I was paid to write this article for a magazine that has folded before printing its debut issue. Perhaps it was because they paid people like me to write columns like this. I'm not posting the actual column, I'm posting the impromtu e-mail that was used as a pitch. I'm no lawyer, but I think I'm getting around copyright issues somehow. Consider me delusional (and extremely bored).
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There's only one great mythology in all of humanity and that is the mythology of hope, that there is something greater than us that can prevent us from becoming our own worst fears. Without the story that tells us we are better than we seem, we are capable of being better, we have no hope.
Throughout the history of man we have told and retold this mythology, each generation choosing a difference cast of characters to reinforce the same morals that encourage us to get out of bed each morning, to discourage our wills from giving in to nihilism. From Greek epics to comic books, the storyteller has the same agenda.
That is both the intent and the appeal of epic TV series Lost and Heroes, but declining ratings for Heroes and the growing anticipation of the fourth season of Lost suggests one has failed in its intent while the other potentially has captured that primal magic.
Heroes is a world of supernatural human potential, where a select few are capable of performing feats that defy the laws of physics. It's not a new storytelling technique. In fact it's an old one. Very old. Some supernatural beings are chosen, some have their abilities foisted on them as a great burden, but it is always under the same premise.
What makes Heroes appealing as a mythology is its ability to tap into those old stories. The quests are epic -- they are asked to save humanity, facing villains of equal or perhaps even greater powers. We are not capable of saving ourselves, but these supernatural beings have messianic qualities in their blood. They are preternaturally disposed to give of themselves, and oh my what they have to offer in their service!
That is also the primary failing of Heroes. There are few (if any) Heroes that resemble us. They do not seem to have a failing conscience. When they break the natural laws of justice there is a reason, an excuse. When they will to break the natural laws of justice, it's because they are exclusively evil.
That's weak mythology.
Where Heroes fails, Lost stands victorious by giving us heroes that look like us and have no supernatural abilities on their own. In fact they are weak. They are each unwilling, thrown into a supernatural Hell they call an island, and are asked to make moral judgments every day in which their surivival is dependent.
The heroes of Lost are selfish, amoral, naive, weak, superficial, unfaithful, lacking any history of wisdom or worldly understanding. Yet strand them on an island and they are capable of becoming something else, something sacrificial, something heroic, sometimes in spite of their own will.
We recognize the heroes of Lost because they are us. Above all us, we recognize our weakness, our great shame: We all have a past full of regrets.
Where Heroes failes and Lost succeeds is by telling us these characters stories. They are familiar, but they are also poignant because the past is just a backdrop to the sacrifices these heroes are willing to make now. They are also willing to carry that shame into the present reality ... sometimes the heroes of Lost fail the natural law of justice because they are locked up in their own shame of their past. Like all great mythology, we are inherently forgiving, lest we damn ourselves as unforgiveable. We may not have made the same mistakes, but we know our own hearts and we know our hearts have betrayed our best intentions at times.
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There's only one great mythology in all of humanity and that is the mythology of hope, that there is something greater than us that can prevent us from becoming our own worst fears. Without the story that tells us we are better than we seem, we are capable of being better, we have no hope.
Throughout the history of man we have told and retold this mythology, each generation choosing a difference cast of characters to reinforce the same morals that encourage us to get out of bed each morning, to discourage our wills from giving in to nihilism. From Greek epics to comic books, the storyteller has the same agenda.
That is both the intent and the appeal of epic TV series Lost and Heroes, but declining ratings for Heroes and the growing anticipation of the fourth season of Lost suggests one has failed in its intent while the other potentially has captured that primal magic.
Heroes is a world of supernatural human potential, where a select few are capable of performing feats that defy the laws of physics. It's not a new storytelling technique. In fact it's an old one. Very old. Some supernatural beings are chosen, some have their abilities foisted on them as a great burden, but it is always under the same premise.
What makes Heroes appealing as a mythology is its ability to tap into those old stories. The quests are epic -- they are asked to save humanity, facing villains of equal or perhaps even greater powers. We are not capable of saving ourselves, but these supernatural beings have messianic qualities in their blood. They are preternaturally disposed to give of themselves, and oh my what they have to offer in their service!
That is also the primary failing of Heroes. There are few (if any) Heroes that resemble us. They do not seem to have a failing conscience. When they break the natural laws of justice there is a reason, an excuse. When they will to break the natural laws of justice, it's because they are exclusively evil.
That's weak mythology.
Where Heroes fails, Lost stands victorious by giving us heroes that look like us and have no supernatural abilities on their own. In fact they are weak. They are each unwilling, thrown into a supernatural Hell they call an island, and are asked to make moral judgments every day in which their surivival is dependent.
The heroes of Lost are selfish, amoral, naive, weak, superficial, unfaithful, lacking any history of wisdom or worldly understanding. Yet strand them on an island and they are capable of becoming something else, something sacrificial, something heroic, sometimes in spite of their own will.
We recognize the heroes of Lost because they are us. Above all us, we recognize our weakness, our great shame: We all have a past full of regrets.
Where Heroes failes and Lost succeeds is by telling us these characters stories. They are familiar, but they are also poignant because the past is just a backdrop to the sacrifices these heroes are willing to make now. They are also willing to carry that shame into the present reality ... sometimes the heroes of Lost fail the natural law of justice because they are locked up in their own shame of their past. Like all great mythology, we are inherently forgiving, lest we damn ourselves as unforgiveable. We may not have made the same mistakes, but we know our own hearts and we know our hearts have betrayed our best intentions at times.
