5 characters who wouldn't exist in real life (and why) · 9:34pm Jan 29th, 2018
The difference between reality and fiction is that, well, fiction must make sense. And it’s not strange to be fond of certain archetypes or fictional character styles because they appeal to something internal that we cannot find in the real world: money, power, beauty...
Like this, but better.
But analyzing well, there are certain characters and personalities that, despite how attractive they are in the realm of fiction (I have to patent that term) would be a toothache deal with them and them in daily life.
For that reason, here I present my count of five styles and great archetypes in fiction, but why would give more than one headache to one in reality. I don’t advocate that they stop doing, but my goal is to analyze the reason why they would not fall so well if you came across them in front of you.
The Tsundere
I’ll say it it: I hate Tsunderes; for me, they are the most trite and worn character of Japanese fiction and although I understand that it’s fine for a character to have personality conflicts and to go from joy to anger, in the case of the Tsundere, they seem to be over-the-top.
For those who don’t know what they are, basically they are tough and hostile female characters on the outside but tender and with enormous insecurities inside... and to that add steroids and sociopath tendencies.
That is, of course, we all have nuances: we can’t be happy, depressed or thoughtful all the time, but most functional people have an internal control that helps to dominate our emotions, or at least, to wait to vent them in the right moment... the Tsundere does not, and that goes, not only does it not feel bad, but it seems to want to show with pride its beautiful character.
They say that men prefer them bastards... no, I’m sorry: I prefer someone who doesn’t hurt my physical integrity, thank you.
True love, ladies and gentlemen..
The Sarcastic Know-it-all
This type of characters, like Daria, Jeffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Squidward from SpongeBob and practically every character written by Joss Whedon, they have great lines (or simply, the best lines), and in a crazy world is hard NOT to put on your side.
But maybe because I’m already a responsible adult, and seeing those attitudes, I realize how teenager they are: how can I stand to be with someone who can’t see the kind (or at least not so fucked up) side of the situation? It’s as if they thought that we didn’t know what the hell is the world or as if they were the only ones who knew some great truth or revelation.
And arrogance: a difference between the sarcastic of fiction and those of real life is that at least those invented don’t self-proclaim "sarcastic": thinking that by showing you this way you are witty and funny it only makes you look arrogant, and unless you are Robert Downey Jr., arrogance does not go with you.
Maybe I "sold out", maybe I let my soul be crushed by real life, but I only know that dealing with a teenager like that, would consider sending a bill to congress to re-introduce conscription in minors.
The Manic Pixie Dream Girl
As much as I love (500) Days with Summer, I’ll be the first one to admit this character is unrealistic. For those who don’t know, these are cute, eccentric girls that keep great secrets of life and the splashing of new vitality comes the life of the men they know.
And don’t get me wrong: Zooey Deschannel (who practically defined this character) seems as cute and adorable as ever, but let’s analyze things well: the "Manic Pixie Dream Girls" are not deep characters, just a masculine fantasy of that a nice girl out of the ordinary (because these women are NEVER something less than models with thick lenses) will come to love you no matter how boring you are and fix your life in a short time. They have little to do with the stereotype of the dumb blondes: good looking dolls but with nothing to really contribute.
But leaving the sexist implications hidden aside, there’s something more: there are cases of teenagers, but in general, these characters are adult women, and reach a certain age in which you want or not, you must grow up and, although there’s always room for eccentricity, there’s a difference between watching cartoons at your 30’s and just not knowing how fucked up the world works.
In any case, those behaviors make me think that those who need their lives to be fixed, they are really, which is, curious: "New Girl" is about a bit about that, so it seems that many of us have already realized the truth: not to wear thick lenses and listen to "The Smiths" makes you know more about life.
The Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Almost universal fantasy, that’s it, just think about it: you can be rude and treacherous, but if you redeem yourself in the last minutes, you’re good! And everyone forgives you and loves you! Hurray!
But such attractiveness doesn’t hold in real life, and although a jerk with a heart of gold is better than just a jerk, in certain contexts it’s actually worse: you cannot count on characters like that, it’s simply impossible. We need proof of the people, and someone who may or may not be a traitor or may or may not make a mono detail for you doesn’t provide it: it's like gambling in a casino, only instead of money, the bet is your sanity (I lost, by the way).
The Naive or Frankly Stupid Hero
You don’t have to be a genius to do the right thing, or to know the difference between good and evil. But something happened in the realm of fiction, in which it seems that in many, MANY series and works, the fate of the world has to fall on the hands of someone with the mental capacity of a dead weasel or a TV-fan...
I can live with heroes who aren’t nuclear physicists, but can you imagine the fate of the world, or at least, of a nation depending on a complete imbecile?
Do I have to mention the horrible lesson it leaves to the public? "Thinking is bad, acting like an asshole is good". I don’t ask for doctorates, but maybe a strategy or a plan from time to time is effective, and I understand that we all want to see the "underdog" win, but when it comes to important things, I think it’s best to let the smart ones to take care of the situation while giving some distraction to the idiots who want to get their hands on something delicate and dangerous.
But what do you think? Let me know in the comments.
[quote}They say that men prefer them bastards... no, I’m sorry: I prefer someone who doesn’t hurt my physical integrity, thank you.I think what men really want is the bad girl. Which I was guilty of as well until i dated a few and understood why you stay the hell away from them.
My only comment to this was I had a few friends like that in college. While I appreciate how they got me into RPG's, and anime. It did get on my nerves after awhile as they talked down to me constantly. Everything had to have a comment which drove me nuts after awhile. In some ways nerds are even worse than jocks with their attitudes.
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Sorry for all that. Fortunately, we all grew up and now we can look back on those things and laugh at them, right?
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lol true.
I half agree with you on this. There is no person that has their entire personality based on one thing and is extremely based off of stereotypes. However, there are people who have parts of the characteristics you listed before (me being one of them) included in their personality. Also, there are tsunderes who are males as well.