Any character with the 'chosen one' trope instantly loses my support. No exceptions.
Authors and filmmakers are absolutely retarded in thinking that the common person could identify with 'the only child of two powerful wizards who died protecting him and giving him a unique scar that grants him special protection who can speak to snakes or the last surviving member of an ancient house of powerful dragon-riders who can walk into fires unhurt and go around in a continent full of rapists and liars without so much as a slap in the face''.
How the hell am I supposed to identify and sympathize with Harry Potter? How is this supposed to make anyone feel closer or root for the character? Let me put it to you this way: if Harry Potter were a banking movie I'd be rooting for the 1%. The worst part about it is that there is no alternative whatsoever to the 'chosen one' trope.Young adult garbage with the protagonist formula of 'has at least 1 dead parent, looks beautiful but thinks he/she is average-looking and is unaware of multiple romantic interests'' just makes it a whole lot worse since it's a subversion of the 'common man' in the sense that the protagonist is actually a special snowflake.
Nolan Walker
You say that it's impossible to identify with Harry Potter when there's an entire generation that treats JK's mealticket like the fucking gospel. It doesn't matter that Harry's a walking plot device devoid of personality or agency who has friends and mentors help him every step of the way, he's still the blank slate that millennials the world over have chosen to project themselves onto.
Everyone wants to be the special chosen one hero that's going to defeat the big bad and be remembered forever. Or, a snowflake.
Colton Richardson
Why the fuck do you need to identify with the character? Movies are a time sink until we die, not vicarious wish fulfilment.
But I agree, generally speaking, and add "The prophecy foretells…" It's bullshit and you instantly know the ending.
Zachary Reyes
You don't, but a self insert protagonist is popular and easy enough to be in most every medium. Neo, Master Chief, Mario, Link, Harry Potter, Twilight Chick, 50 Shades Chick, Luke, you get the picture. Objective blank slates through which you the observer/gamer/reader/etc can explore the world.
James Hernandez
I honestly didn't know anyone other than children and probably women did that. Media is just a way to waste time you're not using to be productive to me.
Nathan Perez
The common man is boring. We need extraordinary men for our escapism
Ian Myers
what if he's chosen to be common?
Ayden Anderson
A movie where it focuses in the follower or friend of the chosen one?
Any movies like that?
Xavier James
Everyone is common, accepting the fate of being common is for normies.
Camden Garcia
This is true, but Girls can identify with her, because I bet they all think themselves hot and smart Anyone who can't identify with Harry subconsciously idenitifies with him and guess what? He gets the hot girl at the end. He looks bad, he is clumsy and an idiot, and slowly turns into a really handsome hero.
As for GoT, it had characters whom you could identify, but they have all died or bowed down to Queen Fatass…
Isaac Gutierrez
Hermione isn't hot in the books (real life is debatable).
Henry Mitchell
...
Joseph Roberts
This isn't a book board, nigger
Chase Wood
no! everyone will love my chosen one! I don't care if I have to kill the whole industry to make it so!
Tyler Nguyen
how did she balloon up like this? Was it on purpose? Did she slim back down for more games of porn?
Xavier Lewis
...
Charles Bailey
That would be nice.
Julian Adams
Lord of the rings.
Colton Allen
I've always wanted to make a game like that, somewhat like FF12. But the guy you play as for the first 3/4ths """'dies""" and protomans, returns as the big villain and you have to take on your (assumably) minmaxed character.
Sadly it'd only work once and when walkthroughs came out "don't level him up" guides would appear.
Justin Smith
well, some of them are
Matthew Fisher
You could make it that somehow the chosen one's stats are transfered to the new hero.
Charles Sullivan
eh I want it more that the chosen one that you spent all this time levelling up becomes an unbeatable monster. Sort of like if Auron switched sides and you had to take him out with Wakka
Liam Allen
I like it when the story tires to fool the audience into thinking the main character is the chosen one only to reveal he was a common man all along or for the chosen one to bite it so the unlikely hero now must save the day without plot armor or divine intervention.
Jaxon Lee
did someone say Chosen One?
John Adams
I like the idea of the chosen one succumbing to the pressure and pulls an Anakin and the unlikely hero fighting him. But maybe he joins the hero early and get similar stats in the beginning?
Xavier Barnes
ahh now that's good, and they can mustafar it up later
Landon Davis
stand aside faggot.
Joshua Turner
...
Hudson Jenkins
I'll sum this up for you:
Women love "chosen one" plots because they empathize with it. Women start out for the most part young, fertile, thin and attractive and have loads of attention diverted their way compared to the average man. This is why most of these stories deal with unwanted attention and dismissal of the form "wow so you are X? I want your autograph/ you aren't as good as I thought you would be". In the middle the protagonist faces some kind of challenge. What gets them through it is friends, love or hope for a better future. These are what primarily motivate women; men to a lesser extent. For instance, loyal friends could come in to help at an opportune time or inner strength is found through love for a prince etc. In the end the protag gets ahead of where they started through these means and now live a much better and happier life compared to where they were before: marrying the prince, making lifelong friends, becoming a more caring loving person.
