A lot of Western fiction goes along the lines of:

the world’s in danger and since you’re God’s chosen person, only you can save the world. You don’t require that much assistance from anybody else because you pulled yourself up by your own bootstraps

Even if it involves a team, it’s like a team off like 10 people, that the protagonist had to pull together in some way shape or form due to their personal charisma or something.

In real life, to take down the evil dictator or whatever it needs a lot more than 10 people, and since you’re not God’s chosen person, you could even die.

Additionally a lot of Western fiction places big emphasis on money. The protagonist will have access to very expensive equipment frequently.

The evil dictator is basically straight out of a psych ward, which I guess is not offend conservatives, but It’s rare that the evil dictator is even racist. Like Trump would make a great villain.

This is kind of a follow-up to my personal branding question. But basically protagonists have done a great job with personal branding.

I think it would help our cause a lot if there was fiction that emphasized basically the opposite of what I listed above. And it should go mainstream.

Any examples of good fiction? Especially if it’s free and visual

  • ksynwa
    6·
    2 years ago

    Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu if you like sci-fi. It has a bit of the “chosen one” aspect but it’s not as bad.

  • Mad@sopuli.xyz
    5·
    2 years ago

    i think it’s just impossible to create a good narrative where a ton of people are the focus. there is a way to come close though, and it’s by showing a small team of main characters, but making it so that their efforts are only a small part of the greater success. the best example i have of that is Rogue One. the protagonists spend all that time and energy, risk their lives and eventually lose them, all to simply get the death star plans. their work is of course absolutely crucial, but it’s still only the starting point.

    another way to do it, which is how pretty much all movies do it, is to have a huge group of people working towards the main goal, and have them all be important, but just have a small team be active at the climactic turning point, and then only talk about that part. once again a good example is star wars, this time the original one. in it there’s a whole rebellion that’s been building up political support, military might, strategy etc. for years, but the movie focuses on just the final moments where it depends on one good shot from one good pilot.

  • Ghast
    2·
    2 years ago

    If you want anti-Trump fiction, try Transmetropolitan.

    Aside from that, the ‘one chosen hero-man’ trope is common, but hardly ubiquitous.

    • Earthsea has the main character quest to understand the balance of the world

    • LotR, despite its grand kings and warriors, always returns to the value of friendship, acceptance of other cultures, forgiveness, and the importance of small things.

    • Day of the Triffids has a main character surviving through a story about economics.

    Or if you just want anti-money, pro-teamwork, Deep Space 9 has you covered (despite the emmisary plot).

    PS: Don’t watch the Earthsea films.