Difference between Badass and Emo · 7:46am Feb 25th, 2013
This is a topic so far removed from ponies it isn't funny... but at the same time it is one that has always made me wonder. Why are some characters made out to be badasses but others, who do the same things, are emo?
SPOILER ALERT (for the people who have been living under a rock for the last 4 years).
***
***
***
***
***
***
Take for instance the example of Kratos from God of War.
...
...
...
Yeah, I don't like him. That being said I will more than admit the man is 18 different types of badass. But at the same time his little roaring rampage of revenge slaughters an extraordinary amount of innocent people which he gives absolutely no thought to. This is not even counting the atrocities that he committed against other nations when he was a Spartan.
Badass?
Pretty much undisputed.
Now let's look at another character. Sasuke from Naruto.
Yeah, I know, age old arguement of : How dare you class these two together!!! Kratos is so much more - blah blah blah.
I am looking at things as objectively as I can and as far as I see these two are pretty good comparisons. Kratos loses his family because of someone he trusted and is betrayed by the gods he was with, Sasuke loses his entire clan to someone he trusted, and later found out it was because of the village he trusted. Both go on to have their "I WILL HAVE REVENGE" moments. But one is Badass, and the other Emo.
...
...
...
I don't get it. Someone please explain. Some kind soul enlighten me.
Please and thank you.
So much explained in this image
Despite being a huge part of Kratos's narrative, the death of his family isn't the thing the gamer playing God of War is focused on. Because the majority of our time spent with Kratos is having him perform acts of badassery, it is easier to associate him with it. There are maybe two cutscenes at most that dwell on Kratos's tragic past, and those are quickly forgotten after a few minutes of high-octane action. He doesn't demand sympathy; heck, I feel like his wife and kid are better off dead than having a sociopath like him around, and because we see no need to feel sorry for him, we don't associate angst or eom with him and simply label him based on what we're most familiar with.
Sasuke, on the other hand, tends to draw attention to his past. His past was more tragic, sure, but we're constantly reminded about it. Every time he does something, it's because he's motivated by revenge, and he has to make sure everyone knows it. Because so much attention is drawn to it, his motivation loses impact on the audience, and it quickly becomes tiresome. When every badass act you're about to perform has to be followed up or begun with a flash about your brother or your dead parents, the badassery loses impact because it has to share the spotlight with angst.