I found this link on Substack. The creator is Ted Gioia, who writes on The Honest Broker.
Ted begins this essay with Don Quixote, and links the would-be knight to the Star Wars franchise.
Now, Star Wars and other action heroes franchises are currently teetering on the verge of collapse. That’s not because the yearning for a hero is over.
Rather, that’s because the manufacturers of the movies have lost touch with the underlying motivation of the audiences to spend their time with the stories.
They want a hero. They enjoy the idea that ordinary men (and women) can rise to an occasion of need, and face overwhelming odds against them, and yet, not give up.
That’s the common theme of so many of the most successful movies:
- StarWars
- Spider-Man
- Superman
- Batman
- Die Hard
- The Hobbits and other characters in LOTR
- Walking Tall
- All the President’s Men
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Sargent York
- The Alamo
- Finding Private Ryan
It’s probably one of the most ancient desires of humankind. We will forgive a lot of flaws in those that are willing to defend their people till the end. That is why the campaign by the Leftists to disassociate reciprocal loyalty on the part of women was so devastating to families and the culture.
Why was Superman (the 1978 version) such a shock for Hollywood?
They MEANT the movie to be seen ironically. In subsequent movies, they incorporated increasing levels of “wink, wink, we’re playing this for laughs” scripting.
Didn’t matter. Christopher Reeves played Superman straight, and kept the story alive. Without him, the movies would have flopped.
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