Competition in "The Incredibles" and "Gundam Build Fighters"
I love the look and feel of The Incredibles, but I think the film stumbles with its thematic parts. The idea that the supers aren't allowed to exercise their special abilities out of jealousy doesn't follow from the film's backstory, where we see people complaining about Mr. Incredible's use of excessive force (or his basic heroism, in the case of the attempted suicide), or out of young Syndrome's rejection by Mr. Incredible -- Buddy wasn't rejected because he wasn't super; he was rejected -- properly -- because he was a child. Similarly, the film's thematic conclusion also doesn't quite fit; letting Dash race against his schoolmates seems dumb. The kid is so fast he can run on water; what's the point of racing against ordinary middle schoolers?
However, I might not have the proper mindset to appreicate the film's conclusion. In The Reactionary Mind, Corey Robin relates Chief Justice Antonin Scalia's love of competitive games as showcases of inequality. Robin argues that reactionaries believe leaders should be superior people, that they must continually prove their superiority, and that games are one (good?) way to do that. This might be the idea underlying The Incredibles, as the villainous Syndrome plots to "make everyone special," so that "no one will be special" any longer -- a sort of forced leveling or equalization. The film does kind of end on the point that regular folks *need* supers for protection, and are better off just getting out of their way. While winning his school race might not estalish Dash as a super, it might establish him as a superior child. However, the Parr's still want to preserve their secret identities (which doesn't fit with a reactionary interpretation), and so instruct Dash to finish the race in second place. Is that good enough to establish him as a superior child? If not, then I again wonder why bother with the silly race?
It's interesting to compare Dash's fixation on the school race with the competitive attitudes displayed in the two anime series Gundam Build Fighters, and Gundam Build Fighters Try. These shows definitely showcase superior talents, with a suitably appreciative audience, but the competitors themselves don't seem to care about flaunting their talents before the audience or about defeating their lessers. Instead, they long to confront *challenging* opponents, to face difficulties that push their talents to the limit, to develop their own strength for the sheer joy of growth. While these elites might not turn down opportunities to play with peons, I don't think that competitiveness would be a major part of the experience. In constrast, early in The Incredibles, Mother Parr scoffs at Dash's vow to conceal his superspeed in the race; he's a "very competitive boy," and presumably wouldn't be able to resist the urge to humiliate his opponents. I don't think that Dash is intended to be much younger than many of the Gundam Build Fighters characters, not even the protagonists, so I don't think we can excuse him on the basis of youthful exuberence. Gundam Build Fighters must be based on a different thematic foundation, a different concept of gaming and competition, something other than Robin's reactionary mind....
However, I might not have the proper mindset to appreicate the film's conclusion. In The Reactionary Mind, Corey Robin relates Chief Justice Antonin Scalia's love of competitive games as showcases of inequality. Robin argues that reactionaries believe leaders should be superior people, that they must continually prove their superiority, and that games are one (good?) way to do that. This might be the idea underlying The Incredibles, as the villainous Syndrome plots to "make everyone special," so that "no one will be special" any longer -- a sort of forced leveling or equalization. The film does kind of end on the point that regular folks *need* supers for protection, and are better off just getting out of their way. While winning his school race might not estalish Dash as a super, it might establish him as a superior child. However, the Parr's still want to preserve their secret identities (which doesn't fit with a reactionary interpretation), and so instruct Dash to finish the race in second place. Is that good enough to establish him as a superior child? If not, then I again wonder why bother with the silly race?
It's interesting to compare Dash's fixation on the school race with the competitive attitudes displayed in the two anime series Gundam Build Fighters, and Gundam Build Fighters Try. These shows definitely showcase superior talents, with a suitably appreciative audience, but the competitors themselves don't seem to care about flaunting their talents before the audience or about defeating their lessers. Instead, they long to confront *challenging* opponents, to face difficulties that push their talents to the limit, to develop their own strength for the sheer joy of growth. While these elites might not turn down opportunities to play with peons, I don't think that competitiveness would be a major part of the experience. In constrast, early in The Incredibles, Mother Parr scoffs at Dash's vow to conceal his superspeed in the race; he's a "very competitive boy," and presumably wouldn't be able to resist the urge to humiliate his opponents. I don't think that Dash is intended to be much younger than many of the Gundam Build Fighters characters, not even the protagonists, so I don't think we can excuse him on the basis of youthful exuberence. Gundam Build Fighters must be based on a different thematic foundation, a different concept of gaming and competition, something other than Robin's reactionary mind....