*“You are reliable, reserved, and down-to-earth. You’re a great team player and you care more about doing what’s right than receiving unearned praise. People may not notice you right away, but you are still respected for your hard work and pragmatism. You know your place.”*
*– results for “Poo Person” on the official “Which class from ‘Theophilia Wallace’ are you?” quiz*
Turns out that royal blood is massively dominant, meaning all the bastards sired by royalty had kids that magical spark as did their kids. Eventually everyone has it which is why anyone can now become leader of a nation.
It’s kind of funny how so many young-adult novels champion destiny and eugenics.
I’ve been working on a novel which goes directly against those tropes, and I’ve encountered a bit of odd resistance to it. An individual with a lot of experience in this particular field told me “Publishers don’t want to market books that make readers think; they want to market books that prompt fan art on Tumblr.”
The fact that my book approaches magic in a scientifically believable context probably doesn’t help, either, as I’ve been told that “Publishers don’t like presenting their demographics with a lot of rules.”
The thing is, I can’t help but feel that intentionally catering to dumbed-down mentalities is detrimental for more reasons than just the glorification of vagueness. Even putting aside the fact that books should both entertain and challenge (not just distract and coddle), it seems to me that works which have any real staying power are those which introduce new concepts or ideas. Harry Potter might have been a stupid character in an internally inconsistent world, but at least said world had places for kids and young adults to “explore.”
Granted, it also focused heavily on destiny and eugenics, but that second element was painted as a bad thing.
Maybe I’m just mad that I’m personally facing an uphill battle, but I *really* don’t see the problem with writing a book that lauds *effort* over being “the chosen one” (and even casts a self-described “chosen one” as an eventual villain). Hell, it could be that I’m an idealist… but “Kids don’t want to *work* to be special; they want to *already be* special!” really seems – to me, at least – like it’s embracing a bad perspective.
This is my main grip with the remake of Mulan. They clearly referenced the Rabbit poem just to end the movie with, “yep, Mulan is special, she can do superhero shit”.
Like, is it THAT HARD to follow to the main message of the poem?
The story of Ratatouille literally is the most honest story that could ever be told about the inequalities of the world.
When saying to the world “anyone can cook” the inspirational chef did not mean that anyone can cook in the literal sense of them learning the skill, as not everyone is going to be a good cook, but that the skill to cook well can come FROM anyone.
Naruto annoyed me because of that. At first it had the same setup like this comic. Kid naruto is at the bottom of society ,isn’t the smartest or naturally gifted but manages to rise up to the tops through grand amounts of effort. But the closer we’ve gotten to the end of his journey in shippuden, the more the power fantasy took over. Ah yes. Naruto got that demon inside of him, so he has all the chakra in the world to do anything and Sasuke has those Sharingan eyes which just so happen to evolve over time and can unlock the Rinnegan which are eyes that were used by the personification of literal gods! Don’t forget that the two boys are also the reincarnations of the two sons that some ancient holy Sage had. Oh yeah Sakura is the poo person which at first through hard training got ahead of them , even was first at taking out an Akatsuki member but because she doesn’t have a demon inside her or won the genetic lottery, she falls back down to being the girl character that cries for the guy characters when they’re in great danger.
I get that its a Shonen Anime/Manga and this was a krass oversimplification of a series decades in the making but they did the girls dirty and made it all about the genetic lottery near the end.
This line of thinking is why I never pushed Disney princesses on my daughter. I think at a surface level the idea is that everyone can be a princess, but all I see is idolization of power. The reward in the end for being good is having servants and wealth. It’s lowkey the worst part of humanity. Also antithetical to the supposed individualism of America.
I feel like Katniss Everdeen, and most of the characters from the Hunger Games in fact, were poo people who rose to the occasion. No special powers or bloodlines, just the sheer will to survive, and to protect the ones they loved most.
Or think about Disney. Threy need to be an orphan to be able to be the main character. Or if they are not, later in story they become one. (*cough* Simba *cough*) So the message I get: you can not be main character or special unless you are an orphan.
…. so I preface saying I didn’t read the last 3 books (I legit thought it was just a trilogy for the longest time), but the Red Rising series at least partially gets this and the whole “rebellion” motif right. It’s not super secret mystical powers, it’s essentially a terrorist organization that gives the protagonist the powers to pass as a “special” a la captain america.
Damn didn’t think I’d see the name Theophilia again. Found airpods on the road with that name on it and luckily they were the only person in the city with that name. So I told them I found the airpods they lost and gave it back.
They didn’t even say thank you 🙁 just took it and left.
*“You are reliable, reserved, and down-to-earth. You’re a great team player and you care more about doing what’s right than receiving unearned praise. People may not notice you right away, but you are still respected for your hard work and pragmatism. You know your place.”*
*– results for “Poo Person” on the official “Which class from ‘Theophilia Wallace’ are you?” quiz*
If you like my comics, I’ve got more on [my website](https://www.butajape.com/comic/young-adult-protagonist/).
Turns out that royal blood is massively dominant, meaning all the bastards sired by royalty had kids that magical spark as did their kids. Eventually everyone has it which is why anyone can now become leader of a nation.
This is brilliant and spot-on haha
This is the plot of naruto.
Neji was right.
Lord of the Rings was a good counter to this. Frodo and Sam were poo people the whole time, but they still managed to be amazing.
yeah, so piss off, Mewtwo!
