Page - 118 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

118 | Thomas Hausmanninger www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 105–121 Winter Soldier. He only finds his true self by righting the wrongs of the past, and thus he too realizes the tikkun of his soul by working for the tikkun of the world. here the movies do follow the comics, even though Captain America does not demonstrate critical thinking or question his actions to the same extent as in the comics. Nevertheless, he has to be reflective and autonomous if he is to realize his ethos and adapt his quest for liberty to the present. the second World War context was, he recognizes, different and less complicated, for the Nazis were an obvious evil, and indeed, in the United states the second World War is still termed the “Good War”. in the present world things are more complicated, so Captain America muses, “For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to do what was right. i guess i’m not quite sure what that is anymore. And i thought i could throw myself back in and follow orders. Serve. It’s just not the same.”71 in- stead of simply integrating himself into given institutions, like the army in times of war and now S.H.I.E.L.D, he has to find his own position and make his own judgments. As the showdown approaches, positions of authority are reversed: with S.H.I.E.L.D exposed as infiltrated and subverted by Hydra, not Nick Fury but Captain America is giving the orders.72 At the same time the rationale behind the intelligence community’s actions is questioned. Agent Romanov confirms that lying is integral to the intelligence community strategy, but Captain Amer- ica represents honesty.73 With that honesty he also denounces the surveillance measures and preventive violent actions taken against presumed future threats that are defended by the ”realist“ stance of Nick fury (and also Pierce) in the second movie,74 and positions himself against governmental regulation that re- quires the registration of superheroes in the third movie. Bucky, by contrast, needs to find his identity by remembering his past life and by making amends for his wrongs as the Winter soldier, largely in the third movie. even though temporarily Captain America has to go against his social sur- roundings and existing institutions, in the end he has found his identity by de- fending his values and by saving what these institutions were originally meant for. he has worked not only for the tikkun of his soul but also for the tikkun of the world, and he finds his place in the latter again. Again the pivotal point of his identity is not solitary subjectivity but the ideal of a community of free people living together. his quest for identity is met not through inner self-constitution but by striving and working for a community founded on values and by finding his own place in that community. for Bucky, there is at least a chance that the tikkun of his soul and his efforts to right the wrongs of the past at long last also will provide him with his place in the present world, even if he chooses at the 71 The Return of the First Avenger (2014), 0:21:00. 72 The Return of the First Avenger (2014), 1:32:14. 73 The Return of the First Avenger (2014), 1:10:50. 74 The Return of the First Avenger (2014), 0:17:43.