The Trope of the Evil Other Dimension in Our Superhero Franchises

As has been lamented in numerous places big budget movies especially the Superhero franchises seem to be getting somewhat stale. They lack new and original plots, focus to much on visual effects, need to cater to too broad of an audience spectrum, are too much of an investment to take any "risks" etcetera. The thing that has been bothering me the most lately was a particular trope that is not just lame and overdone, it is also particularly concerning considering our global political climate at the moment. That is the portal to the evil other dimension.

The plot of seemingly every other Superhero movie these days is that some ill-advised human opens a portal to an evil other dimension that threatens to bring chaos, suffering and death to all of humanity. Then, of course, it is up to our heroes to basically plug that hole and keep the evil other out. Even if, in the theatre,  we may be too bedazzled by special effects and funny banter to realize how problematic that is. The recap should give us pause. Because we are inundated with this narrative not only in our Superhero franchises but also in the news. Name the ill-advised human Angela Merkel for example and the evil other dimension the so called Arab world and you suddenly you are not in your fun-escapist-special-effects-fest anymore. Suddenly you find yourself in the midst of our current real-life drama where blocking the Balkan route and building a wall to Mexico are on actual political agendas. The problem is that in real life things are not all so neatly black and white and solutions are not so easy.      

Most of Hollywood does like to show itself rather more progressive in their politics. Many actors, directors and writers advocate for refugee aid, compassion and more inclusive politics. And yet, when it comes to their own back yard and their biggest influence - the cultural narratives they shape with their storytelling - they irresponsibly draw draw on tropes like this. They perpetuate narratives where evil nature of that other dimension and the beings within it are never even questioned, where there is never any real engagement with the other side or attempts at understanding. Our heroes don't even try. They don't communicate with the other, they communicate at it, usually in a rather aggressive and threatening manner. They attack and they kill. No questions asked. And, as last seen in Doctor Strange, they better not let any aspect of the other side contaminate our world. We as the audience are lead to buy into these foregone conclusions and we get manipulated to believe in the need to close up that portal. So when we return to our own world why would we not seek some equally easy answer to our own problems. Why would we not look for a "hero" to close our portal for us, or build us a wall ...

Sure, we are not going to solve all the world's problems with better movies. The real world is more complex than that. There are always many other factors at play. But everyone needs to do what they can and I think it is time Hollywood put their narratives and their budgets where their mouths are and reconsidered some of the messages they are putting into the world. Story is a tool to be used wisely for it can do a lot of good but it can also do a whole lot of harm. We should not forget that and be responsible about what we put into the world. Maybe we can avoid harm, maybe we can even inspire change and adjust failures of imagination. Fiction is known to have done so before.

On the Evolution of Dr. Dolittle

Have you ever thought about what has become of the good old Dr. Dolittle? I mean how many kids and young adults today still know the original story rather than the watered down version from the 1998 movie with Eddie Murphy? Not very many, I find. And that is too bad, because I would go as far as to say that this newer version in it's message is not only shallow, but potentially harmful. My point is this: it stifles ambition by perpetuating the nefarious myth that genius is something your born with – or (most of us) not.

Remember the Doctor from the book or the 1967 movie with Rex Harrison? He actually made an effort to learn the languages of animals – hundreds of different languages, in fact – because he prefers their company to that of his fellow humans and wants to understand them better to be more able to treat them right.

And what about the Doctor from 1998? He just magically has the ability to understand and communicate with all animals, but resents this gift and the animals, since he just wants to be normal and accepted by his fellow humans. He eventually learns to appreciate his special gift (sort of), but not before it is validated by other humans and helps him earn their praise.

So while the Doctor from 1967 used to illustrate how genius is forged through concentrated work and effort in the direction of one's natural inclination, the newer version perpetuates the myth that genius is something you have to be born into – and not work for to achieve. Not only that, but it also makes the point that it is actually a burden you have to bear, because it's not considered cool by your peers. I mean, what the hell?!

This just goes to illustrate the widespread desire in today's society to not only be effortlessly special, but most importantly to have this validated through praise. Where would we be had Socrates or da Vinci or Einstein or Tesla or any great mind in history worked under this assumption?

I would even suspect that this frame of mind and its close relatives are largely responsible for the impression (or maybe reality?) that people are getting dumber. Faith in your own abilities is a huge part of the learning process. If you take that away and substitute it with messages like the born-to-genius-myth or the math-is-so-hard-myth and stuff like that, you'll have yourself a nice self-fulfilling prophecy.