{"id":4356,"date":"2016-04-18T11:26:20","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T17:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=4356"},"modified":"2016-04-18T11:26:20","modified_gmt":"2016-04-18T17:26:20","slug":"what-makes-a-hero-a-small-gripe-on-a-vox-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/04\/what-makes-a-hero-a-small-gripe-on-a-vox-article.html","title":{"rendered":"What makes a hero? A small gripe on a Vox article"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Hector's<\/a><\/p>\n

When I was in high school, I had an elective class on Greek mythology, and we learned about the concept of the Greek hero, then read a section from the Iliad about the death of Hector, in which Achilles sulks in his tent, his best friend* Patroclus tries to take his place and is killed, and Achilles then returns to the battle to seek vengence, kills the Trojan warrior Hector and drags his body around the city, then the Trojans mourn Hector\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

(* Yes, the equivalent class now probably talks about the two being gay lovers. \u00a0It was a different time.)<\/p>\n

Then we had a debate about which was the true \u201chero\u201d, Achilles or Hector? \u00a0Hector was nobler, and Achilles was a jerk \u2014 but that was, as I recall, part of the Greek concept of the hero, to have a \u201cfatal flaw.\u201d<\/p>\n

And think about modern storytelling and moviemaking. \u00a0(Yes, I know, I hardly ever actually read fiction, so most of my exposure to storytelling is in films.) \u00a0How many times have you read a review with the complaint that there\u2019s lots of action, or drama, or comedy, but the main character doesn\u2019t seem to grow or be transformed in the course of the film \u2014 either he or she is perfect to start with, and remains so, or is flawed, and doesn\u2019t overcome the flaws. \u00a0We expect the characters to overcome some difficulty, and be changed in the process. \u00a0Even in the superhero movies, we get Thor being sent to Earth because of his arrogance and temporarily being unworthy of lifting his hammer, and Tony Stark learning, over time, to be less of a self-centered womanizer, and the Avengers, as a group, learning to work together.<\/p>\n

Constance Grady at Vox doesn\u2019t seem to get this, and produces an article complaining that, as its title says, \u201cEvery semi-competent male hero has a \u200bmore talented\u200b female sidekick. Why isn\u2019t she the hero \u200binstead?<\/a>\u201d \u00a0She launches into a discussion of a series I\u2019ve never seen, The Magician<\/em>, but then generalizes:<\/p>\n

This approach is kind of a halfway-there response to feminism. We all know it\u2019s poor form to relegate your leading lady to the damsel-in-distress role, so let\u2019s make her competent! Actually, we\u2019ll do you one better: We\u2019ll make her more competent than the hero. Girl power! Guys are always such bumbling idiots, right, ladies? Except, you know, when it\u2019s important. When it\u2019s important, only a guy can get the job done.<\/p>\n

And so we have Hermione and her Mary Poppins bag singlehandedly keeping Harry and Ron alive all through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She wards their invisible tent, brews Polyjuice Potion, and hexes Harry into unrecognizability when they\u2019re captured \u2014 but it\u2019s Harry who kills Voldemort, of course.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s even a graphic, comparing<\/p>\n