringing back his fire for life for music to share with the people in Vienna.

Allegro molto:

The Creatures of Prometheus:

In context with the clip, this scene is when Dreamer becomes public, revealing that she's half-alien and transgender. However, this is the time where the Agent of Liberty, a radical anti-alien activist, became the Director of Alien Affairs for the U.S. government, giving him and his Child of Liberty access to weapons from the DEO to begin rounding up aliens on the streets. Although putting a target on her back, she inspired many aliens and humans to believe peace was assured.

Treasure

Overall, they both turned their suffering into something beautiful. Nia turned her grief from her mother's death and doubt of whether she deserves the Dreamer power into inner strength to help people who were discriminated against due to their race (sound familiar?). Beethoven used his pain to write Eroica, exploring what it means to be human, going through the hero's journey

Works Cited

“Beethoven's Eroica: Keeping Score.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/keepingscore/beethoven-eroica.html.

Gibbs, Christopher H. “Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 55.” NPR, NPR, 7 June 2006, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5456722.

Horgan, Dana. “American Dreamer.” Supergirl, CW, 28 Apr. 2019.

Horgan, Dana. “Fallout.” Supergirl, CW, 21 Oct. 2018.

Queller, Jessica, and Dana Horgan. “Blood Memory.” Supergirl, CW, 27 Jan. 2019.

Wax, Alyse. “Supergirl's Nicole Maines Tells Us Why Dreamer Is More than Just a Trans Character.” SYFY WIRE, SYFY WIRE, 18 Mar. 2020, www.syfy.com/syfywire/supergirl-dreamer-nicole-maines-interview.

Beethoven’s Eroica and Supergirl’s Dreamer

The Hero’s Journey of Two Superheroes