Let's Talk About Luigi
I was talking to a friend over drinks last night. As seems to be the case lately, the conversation drifted over to Luigi Mangione.
A couple of things dawned on me as we were speaking. First, this already seems destined to become the most significant crime story since OJ Simpson. And second, it feels like we are witnessing the emergence of a true American folk hero for what I think is the first in our lives.
I have a unique vantage point on all this. As the person behind FCTRY, it's my job to keep a close eye on current events. Basically, I read the tea leaves and say which way the wind is blowing so we know who to turn into our next action figure. What I'm looking for when I do this is the rare moment when someone sort of transcends the day-to-day news cycle and starts to take on a certain mythological quality - when they go from being human to being hero.
I've been doing this for a long time now, since 2006, and I've only seen it really, truly happen twice: when Obama emerged in 2008, and when Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a symbol of the Me Too movement in 2018. Luigi Mangione may very well be the third.
To be clear, it's not my job nor my place to comment on the morality of all this. I'll leave that to everyone else. I'm simply here to say unequivocally that Luigi Mangione has become a cultural icon and, if I'm reading the tea leaves right, he is on track to become a full-on legend along the lines of maybe Che Guevara. And as a fan of the whole phenomenon of cultural icons, I am completely riveted.
In fact, it may be the most riveting real-life story I've ever seen. If you think about some of the details - the inscriptions on the bullets, his ridiculous good looks - it's hard to believe this is not fiction.
Circling back to something I'd mentioned earlier, I believe it all adds up to something we've never truly seen in our lifetimes, in America; the rise of a folk hero.
I can tell you right now that, if we were turning him into an action figure and I were directing the project, we'd be using Robin Hood as the template.
If you place this all in the larger context of everything that's going on in the world right now, maybe that's exactly what we need.
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26 comments
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It is dangerous to believe that vigilante justice is acceptable. We all have our own ideas as to who is a criminal and who is not, and our opinions vary greatly. Punishing people that we, as individuals, perceive as criminals, without legal authority, can easily get out of hand if we the people decide it is admirable and acceptable to do so. I have a friend (male in his 20s) who suffers from the insurance industry’s abuse of the disabled population. He is a fan of Luigi and keeps me up on the latest news. Being a female in my 70s, I long ago learned better than to make a hero out of a murderer even if the person they murdered was a criminal, but I haven’t convinced my friend of this yet. He is pissed, and rightly so, but vigilante justice is a dangerous precedent.
Janice Ninomiya on
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Free Luigi! Lock up Trump
Kelly Manning on
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As a retired appellate level prosecutor, I find your description of Luigi Mangione as “a true American folk hero” reprehensible. He is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. But, no one accused murdering someone by publicly shooting them in the back should ever be considered a hero just because the victim was the CEO of an unpopular or even hated corporation. Never consider making an action figure of this person even if he is ultimately found not guilty following trial. Have you no moral or ethical center!?
Mark Austill on
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As a retired appellate level prosecutor, I find your description of Luigi Mangione as “a true American folk hero” reprehensible. He is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. But, no one accused murdering someone by publicly shooting them in the back should ever be considered a hero just because the victim was the CEO of an unpopular or even hated corporation. Never consider making an action figure of this person even if he is ultimately found not guilty following trial. Have you no moral or ethical center!?
Mark Austill on
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He’s an actual murderer and not to be acclaimed. I don’t care if the youngsters think he’s pretty; it would be creepy and ethically wrong. The fact that the youngsters overlook that is creepy and ethically wrong anyway.
Thank you for inviting comments.Chris Kaufman on
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“A true American folk hero”?? To be honest, your statement disturbs me greatly. My concept of a “hero” is a humble someone who seeks to do good for the betterment of all, without seeking to be rewarded or revered. Your apparent zeal to memorialize this thug in the guise of a Robin Hood leads me to believe you’ve surrendered to the dark side, as in the MAGA mentality, where vigilante justice is celebrated. None of my “folk heroes” fall into this category. To go from comparing Obama to Ginsburg to Mangione is a bizarre path I do not wish to follow. Please think long and hard about this. I certainly do not wish to be associated in any way, shape or form with a company or project that celebrates or idolizes someone whose claim to fame is that he became very popular by committing a cold-blooded vigilante murder.
Laura McCarthy on