The reverance for badass characters
General Discussion
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The reverance for badass characters
Many people just love badasses (not the literal kind though). And it seems that many of the people who love badasses, equate that word with constipated and insecure personalities.
Like Scorpion being thought of by some as better than Johnny Cage, because he's a hot-headed spear-throwin' ninja who tells people to get over here when he nabs them, whereas Johnny is an Hollywood, sunglasses-wearing pretty boy who makes jokes at inappropriate moments. But quite frankly, the fact that Johnny is how he is, and is still brave enough to take on a thug like Kano, or a beast like Motaro, makes him seem superior to Scorpion, to me. Scorpion's whole personality pretty much screams "look how badass I am!!! LOOOOOOK!!" while Johnny, on the other hand, seems much more relaxed with himself. A bit too cocky at times, but still, he's comfortable in his own skin.
For another example, I found Raiden to be a better character than Solid Snake. The Snake fanboys back when MGS2 came out were so pathetically insecure, and going on and on about Snake being so manly and Raiden an effeminate faggot, it was hilarious (and infuriating). The Snake character himself is alright, though I don't really like his macho mannerisms. Peach kicking his ass in SSB: Brawl was awesome.
There seems to be this rule that badasses can't look too colorful (like wearing pink) or sexy (Like Jill Valentine's design in Resident Evil 3 being "whorish" and "trashy", yet more cases of sexual hangups). They have to to be serious (more like, stuck up) in every way, from design, to attitude, to body language. MKX's Cassie, to the chagrin of some, acts like a teeny booper instead of a "battle-hardened spec op", because she chews gum and walks in a "girly" manner (like that doesn't reek of sexism). To me, if badasses really are as tough as some claim, they should be completely relaxed with themselves, in the way they dress, and act. So why would a badass be deathly afraid of being caught wearing pink or "girly" clothing, like some of the people who admire "badasses" (a specific type of them) seem to think? Cassie, imo, acts as someone confident in her abilities as a soldier, and who doesn't need to act all Michelle Rodriguez to prove it.
These are just observations. For the record, I do like certain characters that might fit this popular definition of a badass, like Samus Aran, and the Punisher. I say might because quite frankly, the Punisher's personality just seems natural to me. Him wearing black, a skull on his chest, and keeping his hair short, doesn't seem like him trying desperatly to look "badass", it's just how he naturally is.
So, why do people want "badasses" to act and look a certain way?
Like Scorpion being thought of by some as better than Johnny Cage, because he's a hot-headed spear-throwin' ninja who tells people to get over here when he nabs them, whereas Johnny is an Hollywood, sunglasses-wearing pretty boy who makes jokes at inappropriate moments. But quite frankly, the fact that Johnny is how he is, and is still brave enough to take on a thug like Kano, or a beast like Motaro, makes him seem superior to Scorpion, to me. Scorpion's whole personality pretty much screams "look how badass I am!!! LOOOOOOK!!" while Johnny, on the other hand, seems much more relaxed with himself. A bit too cocky at times, but still, he's comfortable in his own skin.
For another example, I found Raiden to be a better character than Solid Snake. The Snake fanboys back when MGS2 came out were so pathetically insecure, and going on and on about Snake being so manly and Raiden an effeminate faggot, it was hilarious (and infuriating). The Snake character himself is alright, though I don't really like his macho mannerisms. Peach kicking his ass in SSB: Brawl was awesome.
There seems to be this rule that badasses can't look too colorful (like wearing pink) or sexy (Like Jill Valentine's design in Resident Evil 3 being "whorish" and "trashy", yet more cases of sexual hangups). They have to to be serious (more like, stuck up) in every way, from design, to attitude, to body language. MKX's Cassie, to the chagrin of some, acts like a teeny booper instead of a "battle-hardened spec op", because she chews gum and walks in a "girly" manner (like that doesn't reek of sexism). To me, if badasses really are as tough as some claim, they should be completely relaxed with themselves, in the way they dress, and act. So why would a badass be deathly afraid of being caught wearing pink or "girly" clothing, like some of the people who admire "badasses" (a specific type of them) seem to think? Cassie, imo, acts as someone confident in her abilities as a soldier, and who doesn't need to act all Michelle Rodriguez to prove it.
