There is so much media and literature devoted to stories of hope and heroes.
It seems to be part of the Human culture. Why do you suppose that is?
It seems to be part of the Human culture. Why do you suppose that is?
Hope and Heroes
- Thread starter Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC
- Start date
Smart alek answer: Because stories of despair and losers don't sell very well! 
Human as compared to what? Our food? Our pets? Wild animals?
Seriously.
Cattle stand in the field all day wandering around munching on grass. Wow.
Chickens look for food and establish superiority before being eaten indiscriminately. Nice.
Dog waits for us to feed, water, potty it, and once in a while reestablish some artificial family/pack bond. Great.
Cats... cats don't give a rip about much - until they're hungry.
Birds on a branch, or on the telephone line, or in the park or parkinglot live and die like fish in the ocean.
Humans are... bizarre, to say the least.
We're generally opportunistic looking for either "the big catch" or trying to satisfy an insatiable need to endlessly produce something, which is essentially "the big catch" over and over again.
Either gross oversimplification renders an organism actively seeking information on how to achieve those very similar goals most efficiently. The former wants to do it once, the latter repeatedly.
So, we look for <too-to-toot your horn>: stories of hopes and heroes.
Maybe we can learn from what some other ape has done and recreate that same outcome for ourselves.
Caveman Ogg sees caveman Gugg strike rocks to make flame and fire. Gugg gets to bang cavegirl Lulu because he provides her with soft tasty meat.
Ogg gets nothing from Lulu's sister Bah because Ogg provides only the same tough extra-chewy raw meat everyone else has.
Maybe if Ogg could make a fire he'd be able to do more with Bah than look at her hairy tits and furry hindside!
Go Ogg, go!
GL, Ogg.
Go get some of that.
We're pretty much reading and watching hope and hero stories for the same thing today.
EDIT:
I think this is why people generally despise the cheats of deux ex machina solutions to impossible story constructs.
"God came down and saved their @sses".
No.
I think audiences enjoy seeing other people in legitimate, near-legit, and even fantastical situations - for the express purpose of seeing how they resolved the issue, either practically or guns-a-blazing.
We're harvesting solutions, or at least would like to, if even in some vestigial capacity.
Thus deux ex machina does us no good because surely God is not going to come down and put $100 of groceries in your cupboard and fridge.
No.
You and I wanna see how Braddock keeps his family from starving in CINDERELLA MAN or Chris Gardner keeps his son from starving in THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
What we don't want is some bag-O-cash to just magically appear with no consequences, rhyme or reason.
This is why we enjoy hopes and heroes stories.
Human as compared to what? Our food? Our pets? Wild animals?
Seriously.
Cattle stand in the field all day wandering around munching on grass. Wow.
Chickens look for food and establish superiority before being eaten indiscriminately. Nice.
Dog waits for us to feed, water, potty it, and once in a while reestablish some artificial family/pack bond. Great.
Cats... cats don't give a rip about much - until they're hungry.
Birds on a branch, or on the telephone line, or in the park or parkinglot live and die like fish in the ocean.
Humans are... bizarre, to say the least.
We're generally opportunistic looking for either "the big catch" or trying to satisfy an insatiable need to endlessly produce something, which is essentially "the big catch" over and over again.
Either gross oversimplification renders an organism actively seeking information on how to achieve those very similar goals most efficiently. The former wants to do it once, the latter repeatedly.
So, we look for <too-to-toot your horn>: stories of hopes and heroes.
Maybe we can learn from what some other ape has done and recreate that same outcome for ourselves.
Caveman Ogg sees caveman Gugg strike rocks to make flame and fire. Gugg gets to bang cavegirl Lulu because he provides her with soft tasty meat.
Ogg gets nothing from Lulu's sister Bah because Ogg provides only the same tough extra-chewy raw meat everyone else has.
Maybe if Ogg could make a fire he'd be able to do more with Bah than look at her hairy tits and furry hindside!
Go Ogg, go!
GL, Ogg.
Go get some of that.
We're pretty much reading and watching hope and hero stories for the same thing today.
EDIT:
I think this is why people generally despise the cheats of deux ex machina solutions to impossible story constructs.
"God came down and saved their @sses".
No.
I think audiences enjoy seeing other people in legitimate, near-legit, and even fantastical situations - for the express purpose of seeing how they resolved the issue, either practically or guns-a-blazing.
We're harvesting solutions, or at least would like to, if even in some vestigial capacity.
Thus deux ex machina does us no good because surely God is not going to come down and put $100 of groceries in your cupboard and fridge.
No.
You and I wanna see how Braddock keeps his family from starving in CINDERELLA MAN or Chris Gardner keeps his son from starving in THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
What we don't want is some bag-O-cash to just magically appear with no consequences, rhyme or reason.
This is why we enjoy hopes and heroes stories.
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