Men love the "self made one" plots because they empathize with it. Men start out with nothing, with all the hot girls ignoring them and only upon adulthood start accumulating sufficient social skills and capital to date the women they want to. This is why most of the stories deal with rejection/falling to the lowest point and climbing back out: "fuck you loser, you aint shit". In the middle the protagonist overcomes challenges and what gets them through are the skills accumulated along the journey or the strength of their own willpower. The rugged self dependence of these protagonists is what primarily motivates men, women to a lesser extent. For instance, rocky goes on to nearly beat apollo, Simon goes from being a nerdy loser reject to facing God with a gigantic drill fuelled by willpower. In the end the protagonist gets ahead of where they were before but often the ending is tragic/bittersweet: winning what they wanted, but losing something they didn't think about in the process. But for the most part they make a name for themselves.
Logan King
Berserk.
Samuel Bailey
A lot of anime intended for males has this.
Andrew Baker
Anime aimed at children, ergo women.
Owen Green
...
Brandon Bennett
Some seinen anime has it too. I still like it anyway
Cameron Watson
if films could cut this shit out, it would be a lot better.
Leo Murphy
I'm always puzzled by this need to lower the heroes down to my level. What's the fucking point?
Why not make an effort to make the characters likeable so the audience can become emotionally invested in them?
Jeremiah Morgan
who knows
tbh this shit works much better in a comic book. marvel tends to have its superheroes excel at kicking crime's ass, yet they struggle with day-to-day experiences.
Gabriel White
I've been reading Aristotle's Poetics, and he says one of the keys to successful drama is to make the protagonists basically good people of high station – the kind of people we look up to. The whole "relatable protagonist" thing seems very contrary to that.
Ethan Nelson
aristotle definitely has it right. that's why star trek works so well, you didn't relate to captain kirk, you watched him be the fucking boss and inspire young men to become men of action as well. that's also what nu trek threw out the window.
Luke Garcia
I think it's part of the Gold Star For Everyone ideal. People need things to aspire to, not the "Beautiful People" concept, but things you might call spiritually fulfilling (Not necessarily religious). Becoming a better person / citizen, learning a craft or trade, even just finishing something you started. Instead we got aspirational TV like One Tree Hill or Beverly Hills 90210. Then we got shows that just say "Fuck it, don't bother trying to be better, you're all great."
Xavier Thompson
...
John Myers
I do this with harem anime tbh.
Jeremiah Martinez
Harem is trash.
Adam Murphy
I know. It's just a fantasy.The anime I posted isn't even a true harem anime.
Colton Cruz
At least it isn't some kike tranny.
Austin Richardson
That's what I hate about Spiderman. He has superpowers, but can't pay Aunt May's mortgage. Rob a drug lord, asshole.
Jaxson Diaz
British people and most European countries have a long history of monarchy, wherein the person in power is chosen and special from birth and is given the right to govern everyone else because of muh divine right of kings. Conversely in the US there is a rejection of the monarchy and instead the focus is put on exceptional individuals who prove their worth through words and actions but remain in touch with their common side. And they're usually pitted against those in power who are cruel or uncaring, but weak once they lose the power they've acquired. Obviously this doesn't apply to everything or everyone, but the reason some people can get behind the chosen one and others can't is their opinion (whether it's a conscious one or not) on stuff like monarchy and the right of kings and rulers to wield power. Other shit that followed Harry Potter is probably more influenced by that than the monarchy idea though. inb4 a myriad of exceptions to this theory. It's just something to think about
Gavin Sanchez
wew
Angel Davis
I'm not American or European, so I'm not trying to imply anything in favour of one or the other. But yes, it is Europeans who create "chosen one" stories because those stories existed before the Americas were even discovered.
Caleb Bell
Obviously, they exist in several different cultures and most of the western chosen ones are based on the kike messiah.
Bentley Fisher
But we don't believe we're chosen by god to rule the America's. We believe it's our destiny to rule them because we're better than all the others who inhabit the two continents.
Parker Lee
the true chosen one will kill all the jews
Christopher Lopez
Manifest destiny was majorly about inherent godliness giving burgers the right to inhabit the land, mate. And it doesn't really matter if the destiny stems from God or virtuousness based on made-up principles.
Kayden Stewart
Wait why did you pick a picture of Stannis Baratheon then? Its implied he's not actually Azor Ahai but is doing this because of his duty as the rightful king of Westeros and he gives a shit about the people.
Jacob Cooper
Since all but the tiniest minority ever get to be monarch, the chosen one plot should be even harder to relate to. If anything Americans should have an easier time relating since some lowly peasant boy can potentially become President.
Leo Watson
I like stories where "the chosen one" or "saviour" is just some asshole who gets wrapped up in a situation he wants nothing to do with.
Adam Parker
OP is a grill….they need to identify with someone on the screen rather then watch the story unfold. That's why we have blank brunette noneednoman type always
Nolan Morgan
Baldur's Gate 2 did it well. "you are the chosen oneeee!"
"also these 500 other guys, hey don't blame me, blame your dad's genitals"
Kayden Gonzalez
I will tolerate magical prophecies in fantasy. But not in science fiction. Prophecies and “Chosen Ones” are the favorite band aids of horrible writers, to cover up their horrible writing. Star Wars prequels, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, etc, etc.
Nathaniel Edwards
This is how you spot someone who hasn't read a book in his life.
Jack Wright
They are completely different genres. The fact that you didn't know that means that you are part of the problem. Stores putting cyberpunk on the same bookshelf as Lord of the Rings is utterly retarded.
Connor Rodriguez
You just continue proving your functional illiteracy and massive plebianness.