The Triumph of Humankind or the Idolization of it?
As a writer and a book and movie lover, not to mention a self-proclaimed amateur sociologist, I have noticed a trend in popular literature and film adaptations. So many plots emphasize a (usually female) hero, rescuing some future society from the ravages of an evil dictator or dictatorial system. One book expands into a series and into a movie and into a movie series. The audiences demand more.
It's really nothing new. Super heroes have done the same thing for generations. The western genre has its good guys in white hats defeating the outlaws in black hats. War movies depict heroes, with few if any faults of their own, vanquishing rebels.
I do believe our current generation has taken things a step farther, though, thanks to the explosion of technological advances. Our generation of kids does not have to play cops and robbers with sticks or even toy guns. They can create their own world in video games in which they enter a realistic existence completely different than our own.
Entertainment has always been a way to release ourselves from the burdens we are bearing. There is nothing wrong with that. And, like it or not, that entertainment has and probably will always present humankind as the ultimate hero. Even our interpretation of historical events has been slighted by our desire to hide the bad while emphasizing the good.
However, I have to wonder if our obsession with worlds in which we conquer unconquerable villains, if our obsession with creating worlds so unlike our own is truly healthy. Have we reached the ultimate point of believing our own logic, our own scientific skills can eradicate all evils and produce a utopia in which only positive thoughts and life exists? Are we in such denial of our own downfalls that we resort to escapism?
Have our own accomplishments finally reached the point of idolization? Are we idolizing worlds that do not exist, believing we will eventually create them in life as we do on computer screens? Are we building our own tower of Babels and proclaiming how infinite we are?
Hiding the bad and emphasizing our own strengths has evolved throughout the generations. I used to believe our society was gaining momentum in this area, because we no longer hide abuses and injustices the way previous generations have. However, I am beginning to wonder if we are
developing into a people that masks such evils under the guise of being able to create our own worlds.
It's really nothing new. Super heroes have done the same thing for generations. The western genre has its good guys in white hats defeating the outlaws in black hats. War movies depict heroes, with few if any faults of their own, vanquishing rebels.
I do believe our current generation has taken things a step farther, though, thanks to the explosion of technological advances. Our generation of kids does not have to play cops and robbers with sticks or even toy guns. They can create their own world in video games in which they enter a realistic existence completely different than our own.
Entertainment has always been a way to release ourselves from the burdens we are bearing. There is nothing wrong with that. And, like it or not, that entertainment has and probably will always present humankind as the ultimate hero. Even our interpretation of historical events has been slighted by our desire to hide the bad while emphasizing the good.
However, I have to wonder if our obsession with worlds in which we conquer unconquerable villains, if our obsession with creating worlds so unlike our own is truly healthy. Have we reached the ultimate point of believing our own logic, our own scientific skills can eradicate all evils and produce a utopia in which only positive thoughts and life exists? Are we in such denial of our own downfalls that we resort to escapism?
Have our own accomplishments finally reached the point of idolization? Are we idolizing worlds that do not exist, believing we will eventually create them in life as we do on computer screens? Are we building our own tower of Babels and proclaiming how infinite we are?
Hiding the bad and emphasizing our own strengths has evolved throughout the generations. I used to believe our society was gaining momentum in this area, because we no longer hide abuses and injustices the way previous generations have. However, I am beginning to wonder if we are
developing into a people that masks such evils under the guise of being able to create our own worlds.
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