I would say heroism but I doubt patriotism, at least in global terms.

 

I agree. The only thing that bothers me more than excessive intellectualizing is rampant anti-intellectualism and willful ignorance.

You think we don't have one already? Remember that soldier in Iraq who legally changed his name to Optimus Prime? Reading this thread, I'd say the foundation is there already!  

Probably not as long as adolescents drive the market. In the case of Transformers, the formula worked because there was a huge supporting cast of characters to fulfill the various "young hero" roles. Optimus was the central focus much of the time, but the ensemble cast of Transformers was one of the interesting aspects of the show... nowadays, the active cast is usually kept down to a basic handful, like we see in Animated.

Certainly, but to be entirely fair, in 1984 having a truck that transformed into a giant robot was flashy enough to keep most kids happy. I wouldn't want to say that Prime's characterization and integrity is what drew kids to the franchise... that was pure novelty and gimmickry. But the characterizations of the G1 characters are certainly responsible for the following the franchise has today... otherwise, it would probably have been just another Gobots. People remember fondly, but without much emotion attached.

Cullen has said in interviews that when reading the series concept, it immediately suggested a "western" to him... a modern western with giant transforming robots. That's where Prime gets his "sheriff" traits. The other inspiration was more personal... apparently his Prime voice is based on his older brother, a marine, and apparently someone who Cullen looked up to as a "real hero" and leader of men. Perhaps it's not surprising that the character then took on an authentic and sympathetic life of his own.

This might be stretching it a bit. I'm Canadian (as are many TF fans, as well as Cullen himself) so any allusions to "old glory" would have been lost on me.

Though I suppose it's worth pointing out that both France and England also use red, white and blue as patriotic colours... which probably says something about the fundamental iconic impact those colours have on us in general... quite apart from any American-specific associations.

zmog