An anti-hero of one's own - Tim Adams
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0:15 - 0:17Literary critic Northrop Frye once observed
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0:17 - 0:22that in our primitive days, our literary heroes were -- well, nearly gods,
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0:22 - 0:27and as civilization advanced, they came down the mountain of the gods, so to speak,
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0:27 - 0:33and became more human, more flawed, less heroic.
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0:33 - 0:35From the divine heroes like Hercules,
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0:35 - 0:40down the mountain below the miraculous but mortal heroes such as Beowulf,
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0:40 - 0:42the great leaders such as King Arthur,
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0:42 - 0:47and the great but flawed heroes like Macbeth or Othello.
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0:47 - 0:52Below even the unlikely but eventual heroes such as Harry Potter,
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0:52 - 0:55Luke Skywalker, or Hiccup,
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0:55 - 0:59until we reach the bottom and meet the anti-hero.
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0:59 - 1:04Contrary to the sound, the anti-hero is not the villain, not the antagonist.
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1:04 - 1:08The anti-hero is actually the main character in some contemporary works of literature.
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1:08 - 1:13Guy Montag in "Fahrenheit 451," Winston Smith in "1984,"
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1:13 - 1:17who unwittingly ends up challenging those in power -- that is,
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1:17 - 1:25those who abuse their power to brainwash the populace to believe that the ills of society have been eliminated.
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1:25 - 1:31Ideally, those who challenge the establishment should be wise, confident, brave,
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1:31 - 1:35physically strong, with a type of charisma that inpires followers.
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1:35 - 1:40The anti-hero, however, at best demonstrates a few underdeveloped traits,
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1:40 - 1:43at worst, is totally inept.
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1:43 - 1:49The story of the anti-hero usually unfolds something like this.
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1:49 - 1:53The anti-hero initially conforms, ignorantly accepting the established views,
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1:53 - 1:58a typical, unquestioning, brainwashed member of society.
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1:58 - 2:02The anti-hero struggles to conform, all the while starting to object,
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2:02 - 2:06perhaps finding other outsiders with whom to voice his questions,
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2:06 - 2:13and naïvely, unwisely, sharing those questions with an authority figure.
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2:13 - 2:15The anti-hero openly challenges society,
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2:15 - 2:19and tries to fight against the lies and tactics used to oppress the populace.
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2:19 - 2:26This step, for the anti-hero, is seldom a matter of brave, wise and heroic opposition.
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2:26 - 2:31Maybe the anti-hero fights and succeeds in destroying the oppressive government,
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2:31 - 2:33with a lot of impossible luck.
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2:33 - 2:38Perhaps he or she runs away, escapes to fight another day.
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2:38 - 2:43All too often though, the anti-hero is killed, or brainwashed
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2:43 - 2:46to return to conformity with the masses.
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2:46 - 2:52No heroic triumph here, no brave individual standing up against impersonal institutions of a modern world,
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2:52 - 3:02inspiring others to fight, or resourcefully outwitting and outgunning the massive army of the evil empire.
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3:02 - 3:06Our storytelling ancestors calmed our fears of powerlessness
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3:06 - 3:11by giving us Hercules and other heroes strong enough to fight off the demons and monsters
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3:11 - 3:15that we suspected haunted the night beyond our campfires.
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3:15 - 3:19But eventually, we realized the monsters did not lie out there,
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3:19 - 3:23they reside inside of us.
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3:23 - 3:26Beowulf's greatest enemy was mortality.
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3:26 - 3:28Othello's, jealousy.
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3:28 - 3:31Hiccup, self-doubt.
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3:31 - 3:36And in the tales of the ineffectual anti-hero, in the stories of Guy Montag and Winston Smith,
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3:36 - 3:42lie the warnings of contemporary storytellers playing on very primitive fears:
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3:42 - 3:46that we are not strong enough to defeat the monsters.
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3:46 - 3:50Only this time, not the monsters chased away by the campfire,
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3:50 - 3:55but the very monsters who built the campfire in the first place.
- Title:
- An anti-hero of one's own - Tim Adams
- Speaker:
- Tim Adams
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/an-anti-hero-of-one-s-own-tim-adams
How can an anti-hero teach us about the heroic--and sometimes,the unheroic--characteristics that shape a story's protagonist? From jealousy to self-doubt, Tim Adams challenges us to consider how anti-heroes reflect the very mortal weaknesses that can be found within all of us.
Lesson by Tim Adams, animation by Wood Goblin Studios.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:11
Bedirhan Cinar approved English subtitles for An antihero of one's own | ||
Bedirhan Cinar accepted English subtitles for An antihero of one's own | ||
Bedirhan Cinar edited English subtitles for An antihero of one's own | ||
tom carter added a translation |