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> And no, you can't just become one of the special superheroes. Both are aiming to pacify the target society. Worse: You aren't such a superhero, but by rando
by mcpackieh 3y ago
> And no, you can't just become one of the special superheroes. Both are aiming to pacify the target society.
Worse: You aren't such a superhero, but by random chance you might be chosen to become one and you are invited to imagine yourself in that situation. Any common person who might want to limit your hypothetical powers is an awful bigot and many of the stories revolve around tension between those with powers who would oppress the plebs vs those with powers who wish to benevolently rule over the plebs (but certainly not cede their power to them.) Also, when the superheroes abuse their position and power it's okay when they're motivated by good intentions, because the ends justify the means and they'll surely revert back to being good once the crisis is over. Power doesn't corrupt everybody who gets it, you can trust the good superheroes with their unchecked power.
All of this mirrors the way Americans are encouraged to think about the ultra-rich, encouraged to believe they might randomly join the ranks of the ultra rich one day. Encouraged to believe that they could be a good and benevolent billionaire, and that the plebs who would limit their wealth are harmful bigots. Taught to believe that the meaningful conflict is between the good billionaires who would benevolently rule, opposed to the bad ones who can only be kept in check by the good ones.
- darkmarmot 3y agoBetter: shows like "The Boys" at least provide a gruesome window into "realistic" superhero behavior in a corporate hellscape.
- Mainan_Tagonist 3y agoAnd The Watchmen long before that
- c_crank 3y agoReality: Americans have not been ruled by the superhero-like ultra rich for decades, and are starting to notice that little is improving and much is getting worse.
- BartjeD 3y agoI think a lot improved for the countless people who got medicaid. When you assert something hasn't improved, it tells me it hasnt improved according to your personal criteria. I suspect those dont cover the wellfare and health of your society.
- c_crank 3y agoHow many people would be willing to trade medicaid for something as simple as inflation reduction, I wonder?
- lgeorget 3y agoAren't all recent US presidents ultra-rich?
- consilient 3y agoNo. Most were in the $1-10 million net worth range before taking office. Former presidents, of course, can easily make tens of millions on book sales and speaking fees. But that's still small time compared to the owners of major firms.
- CatWChainsaw 3y agoThat's because the ultra-rich figured out how to buy the politicians, so they're not the ones "in charge" and don't take the blame.
- c_crank 3y agoThe politicians the ultra rich buy are the ones pushing policy in the opposite direction of Elon Musk.
- CatWChainsaw 3y ago.... I looked back to the very root comment for any mention of Musk. Why did you mention him? What relevance does he have? What point are you trying to make?
- worrycue 3y ago> many of the stories revolve around tension between those with powers who would oppress the plebs vs those with powers who wish to benevolently rule over the plebs (but certainly not cede their power to them.) Except not really. The most popular superheroes like Spider-Man has nothing of that sort going on. The tension in his story is the balance of his duty to use his gifts for good (with great power comes great responsibility) and the demands of his everyday life - with the latter often suffering to his detriment. On DC’s side, Batman is probably the most popular. Frankly, Batman is more a plot device than a character, the most interesting characters in his stories are the villains. Heck, in most cases, their super powers are not transferable.