Stuggling to be empathetic towards so many new main characters...

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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It seems like so many more recent movies/TV have characters, plots, and circumstances that make it hard for me to desire to connect with them. It isn't unusual that I may begin to desire that the "protagonist" lose, however that may be.

In a lot of movies/TV the only reason you can end up ethically supporting many characters is because you find out the antagonist is bad in some unforgivable way. But what's so odd is the protagonist often doesn't know what you know, and under any other circumstances they'd be simply wrong.

The protagonist is often taking a position of being an entitled, whiny, selfish creatures, and the film is built around supporting that.




I don't know for sure, but maybe awhile back a seed was planted with this youtube video, or maybe it just came to me anyways.

I'm rather tired of the assumption that if someone is trying to arrest you, civilian, MP, whatever... that automatically gives you some ethical reason to end their life. As if they know the plot and/or any wrong doings they could be projecting.

Recently I've been watching The Crossing. Basically the entire time I think that the Apex lady should be killed with extreme prejudice. I don't see how her life and the life of a girl who could end humanity, is really worth the risk and so many lives of others she takes. The sheriff seems to think she is good at heart, but thus far she has only show that she selfishly cares only for the little girl. It would be nice if they could cure the little girl whom is innocent, but all in all... No complaints that they have captured her, and even less would come out of me if someone off'd that awful bitch.

Another series is The Rain. While super scary, it seems prudent that they really should be doing all they can to save the world. At least that's how it appears. Were I the boy who could save everyone with my sacrifice, I would do it even though I'd be pretty sour about it. We only find out that the corporation has ulterior motives at the end, but none of the protagonist know this... all they really know is how to be as self serving as possible with no regard for anyone else. They aren't even smart enough to be distrusting. This one isn't as bad as The Crossing, but I still get the same feeling.

What is with this trend? The shows make it appear like whomever has the higher supposed ethical ground, is the only one with any rights to life. These ethical grounds seem to be related to whomever projects the most crying as a victim, or something - I'm often not sure at all what gives it to them aside from the camera following them the most. Obviously throughout cinematic history there has been a lot of "justified" killing of certain groups, like nazi soldiers, or anyone that isn't a U.S. soldier, etc... but we seem to have what feels like a new class of justification based on some sort of new variation of a whiny protagonist.
 

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