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Unconventional = Good

Anyone who analyzes enough entertainment media quickly begins to notice a few patterns. Every story has a (usually white and male) protagonist who, along with his band of supporting characters, faces some kind of conflict, defeats the villain, and lives happily ever after. This is (an oversimplified summary of) the Hero's Journey, that pervasive force which consigns so many stories to the dustbin of sameness. This common theme makes all media somewhat similar, but within specific genres there are many more of these similarities, so much so that one quickly realizes that the vast majority of stories are just a bunch of prefabricated parts assembled in a predictable order with a new coat of paint slapped on to trick people into thinking its something different. For evidence of this, I direct you to go to TV Tropes, an incredible database of fictional tropes (common elements found in many different pieces of media). Once you're there, find the page of a movie you like and scroll down to the list of tropes. It will soon become clear that every character, event, location, or plot twist in that movie can be found in a host of other films.

In this depressing sludge of similarity, the definition of a good movie, book, or any other story changes. It is not enough for a show to be dramatic, well-acted, or cleverly written. It must be different from its multitude of of predecessors. In fact, being different becomes a primary measure of quality. My enjoyment of media is based in very large part on how unconventional they are. The protagonists of a story almost never die, so when the movie Rogue One ended with all of its heroes dead it greatly enhanced my opinion of the film. Almost all protagonists are ultimately fighting for good, so of course I love the anime Death Note, whose main character is a narcissistic, murderous psychopath. Homestuck is one of my all time favorite pieces of entertainment media in large part because it defies description. It isn't really a webcomic, or an adventure game, or a video series. It's truly unique. And in this world of copy-pasted stories, that's all I can really ask for.

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  1. Sebastian BabinJanuary 8, 2018 at 6:48 AM

    I think since Star Wars was bought by Disney, Disney has attempted to diversify the protagonists as seen in The Force Awakens. Hopefully they started a movement towards this so other producers will join in.

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