It’s kind of funny how so many young-adult novels champion destiny and eugenics.
I’ve been working on a novel which goes directly against those tropes, and I’ve encountered a bit of odd resistance to it. An individual with a lot of experience in this particular field told me “Publishers don’t want to market books that make readers think; they want to market books that prompt fan art on Tumblr.”
The fact that my book approaches magic in a scientifically believable context probably doesn’t help, either, as I’ve been told that “Publishers don’t like presenting their demographics with a lot of rules.”
The thing is, I can’t help but feel that intentionally catering to dumbed-down mentalities is detrimental for more reasons than just the glorification of vagueness. Even putting aside the fact that books should both entertain and challenge (not just distract and coddle), it seems to me that works which have any real staying power are those which introduce new concepts or ideas. Harry Potter might have been a stupid character in an internally inconsistent world, but at least said world had places for kids and young adults to “explore.”
Granted, it also focused heavily on destiny and eugenics, but that second element was painted as a bad thing.
Maybe I’m just mad that I’m personally facing an uphill battle, but I *really* don’t see the problem with writing a book that lauds *effort* over being “the chosen one” (and even casts a self-described “chosen one” as an eventual villain). Hell, it could be that I’m an idealist… but “Kids don’t want to *work* to be special; they want to *already be* special!” really seems – to me, at least – like it’s embracing a bad perspective.
Terry Goodkind’s attorney just called…
This is why Star Wars episode 9 sucked.
Ah yes the star wars sequel series
Kind of liked Avatar Last Airbender for this reason. Non-benders could still hold their own against benders.
Mistborn trilogy literally had poo people and specials…
*looks over at Disney and Rey*
This is my main grip with the remake of Mulan. They clearly referenced the Rabbit poem just to end the movie with, “yep, Mulan is special, she can do superhero shit”.
Like, is it THAT HARD to follow to the main message of the poem?
The story of Ratatouille literally is the most honest story that could ever be told about the inequalities of the world.
When saying to the world “anyone can cook” the inspirational chef did not mean that anyone can cook in the literal sense of them learning the skill, as not everyone is going to be a good cook, but that the skill to cook well can come FROM anyone.
A working class hero is something to be…
The Ugly Duckling. You’re not ugly or inferior you just have to wait until the beautiful you develops! unless of course it doesn’t.
Naruto annoyed me because of that. At first it had the same setup like this comic. Kid naruto is at the bottom of society ,isn’t the smartest or naturally gifted but manages to rise up to the tops through grand amounts of effort. But the closer we’ve gotten to the end of his journey in shippuden, the more the power fantasy took over. Ah yes. Naruto got that demon inside of him, so he has all the chakra in the world to do anything and Sasuke has those Sharingan eyes which just so happen to evolve over time and can unlock the Rinnegan which are eyes that were used by the personification of literal gods! Don’t forget that the two boys are also the reincarnations of the two sons that some ancient holy Sage had. Oh yeah Sakura is the poo person which at first through hard training got ahead of them , even was first at taking out an Akatsuki member but because she doesn’t have a demon inside her or won the genetic lottery, she falls back down to being the girl character that cries for the guy characters when they’re in great danger.
I get that its a Shonen Anime/Manga and this was a krass oversimplification of a series decades in the making but they did the girls dirty and made it all about the genetic lottery near the end.
This line of thinking is why I never pushed Disney princesses on my daughter. I think at a surface level the idea is that everyone can be a princess, but all I see is idolization of power. The reward in the end for being good is having servants and wealth. It’s lowkey the worst part of humanity. Also antithetical to the supposed individualism of America.
I get so tired of “Destiny”. Why can’t someone just choose to do good and work hard?
Original Harry Potter was only sort of like this.
Fantastic Beasts was this to the Max!
Magical dumbledore blood!
#1 reason why the new Mulan sucks ass
Rey ~~”Nobody”~~ ~~Palpatine~~ Skywalker.
For more information, please see The Criticial Drinker, Why Modern Movies Suck: They Teach Bad Lessons
I feel like Katniss Everdeen, and most of the characters from the Hunger Games in fact, were poo people who rose to the occasion. No special powers or bloodlines, just the sheer will to survive, and to protect the ones they loved most.
Disney.
Rey Palpatine. Rian even tried to end it by saying she was no one and setting up the little kid at the end, but the Mouse slapped back.
Disney Star Wars made it official, only like 3 people matter in that whole galaxy.
Hey, that’s what they did to Dr who
Or think about Disney. Threy need to be an orphan to be able to be the main character. Or if they are not, later in story they become one. (*cough* Simba *cough*) So the message I get: you can not be main character or special unless you are an orphan.
Poo person lmfao this will live with me forever 🤣
I’m getting Rise of Skywalker vibes.
This is literally the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Steaming pile of dogshit
…. so I preface saying I didn’t read the last 3 books (I legit thought it was just a trilogy for the longest time), but the Red Rising series at least partially gets this and the whole “rebellion” motif right. It’s not super secret mystical powers, it’s essentially a terrorist organization that gives the protagonist the powers to pass as a “special” a la captain america.
Damn didn’t think I’d see the name Theophilia again. Found airpods on the road with that name on it and luckily they were the only person in the city with that name. So I told them I found the airpods they lost and gave it back.
They didn’t even say thank you 🙁 just took it and left.