French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91 year-old grandmother Frederika feeling depressed. To cheer her up, he convinced her to appear in a photoshoot as a superhero. The result is outrageous, brilliant, and bold. 

And as it turns out, Federika is a superhero. Federika was born in Budapest 20 years before World War II. A gentile, she saved the lives of ten Jewish people she knew by hiding them and moving them to different locations each day. Her grandson and photographer used this photoshoot to represent both her heroism and her sense of humor. After the success of the series, Goldberger created a MySpace page for his Federika. She now has over 2,200 friends.

It's an interesting juxtaposition to see an elderly woman as a superhero. It's not what we would expect, but it is powerful and full of heart. In a recent post about the Jewish Community Heroes contest, I argued that in American culture, we simply do not see women as heroes. Perhaps "Super Mamika" is a way to begin to challenge that assumption.

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