Hero Archetype of Mike Williams in The Film Deepwater Horizon

There are some people in this world who want to excel, but everyone as a different idea of what “excelling” means to them. Although most people consider “excelling” as when they become this amazing hero who saves the day, there are some people who believe that “excelling” is when they utterly demolish a certain object or person. These are the two most common types of an archetype, which is a very typical example of a certain person or thing. The particular type of archetype I will be talking about is a hero named Mike Williams. A hero archetype is someone who exhibits goodness and struggles against evil. A hero archetype also enjoys saving many people, protecting others in the state of harm, and setting their life at risk knowing they may get hurt or not come out alive.

Mike Williams is a hero who risks his life for other and who shows strength, bravery, and courage towards others. These examples prove this archetype by describing the duties he did in order to save other people’s lives. Mike Williams was the head chief of the Electronic Technicians crew on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig exploded, dumping more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico because certain crew members decided they wanted to go home early and did not check all the pressure gauges like they are supposed to. It was during this massive, destructive explosion when Mike stepped up, putting his life at risk to save other crew workers on the rig.

Mike put away his selfishness and looked further into the man he was. While knowing he could just jump onto a lifeboat and depart from the burning rig that was about to blow up, he put his life on the line in order to save other people. Many individuals say this is an unintelligent move but Mike thought differently. Fitting into the exact meaning of a hero, he worked in danger to save others, knowing the possibility that he may not make it back home to his family and friends. Since Mike survived the deadly explosion and is still living today, he himself can describe how he used both mental and physical strength to save the lives of several individuals, classifying himself as a true hero.

In the movie, Deepwater Horizon, the strength Mike showed while rescuing other crew members even though he was greatly hurt and bleeding has a major rile in what qualifies him as a hero. According to an article written by People Magazine, “Williams says that after all the pain and all the work that went into his recovery, he was willing to risk it all in order to honor the men who lost their lives”. Mike, like most people, went to work that week thinking nothing like this would ever happen. The strength displayed shows how Mike is a hero in the move by always helping others out in times others would not.

Protecting others first is a strong meaning od being a hero. Mike’s strength may seen unbearable to others simply because they could not even begin to think about risking their life in a stressful and unbelievable time like Mike did. In addition, the hero archetype I have chosen also shows a broad range of bravery. Mike was left behind after two lifeboats left the Deepwater Horizon not knowing other people, including Mike, were still on the rig. According to writer Kevin Lang, “Mike was brutally injured in the ongoing explosion”. This is where Mike changes himself from a regular rig worker to a hero. From the blood, sweat, and tears, Mike starts his search to find others.

Through all the broken doors, fire all over the walls, and multiple would on his body, bravery is the only word that can describe Mike at this moment. Slowly, one room at a time, Mike looks for missing people. In one room, he finds his boss who was in the middle of taking a shower when the rig exploded. Glass shattered everywhere and ended up imbedded in the boss’ entire body and eyes, not allowing him to see. Mike’s bravery takes a large role in the way he saved his well-respected boss. After Mike saw that his closest friends were at risk, he takes action, realizing more people are needing help. He gathers a group together to make sure everyone is safe, and the start searching for a lifeboat.

Lastly, Mike shows a great deal of courage in the end. Little did most crew members realize that the safety platform they were standing on, searching for a lifeboat, was over ten stories high in the air. At that moment, this platform was the safest place since the flames had not escalated that high yet. Understandably, he reaches out the a lady and tells her to jump into the water before the rig explodes, but she disregards what he says and refuses to jump. As Lang states in his article, “Mike takes action and jumps with her” into the water to board the lifeboat to travel to safety. While the rig is blowing up to pieces in the background, crew members and leaders calling out names and taking role to see who is alive; there were eleven names called to no answer. Mike might not have been the only hero that day but he was the one the everyone knew was trying to help the most.

In conclusion, Mike Williams shows strength, bravery, and courage all in the name of being a hero. Without this man, there would not have been so many people saved and more would have passed away in the destructive explosion. After putting his life an family at risk, Mike knew he had to save his co-workers and that is exactly what he did. As a hero, Mike, to this very day, still has troubles about the moments he encountered and deaths he witnessed being on the oil rig. The moments where he could not save the last eleven people still frowns upon him today. This man might not have been a superhero or have magical powers, but what he had was heart and dedication which makes him a man of a hero.