Trial of the Hero

Our weaknesses can become our strengths.

Many superheroes in stories have some kind of flaw. This makes it so instead of simply winning in every situation the hero is actually overcoming challenges. Way more interesting. These flaws can range from physical impairments to personality quirks. The way the hero overcomes weakness or inadequacy is what makes the character unique and therefore worth looking into.

Sometimes a superhero’s disability influences his or her skill set. A blind man is often shown as being expert with his other senses. A weak man sometimes is motivated to make up for his lack of strength with an increase of intellect. In these cases, focus is taken away from the disability and is shifted elsewhere.

There are also characters whose personal issue is part of their power. One comic book character I know has multiple personalities and he shows a different super power depending on which persona is in control. Some characters have abilities that are connected with their emotional state and they have to watch their feelings so they don’t get out of control. What is a detriment to some becomes a benefit to them.

So what about behavioral disorders? They don’t get much exposure in storytelling. I want to know if there is a way to portray those diagnosed with certain conditions in a way that is both interesting to wide audiences and does not portray them poorly. Unfortunately, this comes with many hurdles.

What genre would you portray the autistic in? If you place them in a comedy you run the risk of making light of their situation. A drama may make their situation look worse than it actually is. And a horror movie might paint the autistic as either a victim or a monster. The autistic may not have a preferable place to get their stories told.

Another hurdle is the fact the story of an autistic person is not always a compelling tale. Nobody makes stories about children struggling at school. Would you go see a movie about a boy who has trouble making friends? Some of the most important stories are of people just trying to live a normal life. How do you make that interesting?

I can’t think of what an autistic superhero could possibly be like. Some would surely lean towards portraying them as tortured geniuses with amazing mental abilities and limited social skills. You can’t portray every autistic person as a savant. What about a superhero who struggles with making friends but has an amazing ability to empathize with how people are feeling? Now that is a hero worth watching.

A Disinteresting Theory

Those diagnosed with Asperger syndrome are often described as having restricted and repetitive interests. They are seen as lacking empathy and any desire to share their personal interests with other people. To paraphrase, they don’t seem to care about much. Might I suggest a more empathetic viewpoint?

Having interests makes a lot of work. It uses up time and attention. When we pick up new interests we create more work for ourselves. Our interest holds only when we feel the work we do is worth the effort.

Victims of Circumstance

Our interests build around what we know. We begin life dependent on others to provide us with access to new interests. We consume the material in our reach and we talk to the people directly in our vicinity. Environment determines which interests we can potentially participate in. When our circumstances change, our opportunities to pursue our interests change.

You can’t be a swimmer without water. You can’t be a pianist without a piano. You can’t be a friend without other people.

Think of the Needy

The needs of an individual prioritize interest. Each of us begins by meeting the needs that are most basic. First, we need to not die. Next, we need to find an environment providing the most opportunities. After this, we make for ourselves opportunities to pursue interests based on our separate personalities.

Our time and attention are often placed most on the needs least fulfilled. When faced with multiple opportunities, we choose the ones that will serve our purposes best. In the event when most of our various needs are at sufficient levels, we tend to focus on the needs that are easy to accommodate first before meeting the needs that involve more work.

Chained and Bound

A bond is forged when we decide to place an interest in something or someone. The bond is strengthened by the time and effort we put into an interest. Casual bonds are easily broken and replaced by other stronger bonds. Stronger bonds tend to last longer and are more beneficial to all parties involved.

A bond is more easily maintained when we are in close proximity to the object of our interest. It is simply less work to care about something in front of you rather than something far away. We tend to think less about an interest the farther we get away from it.

Point of Interest

Every potential interest has a point to it; a purpose which initiates our interaction with it. We gain an interest in something when we see the point behind it and how it works. We show no interest in something when we don’t see how it serves to benefit us.

A person goes to a social function to see if anything interesting will happen there. He or she will talk to a few strangers and ask them, “Who are you?” The strangers share a few details about themselves and then the person decides whether there is any reason to keep listening to these people. If no bond was formed, then the person will leave the function feeling there was no point to being there in the first place.

Flout Your Doubt

There is a reason why we don’t all share the same interests. Our doubts keep us from pursuing every possible opportunity we come in contact with. We doubt if a particular interest is worth our time, we doubt if we can make time for a particular interest or we doubt if we are able to accomplish a goal within a set amount of time. Many of us would like to invest time in certain interests, but we don’t pursue them because we doubt if we can make it work.

Doubt can be good. Doubt keeps us from pursuing a course of action we don’t feel we can commit our hearts to. Our actions should have reason behind them. No one should feel pressured to take every single opportunity available to them. We can doubt the paths we feel won’t be of much benefit and believe in the causes we know are worth it.

Express Ways

We each show interest in different ways. Some will talk about their interests with friends, some will make their interests into a career and some will be content just to have an interest. No one is limited in the way they can express interest in something.

It would be unfair to say someone must not care that much because he doesn’t do this or that. We shouldn’t judge people’s separate levels of sacrifice. Just because someone dedicates more time and effort into an interest doesn’t mean that person cares more than a person who gives less.

Cause and Affection

I know what it is like to be the uninteresting one. The one no one ever picks. I’ve watched as friends became less and less interested in my life. I’ve heard people say how wonderful I am just to never hear from them again. I’ve fought to keep people in my life who never intended to keep me.

I don’t know which people I can call on the phone just to talk with them. I don’t know who wishes to hear my story ideas. I don’t know who looks forward to spending time with me. It’s difficult to show interest in something you have no experience in. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people wondering why I’m not calling them at the same time I’m waiting for their call.

My interest is in being someone for someone; to be the example I would have others be for me. We transcend ourselves when we seek to help others even when we can’t fully see the benefit. Putting the needs of others ahead of our own requires a strength and dedication not everyone strives to possess. Someone should care and I’m not going to volunteer anyone besides myself until after I’ve given all my time and effort to the cause.