Heroes and Villians… Where Did They All Go?
Posted: February 6, 2012 Filed under: Creativity, Culture, Fun 7 Comments »
A recent post at i09 observes (and laments) the sad state of modern pop culture heroics… and villianry. The last few generations have been remarkably deficient in memorable characters to populate our modern myths, producing few (if any) truly iconic figures.
Charlie Jane Anders writes:
“Over a decade into the 21st Century, our imaginations are captivated by creations of the 19th and 20th. Sherlock Holmes rules television and movies. We’re eagerly awaiting new movies about James Bond, Captain Kirk, Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. Where are the 21st Century mass-media heroes and villains? Why isn’t anybody even trying to create them?”
The point is clear – and well taken. What character today can even come close to comparing with the archetype status of yesterday’s pop culture leading ladies and men? Perhaps more importantly, why can’t my generation seem to come up with our own icons? Anders takes a stab at this question:
“Part of the answer is that almost all of our truly mainstream heroes and monsters arose from pulpy mass media, created cheaply at the start of a genre’s lifespan. To create new giant heroes, you need a new pulp. And new genres.
The alternative, of course, is to believe that we live in a post-heroic era…
A lot of recent superhero movies and TV shows have been about egotists who fight personal squabbles. There’s the pervasive meme that supervillains only exist in response to superheroes, and if the(y)… just went away, the heroes would too. Weak villains cheapen the heroes by default.
But I refuse to believe that we’re no longer ready to believe in heroism or sacrifice for a greater good — and the popularity of Harry Potter seems to prove otherwise.“
Who are the storytellers who will define this generation? Is our Western amalgam of subcultures even capable of producing truly iconic characters who can transcend niche markets? And perhaps most importantly – if we shape our heroes and villians after ourselves (and I believe that we do), what does all this say about us?
Perhaps it’s time for us to throw caution to the wind, and to write, draw, film, chant, or dance the really big stories, the epic tales, the ones that make our blood flow. After all, that’s how heroes were made in the past. It’s worked for millenia, from Beowulf to Batman, from Thor to… well, the other Thor.
I think that we can still find great heroes and villains if we look for them. And I guarantee that we won’t have to look far. They’ve been here, ready to terrify and inspire us, all along. Let’s find them again, and start telling some stories worth (and worthy of) our time.
This reminds me of our discussion of Jorge Louis Borges. In his book on Poetry he argues that literature is essentially lost as long as it is committed to deconstruction rather than the “epic” as you describe it (incorruptable, though growing, hero defeats bad guy.
He even argues that the only place in the world of story where the epic still exists is in American film. The hero story still captures imagination. But it is basically lost in the world of (adult) fiction.
My personal opinion is that unless modern adult fiction (note most truly epic stories are written in children’s literature) stops being so cynical and self conscious about writing a “big” story, the outlook isn’t great. All we’re left with is Woody Allen. His films are great, you just feel empty when the credits roll.
Really glad you brought Borges into this, Luke. A great reminder from a literary hero.
If you don’t mind me saying, I think this is just a case of “old man’s syndrome”.
As people grow older they plug out of the “new stuff” in media. I remember reading a post by some ex hippy lamenting the dearth of singer songwriters, though arguably the last 10 years have been the most innovative, prolific, and quality years for folk music.
I’ll throw out a couple of counter examples to this #doomgloom:
Harry Potter is certainly the most famous example but you have plenty of other YA fiction stuff. Hunger Games is popular. I found it lacking, but it fits the trope well. YA fiction is huge, and it’s not tied down with all the pretensions of the adult market, for better or worse.
Finn and Jake from Adventure Time, a trippy children’s show that borders on profundity quite often. It’s one of many neo-heroic cartoons that are popping up on TV
Video games heroes are overlooked here. Not just old Nintendo stuff like Zelda, but newer stuff like the Half Life series create very compelling heroic characters.
Thanks David – and yes, it could certainly be my curmudgeonly side coming out that feels like we lack good heroics and villianry in much of our new storytelling.
However, given that I’m only 26, and very engaged with new media, for me, it’s not just a case of old man syndrome…
I’m glad that (like Luke above) you pointed out YA fiction/film. It’s a bright spot, for sure. However, it doesn’t feel to me as if it carries the same kind of seminal, culture spawning power of something like the collective Superman mythos. It’s easy to see them making a Hunger Games film now, maybe even a trilogy. It’s tough to see us still re-telling the stories of that universe 50 or 60+ years from now like we have with Holmes, Zorro, Marvel/DC titles, etc.
I think that one notable exception is the absolutely fantastic “Dylan Dog” comics/graphic novels that have been coming out of Italy for couple decades.
Your point with video games is really where the promise is, I think, and it’s probably closest to the “new pulp” that the Anders article muses about. I’m not much of a gamer, but with legitimately epic titles like Half Life or Skyrim, or perhaps even Bioshock, it’s easy to see those shaping storytelling for the future.
Good points. Hunger games probably won’t be retold in the same way. I think that some of this is due to the nature of the internet broadening things. The normal, reliable, strongholds of “heroic” stories are becoming less important. Marvel and DC aren’t the stories most people flip to. But in all this wild weird world of the internet, you’ll find individual pockets of heroes and villains. The problem is finding it. It’s hard to find anything of a particular kind now days. Thinks run in little private scenes that have to be pulled out of the ground like an archaeological dig.
Oh yeah and I just remembered. I sort of wrote a month ago a post on my blog that might run counter and open up some new ideas on this trend. It’s very rough but the thoughts might be of value in these concepts. http://drunkenyear.tumblr.com/post/16179627301/what-is-our-generation-about-a-manifesto
I do think it’s possible for us to create new heroes. I also think it requires a total commitment to creativity and the pursuit of a specific creative vision, and I think a lot of this creative purity is driven out by profit pressure.
Luckily, some big companies are taking risks in this space — I’m thinking of Amazon studios. Hopefully, we’ll see more and more indie media go viral and get broader distribution. The creativity is out there, it’s really just a matter of reaching people.