Is it fair to say that Nietzche's Ubermench is the concept we refer today a "rock star"?

Question

Once we break away from a fear of God we are free to pursue our own morality. The Superman, or Overman, or Ubermench is a man who has seen past slave morality and master morality and makes his own morality.
That's what I get from Nietzche's concept of the Superman.
He was speaking about restraints of religion in the time he wrote.
The Nazis got a hold of this and twisted it into something that confirmed their warped eugenics based view of white superiority.
Siegel and Schuster liked the name so much, they used it for the character they dreamed up.
But I think that it's fair to say that Nietzche, who was writing decades before rock and roll came on the scene and did not have anything close to the concept around him, he had to invent a word (Ubermench) to describe a state of mind that folks like Elvis, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Roger Waters, and Bono later acheived.

Answer 1

Anyone can be Ubermench. It's more of an approach to life than what you specifically do with it.

A rock star could be Ubermench but it depends on how he acts within that carrier. If he does everything to appeal to the herd taste of pop culture, he is not. But if as a musician he always strives to be better in his composition and performance of music, putting all on the line for his creation, then he might be. Ubermench is not a permanent state though. It is something we achieve briefly when we are better than ourselves but then we go back to normal until we achieve anew.

Answer 2

Indeed, rock stars are good examples of Ubermench. I would also include such persons as Lance Armstrong, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and other notables. But I also believe you could look around you and find people among your friends and family who could be considered Ubermench. People whose lives are lived in service to others, or are working towards a better world for all living things, can be considered to be well within the definition of Ubermench.

Answer 3

I think Nietzsche knew precisely what he had in mind about his concept of the "ubermench" and it would have more resonance with the tragic heroes of ancient Greek epics, than a rock star. Quite frankly, in my own estimation, he would look at our current celebrity culture and find rock stars and other pop-cultural icons as the total and complete opposite of his concept of the "ubermensch." He would have been underwhelmed by them, they are simply avatars of the latest slave morality, this time engendered by a culture of materialist consumption, rather than the dicates of Christianity or the rationalism of the enlightenment.

Answer 4

Even an expeditious reading of the First Part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra dispels a rock star analogy. The compromise that led to the lowering of standards so that the masses were deemed worthy of an artist's creativity mirrors an individual's integration into the faceless crowd so easily administered to by a charismatic personality. Ubermenschen Zarathustra intends to be very hard on themselves and others: the adulation rock stars get from their fans is a favor they do themselves, contrasting sharply with Zarathustra's condemnation of envy-based connection and his praise of martial honor-based connection, extending out in a rhapsody also to one's adversaries.

Answer 5

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Au2bAmhMKsZTx0OwV.LgHJrsy6IX?qid=20070512163821AALdmxs&show=7#profile-info-CiECKkEoaa
while the people you named did break free of the enslaaved thinking of religiosity and social morality they did not fullfill the second part of the ubermench which was to live a selfless life devoted to the good of the whole.nietzche,s point was that religious morals and social strictures did not make man good.that in fact it caused rebellion that kept man from rising to become the ubermench he was meant to be.
It is of my opinion that the people you named were and are instead in the throes of this rebellion, and rejected normal social and religious expectations.in doing so all became famous and powerfull and could have used this influence for the good of the whole .most chose to use it to further their own agenda.thus displaying more of the qualities of the uber shmuck.
peace><>

Answer 6

David Bowie would not agree with you:

Fame, makes a man take things over
Fame, lets him loose, hard to swallow
Fame, puts you there where things are hollow
Fame
Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane
Fame
Fame, what you like is in the limo
Fame, what you get is no tomorrow
Fame, what you need you have to borrow
Fame
Fame, "Nein! It's mine!" is just his line
To bind your time, it drives you to, crime
Fame
Could it be the best, could it be?
Really be, really, babe?
Could it be, my babe, could it, babe?
Really, really?
Is it any wonder I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Is it any wonder you are too cool to fool

Fame
Fame, bully for you, chilly for me
Got to get a rain check on pain
Fame
Fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame,
fame
Fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame,
fame
Fame, fame, fame
Fame
What's your name?

Feeling so gay, feeling gay?
Brings so much pain?

I am not sure it is the fear of God that leaves us free to pursue our own morality, I think it is closer to the fear of the ascetic, priestly ideal and the constraints the men of religion impose upon society, the "Thou shalt not" way of thinking.

Nietszche wanted to smash the severe, stiff upper-lip, frowning, hypocritical ideals which ruled society in the 19th century, and still do today in many ways. But through his heavy criticism of all that holier-than-thou-ness, it is pretty clear that Jesus Christ was an ubermensch. With the death of God that Nietszche proclaims, critics and philosophers who think with him must then apprehend what parts of Christ and Christianity will be selected for return.

I guess the parts of the rock and roll lifestyle that do not seem to fit in with the overman are the slavishness that they portray; to drugs, to floozies, to alcohol, to the press, to time and age; especially as people like Mick Jagger get older. He hasn't really shocked anybody in a long time. I can appreciate what you are saying, but the examples you mention, and rock and roll music in general these days are just so tame I am reluctant to fully agree with you.

Answer 7

with out question the church that Jesus is concerning is the only Church of Christ. no longer till the reformation did it may desire to be separated by way of the call of Catholic, previous to that being Christian became distinctive sufficient. ought to all church homes be Catholic. the respond to that's that there is just one authentic church that encompasses the paranormal physique of Christ. i'm hoping it truly is a honest and impartial communicate board for sharing of ideals. it truly is important have extensive intake of education formerly you arrive at conclusions. i'm a Christian, Catholic

Answer 8

An ubermench would be something of a knight or samurai... I think.