I went to a panel hosted by the author Brandon Sanderson a couple weeks ago and something he said about writing has stuck with me since. I can’t seem to let it go because it had a lot of underlying truth to it. What he said is pretty simple. What makes a super hero someone we remember? What makes the stories of super heroes something we enjoy? Is it their powers? Can you name every one of Super Man’s infinite and sometimes convoluted powers? Probably not but can you name his weakness? People who don’t even like Super Man can tell you his weakness and why it is his weakness. That little green rock that is a piece of his home planet.
It seems like every good story, every story that we fall in love with is not driven by the inherent strengths in the characters, but their weaknesses. We are drawn to stories that highlight the flaws in others. Why is that? It seems like we are always looking, searching and hoping to find these flaws. Whether in fictional characters or in real life. When we find that weakness, it becomes how we define and classify that individual or we do the extreme exact opposite and refuse to the see bad in anyone we define as “good”. For example:
The Jedi — Portrayed as the good guys and victims in the Star Wars series but they have imposed their ideals just like the Sith upon the universe. They have; instead of indulging their senses in healthy moderation, have demonstrated absolute extreme cultism in the refusal of them which resulted in their downfall. They are no more “good” than the Sith but instead one side of the same coin. A dangerous extremism shrouded in supposed moral ideals. They highlight the dangers of falling for the facade of good versus actually doing good.
I think it is interesting how we do this. We focus on certain characteristics and fail to see the picture of the whole.
It seems like every good story, every story that we fall in love with is not driven by the inherent strengths in the characters, but their weaknesses. We are drawn to stories that highlight the flaws in others. Why is that? It seems like we are always looking, searching and hoping to find these flaws. Whether in fictional characters or in real life. When we find that weakness, it becomes how we define and classify that individual or we do the extreme exact opposite and refuse to the see bad in anyone we define as “good”. For example:
The Jedi — Portrayed as the good guys and victims in the Star Wars series but they have imposed their ideals just like the Sith upon the universe. They have; instead of indulging their senses in healthy moderation, have demonstrated absolute extreme cultism in the refusal of them which resulted in their downfall. They are no more “good” than the Sith but instead one side of the same coin. A dangerous extremism shrouded in supposed moral ideals. They highlight the dangers of falling for the facade of good versus actually doing good.
I think it is interesting how we do this. We focus on certain characteristics and fail to see the picture of the whole.