Introduction

The United States of America is known for its unique American identity whereby the country is made up by all of us, thus bringing up the spirit of “we the people”; implying that in the US, each and everyone of us has a role to play. This uniqueness of the American society creates open platform and prospects for each American citizen to grow, thrive and become successful in this unique nation (Rieser, Fuchs, & Phillips, 2013, p. 13). This is to mean that the US is well-known for its identity of having a classless society which gives each and every American citizen chances including second and third chances to realize upward mobility in the socio-economic realm.  Looking critically at the film “The Avengers” it is evident that there are various superheroes, who largely manifest the American identity of classless society, by being able to move from their past, which seemed extremely difficult to move to a bright, more successful future, thus living the American dream; the dream whereby each and every American citizen has a chance to re-correct his or her life, thus changing their fortunes in their future lives (Darowski, 2015, p.10). The American dream is an American identity whereby, each and every American citizen has an equal chance to succeed in life regardless of how their past life was. It is an identity that manifests how American society offers its citizens endless chances in life to re-adjust and pursue their path of success notwithstanding how many errors they have made in the past (DeTora, 2014, p. 28). This is what film The Avengers is all about; its characters are granted second chances whereby they are able to turn their lives away from their past mistakes and end up being better people, in the end, thus realizing their life aspirations and dreams.

A critical look at Captain America in the Avengers, it is evident that he is one of the superheroes whose life largely shows the features and elements of American identity and culture. Captain America (Steve Rogers) is a character in the film; The Avengers who was born as a physically weak person, as he was a sickly child (Rieser, Fuchs, & Phillips, 2013, p. 18). However, his physical weakness did not put him down as a person, as he went on striving for perfection and a better life.  As a small kid, Captain America always wanted to catch up with the big kids, and in many ways, he was unable to succeed in catching up with the rest of the kids. However, as evident in the movie, this did not put captain America down. Though he is a young and physical weakness, Steve Rogers does not give up and continues to persist. This is one ideal culture of the American society; they never give up and they always preserve regardless of the challenges they face. They persevere with the hope that one day they will triumph and become successful (DeTora, 2014, p. 26).  Looking further at Captain America (Steve Rogers), it is evident that regardless of his frail health, he utilizes his talent for art, a talent that gives him a room to realize some life-fulfillment through allowing him to earn some money for himself.  This is a clear indication of what American identity is all about; it is about giving each and every one of us a chance to utilize our strength to become successful in life, and also to realize our life aspirations and goals.

Captain America, though physically challenged, decides to relish his strengths instead of worrying over his weaknesses. However, as the film shows, the utilization of his talents is not enough, and he pushes himself further to achieve more in life. He even goes ahead to try his lack in the military, by making effort to enlist in the U.S Army (Darowski, 2015, p. 20).  Though he is repeatedly rejected in the U.S Army, as the army needed able-bodied men to help in the fight during world war II, Steve does not lose hope in life, and instead goes ahead to volunteer for a high-risk experiment that later transforms his life, by offering him the perfection to which all the American citizens strive to realize.  In the end, Captain America (Steve Rogers)  is able to live a fulfilling life as he overcomes all the odds to become a successful character in the movie (Rieser, Fuchs, & Phillips, 2013, p. 17). This clearly aligns with the American dream that was discussed earlier; an American identity of a classless society, which gives each and every American a chance to be whoever they want, and to succeed and fulfill their life dreams in life.

Another character in the film The Avengers who aligned with the American identity is the Iron Man. In his role in the film, Iron Man acts as a super-egoistical person, whereby he is so full of himself. However, as the film proceeds, he is depicted as not as egoistic as viewers thought, as he is portrayed as a highly successful person.  In his role in the film, Iron Man views himself as special and superior; which in many ways the right (DeTora, 2014, p. 31). His achievement generally matches his level of character portrayal; as he never succumbs during injury and time of terrorist captivity. In fact, Iron man during his low moments is able to react to stress by becoming a better, more developed human being. This is all that American identity and culture is; the culture of believing in American citizens, the identity of viewing the U.S as the ideal, free world, which offers superior and equal opportunity to all Americans (Darowski, 2015, p. 24). By failing to get discouraged during the terrorist captivity, Iron man manifests the American culture and identity of perseverance and persistence. This is all that America is all about, keeping the spirit alive even in the time of sorrows and stress.  American identity is characterized by the value of persistence and determination to succeed even in time of great obstacles. The Americans are known for their spirit of perseverance as depicted by the events of 9/11 whereby after the terror attack, they came together and in unison supported each other; thus overcoming the hard times the terrorist had put them into (Rieser, Fuchs, & Phillips, 2013, p. 20). This is exactly what iron man is showing by persevering all hardships and succeeding to better himself.