Heroes of their time: the most popular characters of literature and cinema of different eras

The purpose of this article is to analyze the course and reasons for the "evolution" of the most popular characters in literature, and then in cinema. Why did the truly noble heroes - knights, travelers, inventors - give way to no less honest and courageous detectives, spies, soldiers, and then to the absurd and stupidly vulgar "heroes" of comics and books about wizards, completely devoid of any clear motivation? Why are viewers and readers less and less interested in thoughtful, ideological, lyrical works and increasingly prefer "reading" and spectacular action films?