Who Is The Hero And Who Is The Villain? · 8:32am Oct 4th, 2019
Who is the hero and who is the villain?
It’s a question as old as time itself. We ask it to ourselves with every book or show or movie we read or watch. Sometimes you get a clear answer. In MLP, it’s always obvious that Tirek or Chrysalis, or Sombra is the villain. It’s spelled in black and white for us much of the time.
But real life isn’t black and white. Real life is a gray area.
We all picture ourselves as the hero of our own story. We fight whatever evils come our way, we strive to reach our goals, we get the girl or guy we want. We’re exalted in our own minds because we are the main characters in our own stories. But what we often forget is that sometimes the main character isn’t a hero, but a villain.
Sometimes, the villain knows they are such. They take pride in it. They twirl voluminous mustaches, put Damsels in distress, and laugh maniacally at their plans. Other times, the villain is misguided to think they are the hero. They deflect blame for their actions onto others rather than themselves, they make cruel comments they later regret even though the damage has been done, and they believe “I’m Sorry” or “You know I love you” are cure-all words when they’re really like slapping a bandaid on a bullet wound.
Sometimes the villain who is misguided to think they are a hero becomes aware of their status. They try to change. Even if their efforts don’t necessarily prove fruitful, there is a sort of comfort in the idea that they tried. But there are villains who become aware and do not change. Who keep everything as it is because they cannot Look at themselves that way. They serve their own ego, and don’t care about anyone else.
Yet still, there is the villain who becomes aware, in some ways makes efforts to change, but in others refuses because they still want a scapegoat. They fall into the gray area of the inbetween. For some, they will always be a villain. For others, they become a tragic hero, unable to overcome their tragic flaw. But how they are defined is up to who is looking at them.
Real life is a gray area. We don’t get the luxury of black and white outlooks on life or the reassurance that our story will always end well. We cannot skip ahead and see the future, no matter how much we may wish to. And we cannot see through other people’s eyes as much as we might need to, because we were so involved with being the hero of our own stories that we forget we may be the villain in another person’s story.
In getting so caught up in our stories, we forget to look outside the mirror. We all look at ourselves so much and others so little. We forget to be kind, to show respect, and to have empathy. We forget that we all are, in fact, human, with weaknesses and fears and feelings and hopes and dreams. We forget to treat each other as such.
We must treat each other with Kindness, respect, empathy, and be there for each other. If we do not do these things we are no better than animals fighting one another for food. If you were wrong about something, own up to it, apologize, and change your behavior accordingly, because there is no shame in that. If you haven’t shown someone the respect they deserve, it’s not too late to start. If you were mean to or angry with someone and you haven’t asked their forgiveness and it’s weighing on you, there’s still time to change.
We only regret what we don’t do in this life. The choices we make in our journey shape us and each other. They make us into the hero or the villain, depending on the roads we take. But it is never too late to change your story if you want to. You aren’t locked into a single role in any story. You’re more than a scapegoat, a popular girl, a jock boy, a brony, a sidekick. You are a multifaceted and talented person with gifts and things to share with the world. You deserve a chance to do it and be proud of it. You deserve to become the hero you were born to be.
There’s a hero and a villain inside us all. Who do you choose to be?
This is... very deep.
Well....
Here is what a Soviet journalist, Mr. Vasily Grossman, said about this: "All men are capable of the same weaknesses. A good person will hold on to their misdeeds, while a bad person will be a proud of a single good deed."
Sunset Shimmer, to me, represents this attitude. She strives to be a better person and despite being annoyed by everyone bringing up her past, she at least accepts that others are angry at her.
I feel that those who want to change their ways are those who can be considered heroic. It is easy to attack someone else, it is harder to fight the evil within you.
Then there is the Anti-hero. They're often the main Antagonist, but they're fighting for a cause that, while just in their eyes, is against the flow of the story. They're not necessarily wrong in the cause they espouse over everything else, they're just on the wrong side of things; in their eyes, they are the Hero, ready to do anything to support their cause because of their belief they are justified and are honorable in their support for their cause. Japanese Anime loves using the anti-hero a lot.
The Philosophical Substitute: Discord
lesson 3