I have just written a book where the hero is a supporting character. He, himself, is not the most important person. I really don't mention him much. Instead I focused on the results of his influence by following the people affected by him.
This is nothing new, putting the hero in the background probably goes back to when the first man created a cast of gods and had them push humans over a cosmic chessboard. Doctorow traded gods for Father and Mother when he wrote the impossibly good Ragtime. Mario Puzo revolved a wonderful crew of low lives around Don Corleone and where would Gabriel Marquez's lyrical town of Macondo and its colorful citizens be without Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula anchoring them. Godfather is my favorite quick read and Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is just magic put into words.
There is something big and exciting about watching people revolve around a single point and seeing them reach out to one another and connect. I think this is why some of my favorite stories, no matter the medium, have been ensemble pieces.
And why my favorite heroes have been ones who inspire as well as lead. One of the biggest criticism of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is that there was not enough Batman. Yet I think this is what made it such a enduring story. Those three movies were never about Batman, but about Bruce Wayne inspiring the people of Gotham to rise up and reclaim their city. Keeping to this theme is what made the series powerful. In the first movie, the Gotham police are the enemy, we want their cars pancaked under the Batmobile. Yet,by the trilogy's end, this police force are nearly equal to the Dark Knight in saving the city. Throughout the three movies we see less of Batman as more of Gotham's citizens take control of their destiny
Watching that growth is one of the reasons those three movies are so popular. We all want to feel, or know, that we can do better, achieve more if touched by the right stimulus. That's why we search so hard for soul mates to complete us or best friend that will always support us. With the right love, encouragement, lecture, muscle, we can be pushed to do the extraordinary. Even if it's something important to no one other than ourselves.
That's why I'm attracted to ensembles, they're so lifelike. It's just fun watching people come together to define a hero and how the hero, and heroine, in return ignites his or her followers.
This is nothing new, putting the hero in the background probably goes back to when the first man created a cast of gods and had them push humans over a cosmic chessboard. Doctorow traded gods for Father and Mother when he wrote the impossibly good Ragtime. Mario Puzo revolved a wonderful crew of low lives around Don Corleone and where would Gabriel Marquez's lyrical town of Macondo and its colorful citizens be without Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula anchoring them. Godfather is my favorite quick read and Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is just magic put into words.
There is something big and exciting about watching people revolve around a single point and seeing them reach out to one another and connect. I think this is why some of my favorite stories, no matter the medium, have been ensemble pieces.
And why my favorite heroes have been ones who inspire as well as lead. One of the biggest criticism of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is that there was not enough Batman. Yet I think this is what made it such a enduring story. Those three movies were never about Batman, but about Bruce Wayne inspiring the people of Gotham to rise up and reclaim their city. Keeping to this theme is what made the series powerful. In the first movie, the Gotham police are the enemy, we want their cars pancaked under the Batmobile. Yet,by the trilogy's end, this police force are nearly equal to the Dark Knight in saving the city. Throughout the three movies we see less of Batman as more of Gotham's citizens take control of their destiny
Watching that growth is one of the reasons those three movies are so popular. We all want to feel, or know, that we can do better, achieve more if touched by the right stimulus. That's why we search so hard for soul mates to complete us or best friend that will always support us. With the right love, encouragement, lecture, muscle, we can be pushed to do the extraordinary. Even if it's something important to no one other than ourselves.
That's why I'm attracted to ensembles, they're so lifelike. It's just fun watching people come together to define a hero and how the hero, and heroine, in return ignites his or her followers.