The Impact of "Heroes" in Cinema and History

The song ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie has impacted both cinema and history throughout time. Originally released in 1977, the song was inspired by the sight of a kiss between Tony Visconti, (Bowie’s producer-engineer), and backup singer Antonia Maass, near the Berlin Wall. The song was written and recorded in West Berlin and ten years later played live next to the Berlin Wall.

The song's lyrics resonated with the divided city. For example, the line, “I wish you could swim / Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim,” reflected the desire for freedom to roam in between West and East Berlin without the restraints of the wall dividing them. 

The moment when ‘Heroes’ was performed at the Platz der Republik Festival in June of 1987 was significant for Bowie and Germany. The singer claimed; “It was one of the most emotional performances I’ve ever done. I was in tears. They’d backed up the stage to the Wall itself so that it was acting as our backdrop. We kind of heard that a few of the East Berliners might actually get the chance to hear the thing, but we didn’t realize in what numbers they would. And there were thousands on the other side that had come close to the wall. So it was like a double concert, where the Wall was the division. And we would hear them cheering and singing along from the other side. God, even now I get choked up”. Bowie’s performance later led to the chanting of, “The wall must fall!” and “Gorby get us out!”, the arrest of 200 East Berliners, and a series of riots that followed over the next 2 years, eventually leading to the destruction of the Berlin Wall.

Years later in 2002, Bowie performed ‘Heroes’ again in Berlin. Bowie recalled; “This time, what was so fantastic – it was in the Max Schmeling Hall, which holds about ten to fifteen thousand – is that half the audience had been in East Berlin that time way before. So now I was face-to-face with the people I had been singing it to all those years ago. And we were all singing it together. Again, it was powerful. Things like that really give you a sense of what a song and performance can do.”

Ten years after the 2002 performance, The Perks of Being a Wallflower premiered. The song ‘Heroes’, (known as the ‘tunnel song’ in the movie), was a major staple in its soundtrack. The song is played twice in The Perks of Being a Wallflower - at the beginning and the end. Both scenes depict the characters Charlie, Sam and Patrick as they drive through a tunnel in their hometown. The first scene shows Charlie in a place of uncertainty, as in the previous scene his life has just taken a new turn when he is welcomed into a new group of friends. In this initial scene, Sam stands up in the back of the truck, lifting her arms as her homecoming dress blows through the wind. In the second tunnel scene, Charlie is seen mirroring Sam’s gestures. As ‘Heroes’ plays, Charlie whispers to Patrick; “I feel infinite”. 

In the second tunnel scene a voiceover of Charlie writing his final letter plays, closing the movie. He writes; “we are infinite”, reflecting his growth and realization that everything is going to be okay for him. As Charlie rides with his best friends he accepts and chooses to be present in that moment, because he knows they can’t be together forever. Patrick and Sam have both moved on from High School, meanwhile Charlie is only starting his sophomore year. Charlie realizes that they are all changing and that the ways in which they’ll continue to change are infinite. Charlie’s thoughts and realizations are mirrored in the lyrics of ‘Heroes’ as it starts to play when they pass the end of the tunnel.

The line, “We can be heroes, just for one day” reflects the friendship between Charlie, Sam and Patrick at the end of the movie. At that moment they are together and best friends, even though the future is uncertain and they do not know whether they will keep in contact. Like the characters’ relationships, the possibilities of tomorrow are infinite. The following line also expresses Charlie's contemplations in the letter; “Though nothing will keep us together / We could steal time, just for one day / We can be heroes, forever and ever / What d'you say?” Like the subjects in the song, Charlie knows that in reality he and his friends cannot be together forever, as their lives are all changing. Yet, for that one car ride, they can share it for one last time.

7 years after The Perks of Being a Wallflower premiered, Jojo Rabbit, an anti-hate satire premiered featuring the same song, ‘Heroes’. The two movies have entirely different premises but both share the same song to wrap up their respective stories perfectly - how can this be possible?

Both The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Jojo Rabbit have coming-of-age plots - although Jojo Rabbit is labeled as an anti-hate satire. The transformation Jojo undergoes is similar to that of Charlie; both characters are both able to acknowledge their past trauma and learn to accept and give love. These transformations are shown in the last scene of both movies with the track ‘Heroes’ accompanying.

In the final scene of Jojo Rabbit, the Americans have come to free Jojo’s town. He is given a jacket and gun to fight against the invasion but, unlike what he was taught as a Nazi Youth, Jojo chooses to run away. When the fight is over he goes home to Elsa, the Jewish girl who has been hiding in his attic, and tells her that the Nazis have won the war. Jojo tells her this in fear that she might leave him, despite him initially being hesitant to have her living in his house. There are parallels between the two characters’ journeys of growth; Jojo’s process of unlearning the harmful ideas about Jewish people with which he was indoctrinated with his whole life as he comes to realise these things are not true, can be seen as similar to Charlie’s growth towards accepting that his life is not merely a ‘sad story’. 

When Jojo takes Elsa outside to reveal that the Allies have won the war they are unsure what the future holds, so they dance whilst ‘Heroes’ plays. Similar to how ‘Heroes’ resonated with the Charlie’s feelings in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the civilians living on either side of the Berlin Wall, the lyrics also found semblance with the sentiments of Jojo and his desire to be with someone forever and the start of a new chapter together with Elsa.

Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ has impacted cinema and history in a multitude of ways since its original release in the 70s, as a result of the power and ability of its lyrics and the universal messages it expresses, connecting the song with a variety of different audiences. ‘Heroes’ continues to be one of the greatest songs of all time and extremely relevant in the media. Thank you, David Bowie, for your powerful song.