What aspects will you consider in order to understand the character of a society? There are many ways to know a society, such as reviewing its history, learning its laws and politics, and finding out its cultural and moral characters, as well as seeing its people's common life styles. In my opinion, it is effective and, to some extent, justifiable to learn about a society by examining its heroes and role models chosen by this society. Since the heroes and hero heroines in certain field are usually representative enough to be the indicator of a society's features.
When it comes to understanding a society, the first aspect coming into my mind is its political area and I will take the famous political models of a society as the initial point to learn about the society, since many political heroes are highly admired and followed by common people and they can represent a society's political ideals. For example, one of the famous American presidents, Lincoln, who tried his best to fight for the freedom and equal rights of black men, entirely reflected people at that time were eager of liberty and democracy. In addition, Emmeline Pankhurst, a political activist and a leader of the British suffragette movement, helped women win the right of vote. In 1999, Time named Pankhurst one of the "100 Most Important People of the 20th Century", stating that "she shaped an idea of women for our times; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back". Although she was widely criticized for her militant tactics, her work is recognized as a crucial element in achieving women's suffrage in Britain.
Consider cultural and moral area. The heroes and heroins in cultural and moral area can also represent a society's culture and morality. The most famous example in China may be Bruce Lee. He has devoted a lot of his lifetime into wushu, a traditional skills in ancient China, which is one of the most representative characters of Chinese unique culture. Learning about Lee's kongfu and his dedication in his career, one can understand the spirit of persistence and challenging ourselves. Another example is that the anthropologists in a society can suggest its love and care about the members in the whole family. As we can see that many elites and celebrities devote their personal property to help the poor and people with severe physical illness. This can tell us the love among social members, which indicates that the society is full of hope and sunshine.
Furthermore, famous people or heroes in scientific field can help us know about a society's innovative condition and its scientific development. For example, many the world's creative persons, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Steven Hawking, and Mark Zuckerburg, are all the most representative signs of a society's innovation and creativity level. 
However, apart from a society's politic, culture, moral and science, the general welfare of common people is also an important thing which need to be examined. Since a happy life is also an ideal in the society, understanding common people's life and their dreams play an important role in learning about the whole society. While such general welfare cannot be reflect by the heroes and heroins in the society. As a whole, a society's heroes and role models can represent its many characters, such as political willing, cultural and moral level, and its innovative achievement. In addition, we can find out information about the heroes from mass media, network, and other convenient ways, which makes us easier to learn about this society through examines the heroes.