These are just observations. For the record, I do like certain characters that might fit this popular definition of a badass, like Samus Aran, and the Punisher. I say might because quite frankly, the Punisher's personality just seems natural to me. Him wearing black, a skull on his chest, and keeping his hair short, doesn't seem like him trying desperatly to look "badass", it's just how he naturally is.
So, why do people want "badasses" to act and look a certain way?
I think it has more to do with recent developments in both history, media and taste.
There seems to be a strong resurgence of nostalgia, mainly towards the clean cut cookie-cutter products of the 80''s and lately, the 90's. And by this I mean look around, Turtles, Batman, Transformers etc.
Each of these were produced mainly as products (aside perhaps from the same way Batman) and reflect the nature of accepted social archetypes, and one of these was the MANLY man. Why do we harken back to these?
Easy - > the 90's and then after 9/11 the world seemed to be a lot more darker and aimless than before (yeah, I am counting the nuclear threat in the 80's). And this also reflected in popular culture. The morally and value-ambiguous protagonists do not give clear pathways by which we can LIVE THROUGH them. At least not obviously or clearly at first glance.
Why do we love Commander Shepard, Solid Snake, Optimus Prime, etc? Because we like being in control. All of these characters despite their inner turmoil are collected individuals, and frankly, that is what we want to be.
Connect this with awe inspiring feats of strenghts etc. and you have a natural recipe for RESIDENT BADASS.
* * *
TLDR: it is naturally more appealing for a human to see collected, in control individuals as heroes because it is our born predisposition to be collected and powerful individuals. We aspire to have calm, and have power.
* * *
Sidenote: the reason why characters like Edweard and Bella / Lestat etc. worked is because they were different from the established norm. Well, in those particular cases, it was a repeptition: people were complaining about Anne Rice and Interview with a Vampire for gaying up vampires. Same thing happened before.
The whole thing is complex as hell, and let me not get into stuff like the Japanese concept of manlyness, which has fuckall to do with Duke Nukemesque characters. Those do NOT work in Japan. FPS games do NOT work in Japan.
because they have an entirely different notion of badass.
There seems to be a strong resurgence of nostalgia, mainly towards the clean cut cookie-cutter products of the 80''s and lately, the 90's. And by this I mean look around, Turtles, Batman, Transformers etc.
Each of these were produced mainly as products (aside perhaps from the same way Batman) and reflect the nature of accepted social archetypes, and one of these was the MANLY man. Why do we harken back to these?
Easy - > the 90's and then after 9/11 the world seemed to be a lot more darker and aimless than before (yeah, I am counting the nuclear threat in the 80's). And this also reflected in popular culture. The morally and value-ambiguous protagonists do not give clear pathways by which we can LIVE THROUGH them. At least not obviously or clearly at first glance.
Why do we love Commander Shepard, Solid Snake, Optimus Prime, etc? Because we like being in control. All of these characters despite their inner turmoil are collected individuals, and frankly, that is what we want to be.
Connect this with awe inspiring feats of strenghts etc. and you have a natural recipe for RESIDENT BADASS.
* * *
TLDR: it is naturally more appealing for a human to see collected, in control individuals as heroes because it is our born predisposition to be collected and powerful individuals. We aspire to have calm, and have power.
* * *
Sidenote: the reason why characters like Edweard and Bella / Lestat etc. worked is because they were different from the established norm. Well, in those particular cases, it was a repeptition: people were complaining about Anne Rice and Interview with a Vampire for gaying up vampires. Same thing happened before.
The whole thing is complex as hell, and let me not get into stuff like the Japanese concept of manlyness, which has fuckall to do with Duke Nukemesque characters. Those do NOT work in Japan. FPS games do NOT work in Japan.
because they have an entirely different notion of badass.
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