Storytelling Apocalypse

I once upon a time read or heard that in it's original meaning, the word 'apocalypse' is some kind of revelation, an uncovering of something that was once hidden or unknown. That's not the meaning I had in mind when writing the title of today's post.

_{source: Max Pixel}

The meaning I had in mind was that of a catastrophic ending; if the quality of storytelling in modern films and television series is anything to go by, we're witnessing the death of storytelling. The reasons for this are many, but most prominent are the need for these stories to fill seats in the theater and the unfortunate reality that these stories are being used more and more as a form of social and political commentary. Now, there's nothing wrong with a little, or even a lot of social messaging in your story, as long as it's done in the right way, and as long as it's not forced. That is to say: the story comes first, and the message is a side-effect.

The easiest way to do it, is to simply make the story entirely about the message you want to convey; American History X and Guess Who's Coming To Dinner with starring roles by Edward Norton and Sidney Poitier respectively, spring to mind as shining examples of this "strategy." Both films deal with racism, one of the most delicate subjects to deal with in any time of history, and both were welcomed and celebrated for the open mind with which they both, each in their specific time-frame, approached the subject, by exploring both points of view and leaving the audience relatively free to draw their own conclusions.

Imagine if Edward Norton was depicted as solely evil in American History X, as opposed to also showing how he's also a human being asides from a white supremacist; the film would then be rightly called a propaganda-piece. It's because we also see the many other aspects of his personality, like his unconditional love for his little brother, the friendships he starts, very uneasy at first, with his colored cellmates and so on, that our emotional strings are pulled when his little brother dies. If he was portrayed as pure evil, we wouldn't have cared less.

_{Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (1967) - Trailer}

If American History X was made as an SJW propaganda piece, if the message "racism is bad and racists are even worse" was first and foremost on it's creator's agenda, there would be no need, it would indeed be detrimental to their goal of sending a clear message, to explore the different personalities further, to dive deeper into what shapes and motivates their behavior. A strong message would become stronger even when there's a caricature of pure evil set against a caricature of pure benevolence. And this is, in a nutshell, the overarching problem with television- and Hollywood productions in the 21st century; they are, in many cases, propaganda pieces first, and escapist entertainment second.

This is why the female protagonists from the new Star Wars trilogy and the Captain Marvel fiasco are empty shells, flawless in every way, all powerful and never really challenged, and all their male counterparts are bumbling fools or a caricature of pure evil. I can't imagine that women would feel complimented or empowered by watching female protagonists that can shine only by diminishing their male counterparts. Another strange side-effect of militant feminism gaining ground in the entertainment industry, is the apparent urge to give female heroes male traits; Captain Marvel in the comics almost looks like a regular dude.

And then there's the obvious replacing of Muslim-, Mexican- and African refugees with the Skrull, the "orange man, bad" and America being replaced with the Supreme Intelligence and the Kree respectively... It's all so "in your face", and the story as well as continuity of the MCU as a whole were sacrificed to lecture the audience through this conspicuous political messaging. "What's your problem dude? It's just a movie; if you don't like it, you don't like it. Big deal..." I know, I know... still had to get this of my chest. And it is a "big deal" apparently, because these films represent many millions of dollars and many millions of fans, of which I am but one. So if you do like these movies, I can only be glad for you, and wish I could like them too...

_{Official Trailer: American History X (1998)}

---

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, keep steeming!

Recent articles you might be interested in:

Latest article >>>>>>>>>>>	The Great Debate
Captain Mary Sue Goes Viral	Billionaires Fearing "The Event"
Anunnaki Ancestors?	Infinity Gauntlet
Subconscious Storytelling	I've Got Nothing To Hide

Thanks for stopping by and reading. If you really liked this content, if you disagree (or if you do agree), please leave a comment. Of course, upvotes, follows, resteems are all greatly appreciated, but nothing brings me and you more growth than sharing our ideas. It's what Steemit is made for!

I am a proud helpinaut! @Helpie is looking for new members! Helpie has been growing nicely and we are always on the lookout for new valuable members. We are very supportive and community oriented. If you would like to be scouted for @helpie , please drop a comment on THIS POST or contact @paintingangels on discord at paintingangels(serena)#3668.

Just for Full Disclosure, I'm invested in these crypto-currencies:

Bitcoin | Litecoin | EOS | OmiseGo | FunFair | KIN | Pillar | DENT | Polymath | XDCE | 0x | Decred | Ethereum | Carmel | XYO



@helpie is a WITNESS now! So please help @helpie help you by voting for us here!