The Return of Zorro and Sorro

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PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

After writing about the potential relevance of the musical arts to comment on societal changes, like our recent national elections, I was reminded of the possible relevance of a popular movie and television focus.1 Divisiveness between the rich and poor seems to call for a superhero devoted to the poor. For me, that is Zorro. Yes, that may reinforce the current concern of male physical heroism, as in the recent Psychiatric Times article “Our Capes Are Killing Us,”2 but Zorro seems to cushion that with a usual tongue-in-cheek atmosphere.

Zorro has been a popular presence in such media for over 100 years. Usually, each decade brings forth a major movie or television series. This year we have had the first year series on Amazon Prime. But more than that, Zorro seems everywhere now, including various modalities and story locations. There is even a new Zorro opera. It must be reflecting our times psychologically in some way, perhaps as a sort of Rorschach test for how we value justice and loyalty.

Simplistically speaking, Zorro has generally been a member of the elite in California as its about to be settled by America in the mid 1800s. His disguise is a black mask, hat, cape, and sword. His powers are not super ones, but a super use of his wits and whips. His sword leaves a “Z” whenever he completes a social justice mission.

As part of my own psychiatric career mission to serve the underserved for over 50 years, I adapted Zorro as my ego ideal. To distinguish myself, I took on the name “Sorro,” with the “S” for Steven and as in “You’ll Be Sorry.” It was my go-to Halloween costume. My clinic staff knew this so well that they gave me a Zorro/Sorro trophy near the end of my clinical and administrative career.

Our election made it clear that there those on the lower socioeconomic spectrum have financial challenges, especially in regard to inflation. That frustration was powerful enough to stimulate many of the poor and minorities to switch from their usual voting Democratic to Republican. However, the ultra-rich are even more influential, as witnessed in the evolving role of Elon Musk and others. That should call to any would-be masked Zorros.

But why do we need the mask of Zorro or any other masked hero now? One reason might be that there are more supervillains now, as presented in yesterday’s New York Times article “The Supervillain is the Hero Now.”3 The author emphasizes that this is based on style, not moral judgement. The subtitle mentioned that Americans have learned to root for the dark side, including the Joker and “Wicked.” Dark Vader of Star Wars fame was one not too long ago, too, and the fascination with the Devil in Milton’s Paradise Lost goes back to 1667.

Additionally, the political atmosphere seems to be inhibiting open opposition to those in power, with the anticipated prospect of being targets of revenge. Therefore, more hidden ways of providing social justice to the oppressed may be needed now.

In the Jewish tradition, there is a belief that there are 36 righteous individuals who uphold the world. They are hidden and unknown, even to themselves. Perhaps now there are 36 Zorros around the world, but we should not assume that any of us cannot be one.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.

References

1. Arellano G. A new Zorro takes on the swashbuckling hero. Alta. September 23, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.altaonline.com/culture/movies-tv-shows/a61996973/zorro-swashbuckling-hero-gustavo-arellano/

2. Mirhom M. “Our capes are killing us”: how do we support Men’s Mental Health Month? Psychiatric Times. November 20, 2024. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/our-capes-are-killing-us-how-do-we-support-mens-mental-health-month

3. Scott AO. The supervillain is the hero now. New York Times. November 23, 2024. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/books/review/supervillains-joker-elon-musk-wicked.html