If you’re not interested then don’t watch it. Meanwhile it’s actually good to see the human side. We elevate heroes too much, it’s bad for us. For one thing it leads us to pretending there are perfect people in the world, and for another it discourages people to try to follow in their footsteps. When we turn everybody who ever achieved anything into a fairy tale prince those kids who aren’t “perfect” can easily decide they can’t achieve. When we see the feet of clay we understand two important things: yes you too can do awesome stuff, and everybody has room for improvement.
That is one way of looking at it but there is another.
When I was young we read histories & biographies and had role models. By the time I was in 4th grade I had read 40 of them. Louis Pasteur, Mme Curie, Luther Burbank, a large collection of early Presidents, Edith Cavell etc.
I was on fire with all of the qualities that they epitomized: hard work, humility, service, perseverance, self sacrifice. That early inoculation of virtuous and other centered living got me through college, medical school, graduate work and into practice with a life long determination to do my best. When someone shows you that road at an early age it molds you. All men/women have secret and sometimes not so secret shames but those do not define them, that proves they are fallible human beings.
You say we raise heroes too high. I say the current generation is raised with no heroes. Everyone is so eager to blame/shame/cut down those that have actually accomplished that we are left with youngsters that have no role model to aim for. Our sports players, entertainers and fashionable class are the people that are looked up to and no group of people are less worth emulating or elevating.
We don’t need to destroy someone like Einstein to allow the less able to succeed. The stories of other’s success can inspire them to do the best they can. There is no substitute for a mother, father, grandfather, special teacher etc who believes in you and reaffirms your actual successes.
Your final sentences are non sequiturs.
“When we see the feet of clay we understand two important things: yes you too can do awesome stuff, and everybody has room for improvement.”
Seeing feet of clay does no such thing. For a child who has a more concrete view of life feet of clay suggests its fine to screw up, no need to strive. Seeing someone else brought down is no way to learn you can soar. You advocate destroying heroes (a unidimentional concept developed to inspire and motivate) so that ordinary folks will feel good.
How many children grow into inspiring adults by being inspired? When they are older they will understand that being heroic or inspirational in one area does not guarantee a perfect person because no one is perfect. But the idealism and moral direction inspired by the hero will not be lost.