Douglas Fairbanks and Mickey Mouse are two illustrious American heroes made in Hollywood who—says Marshall Fishwick—"show us what we are and what we want
to be." Mr. Fishwick has adapted this article from his hook "American Heroes: Myth and Reality." an analysis of heroes and hero makers in American culture. […]
Douglas Fairbanks was all man, Mickey all mouse. But they found similar answers to common problems. And thereby, so far as the story of the American hero is concerned, hangs a tale.
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One of Doug's most formidable rivals was a mouse. Although he existed only on a drawing board, Mickey Mouse acquired a following that most flesh-and-blood beings envy. Mickey seems at first glance to be another Doug cavorting in a world of special fantasy. Both go about righting wrongs and foiling villains. Often Mickey satirizes the things Doug did in earnest, this being the basis of his mousey humor. In his second appearance, made before sound, Mickey was a "Gallopin' Gaucho" doing Doug's feats the wrong way.
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