Editing Judges of Tehom: Thematic Essays
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
Before moving onto what the world of Tehom entails, let us first clear away some of the common superhero tropes and themes that are not central to this setting. In no way am I saying these themes are somehow bad, they are simply not the core thematics of Tehom. However, since they are so common, they are worth talking about to help define Tehom by distinction. | Before moving onto what the world of Tehom entails, let us first clear away some of the common superhero tropes and themes that are not central to this setting. In no way am I saying these themes are somehow bad, they are simply not the core thematics of Tehom. However, since they are so common, they are worth talking about to help define Tehom by distinction. | ||
− | ==Silver Age Marvel== | + | ==What the World is Not: Silver Age Marvel== |
Stan Lee's famous phrase, "''With great power comes great responsibility''" is a wonderful summary of the ideal most supherheroes in comic books. For Lee, heroes are defined by responsibility: There is an obligation to use their powers to help society maintain itself. Spiderman has a responsibility to help his fellow man, as do all other true superheroes in Marvel. The more one is irresponsible, the farther one goes into the realm of the antihero first and then the villain. Such characters reject the idea they have a duty to society as they pursue hedonism, political agendas, or selfish financial gain. If one is not using their powers responsibly for the good of others, they are wrong. If one uses one's powers to redefine society or its ideals in their own image, they are wrong. No matter how powerful a character is, he or she is still nevertheless a human being, and human beings have a responsibility to one another, at least on the level of promoting justice in one another's lives. If you have unique opportunities to promote justice (possibly because you can benchpress an SUV), you have a duty to use it to do so or (possibly) not use it at all. | Stan Lee's famous phrase, "''With great power comes great responsibility''" is a wonderful summary of the ideal most supherheroes in comic books. For Lee, heroes are defined by responsibility: There is an obligation to use their powers to help society maintain itself. Spiderman has a responsibility to help his fellow man, as do all other true superheroes in Marvel. The more one is irresponsible, the farther one goes into the realm of the antihero first and then the villain. Such characters reject the idea they have a duty to society as they pursue hedonism, political agendas, or selfish financial gain. If one is not using their powers responsibly for the good of others, they are wrong. If one uses one's powers to redefine society or its ideals in their own image, they are wrong. No matter how powerful a character is, he or she is still nevertheless a human being, and human beings have a responsibility to one another, at least on the level of promoting justice in one another's lives. If you have unique opportunities to promote justice (possibly because you can benchpress an SUV), you have a duty to use it to do so or (possibly) not use it at all. | ||
− | + | As it is usually defined and applied, Lee's Maxim does not apply to Tehom. | |
− | |||
− | = | + | ==What the World is Not: Grimdark== |
− | + | For the purposes of this essay, a "grimdark" is an adjective that describes a set of genre expectations. To the degree something is grimdark, it focuses on the following: | |
− | + | *The setting has a high, constant level of violence. This violence often threatens a large section of the population, and often takes the form of outright war. Either way, the constant violence creates a destabilizing pressure on the social order. | |
− | + | *A color palette that focuses on dark, muted colors. The world is drab, in addition to being violent. | |
+ | *It is a fatalist and pessimistic world where there is nothing to believe in beyond one's own immediate self interest, and possibly the wellbeing of a loved one. | ||
− | + | None of this is an accurate description of Tehom. | |
− | |||
− | = | + | =Tehom: Optimistic and Elite-Oriented= |
− | + | The spirit of Lee's Maxim would not apply to Tehom, as the meaning of responsibility is radically different than Lee's understanding of it. The Few of Tehom would recoil at the obligations and egalitarianism embedded in Lee's Maxim. Tehom's culture of noblesse oblige gives the Few have the right and responsibility to shape and lead society. Where the Few go, the Many follow. | |
− | + | ||
− | + | ||
+ | *Tehom is a world where humanity defines itself by the heroic struggle to survive after the Garden's abandonment. Against all odds, it has not only survived, but has begun to thrive. This is not a pessimistic world, but an optimistic one where the population looks to its heroes and leaders, the Few. | ||
+ | *The generations of fast growth have created a general "newness" to the city states of Tehom which is reinforced by the Few's interest in creating beautiful agoras at the center of their cities as a form of cultural competition. For most of humanity, this is a world of bright lights, shining metal, and new concrete. The wilderness is likewise a place of terrible and awe-inspiring beauty: a world of alien seas lie beyond human controlled cities. | ||
+ | *Tehom is not a world of war as we understand it. There is violence, yes, but not war. Despite the occasional attacks by Hadlaians and fluid conflicts between cosmopoli, the defining form of violence is archonic war: the contained, ritualized duel between champions of competing city-states. In stark contrast to the destabilizing consequences of constant warfare, archonic duels have been fully incorporated into the structure of society, culture, politics, and the economy. It is a known quantity, and it is even celebrated by adoring partisans who follow their favorite champions in online chatrooms, fueled by rumors fed to them by a paparazzi. | ||
==Tehom & Classical Analogs== | ==Tehom & Classical Analogs== |