A bunch of discussion topics
Meta on fandom's fetish for "calling out" characters. Written ages ago but thoughts are appreciated.
So many years back, someone on a forum said their problem with Miaka is that a lot of people like her even though she doesn't "earn it". "You want adoration, you earn it" were her exact words, even. And sometimes other characters get hit with that stick. Mai and Aang didn't do anything to "earn" or "deserve" being loved by Zuko and Katara, Aang didn't "earn" his happy ending because he didn't kill Ozai, Ninian isn't Action Girl enough to be "worthy" of Eliwood, Orihime isn't "strong" enough to "deserve" Ichigo's love, "weak" characters who "don't do anything" (read: characters who don't kick everyone's ass every five minutes) are bashed for being "useless". Korra didn't deserve to get her bending back because "all she did was cry". (AFAIK, I never saw that episode)
Granted, I know some things DO have to be earned. Victories, trust, positions of power. And sometimes it IS annoying to see a character so loved by all even if they do nothing but bitch and whine and treat people like crap (Christian Grey, for a personal example). But like a lot of things, fans take this too far. Miaka doesn't deserve to be loved by a lot of people because she's a schoolgirl and not some kickass warrior woman. The girly girls in so-called "love triangles" aren't good enough for the boy. If someone doesn't suffer and break a million times in order to obtain something, they don't deserve it.
In fact, that brings me to the final topic: Suffering, and how it apparently makes some characters better than others. Again with Fushigi Yuugi, back in the day people bashed Miaka because she had it easier than Yui, who went through hell. The Seiryuu Seishi were considered "deeper" because they all had the most tragic pasts while the Suzaku Seishi were somewhat more well-adjusted even in the face of their own traumas. Team Rocket stans deride Ash and his friends for having a good go of it, while proclaiming TR to be "so noble" and "much deeper" because of their troubled childhoods. All while completely ignoring that Miaka and Ash HAVE been through some shit of their own. Just because Miaka didn't try to kill herself or Ash wasn't oppressed by a Jessiebelle doesn't make them "boring" or flat.
I get that suffering builds character and conflict is the essence of storytelling, but there is such thing as overkill. True Art is Angsty, Deus Angst Machina and Diablous Ex Machina come to mind-just because something is dark and angsty and full of pain doesn't make it better.
Thoughts?
So many years back, someone on a forum said their problem with Miaka is that a lot of people like her even though she doesn't "earn it". "You want adoration, you earn it" were her exact words, even. And sometimes other characters get hit with that stick. Mai and Aang didn't do anything to "earn" or "deserve" being loved by Zuko and Katara, Aang didn't "earn" his happy ending because he didn't kill Ozai, Ninian isn't Action Girl enough to be "worthy" of Eliwood, Orihime isn't "strong" enough to "deserve" Ichigo's love, "weak" characters who "don't do anything" (read: characters who don't kick everyone's ass every five minutes) are bashed for being "useless". Korra didn't deserve to get her bending back because "all she did was cry". (AFAIK, I never saw that episode)
Granted, I know some things DO have to be earned. Victories, trust, positions of power. And sometimes it IS annoying to see a character so loved by all even if they do nothing but bitch and whine and treat people like crap (Christian Grey, for a personal example). But like a lot of things, fans take this too far. Miaka doesn't deserve to be loved by a lot of people because she's a schoolgirl and not some kickass warrior woman. The girly girls in so-called "love triangles" aren't good enough for the boy. If someone doesn't suffer and break a million times in order to obtain something, they don't deserve it.
In fact, that brings me to the final topic: Suffering, and how it apparently makes some characters better than others. Again with Fushigi Yuugi, back in the day people bashed Miaka because she had it easier than Yui, who went through hell. The Seiryuu Seishi were considered "deeper" because they all had the most tragic pasts while the Suzaku Seishi were somewhat more well-adjusted even in the face of their own traumas. Team Rocket stans deride Ash and his friends for having a good go of it, while proclaiming TR to be "so noble" and "much deeper" because of their troubled childhoods. All while completely ignoring that Miaka and Ash HAVE been through some shit of their own. Just because Miaka didn't try to kill herself or Ash wasn't oppressed by a Jessiebelle doesn't make them "boring" or flat.
I get that suffering builds character and conflict is the essence of storytelling, but there is such thing as overkill. True Art is Angsty, Deus Angst Machina and Diablous Ex Machina come to mind-just because something is dark and angsty and full of pain doesn't make it better.
Thoughts?