An Ode To Complex Characters

Life beyond heroes and villains

a superhero sees a distorted reflection of herself on a dozen different mirrors surrounding her, industrial, realistic, sleek 3d render — by DALL·E

Grey characters are the best even if they don’t sell as much as our traditional heroes and villains.

The reality is we probably aren’t heroes or villains. It might take us a while longer to realise that the same logic applies to most people around us. A combination of insecurities, lack of perspective and subdued empathy lead us to vilify those we see as obstacles in our path. Conversely, the same reasons are behind the glorification of other personalities who simply happen to align with our views.

When we see ourselves and others as complex characters in a story full of other such characters, we begin to question our beliefs. This questioning is critical to tackling prejudice and narrow-mindedness. One mustn’t worry if the crusade against bigotry and ignorance isn’t motivation enough: empathy is also exceedingly practical. Once we dare to look at people for who they are, we will discover the areas where we can help, the ground we have in common, and we will be better equipped for our next interaction. Once people see us as genuinely interested in their rescue, we will have the opportunity to become important agents in their stories.

As far as fiction goes, pure villains set comfortable contexts in which we can care for and worry about our well-defined heroes. While…