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Why is pop culture obsessed with battles between good and evil? - Catherine Nichols | Aeon Essays
Old Vs New Stories
The stories in pop culture in the last century tend to be moralistic and have a clear demarcation of good and bad.
These stories have virtually the same structure of good guys fighting with the bad guys for the sanctimonious fate of society.
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Key Ideas
Old Vs New Stories
The stories in pop culture in the last century tend to be moralistic and have a clear demarcation of good and bad.
These stories have virtually the same structure of good guys fighting with the bad guys for the sanctimonious fate of society.
Colour Vs Black and White
The old folktales didn't have a black-and-white narrative, and instead had nuanced characters with personality, and not necessarily morality.
In many old stories, the protagonist had a varied set of values, which were colorful and diverse.
Complex Vs Simple
The old complex storylines were not having a clear identification of what's good and what's bad. The reader had to figure out the details and the complexity which lead to endless discussions.
The modern tales provide a simplified 'colour by numbers' approach to understanding, with clear outlines as to who is the Hero with all the morals, and who is the bad guy who must be killed.
Good Guy-Bad Guy Narrative
Epic tales like the Mahabharata or Hamlet, do not classify people as a group of good or bad teams, but as multidimensional characters in conflict.
Modern stories group a set of people into a certain category, and subconsciously influence people into thinking of entire races or classes as the bad guys.
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