In the past five years, we’ve had stories of old former heroes who want to live peaceful quiet lives, but are called back into present-day battles resulting from what they have done in the past. Luke Skywalker and Captain Picard are two examples.
The YouTube channel Wisecrack did an analysis on this post-hero trope. They looked at it through the lens of storytelling as a mirror of society, and proposed that it signified the groaning of the modern world as the deteriorative effects of our modern social narratives begin to show in the daylight.
Right now, it’s become pretty hard not to notice the things that are going bad in society. In addition to climate change, which has been creeping up on us for decades, there has been a pandemic going around for half a year, an economic crisis, and increasing social unrest. And it looks like it’s going to keep getting worse for some time before it starts to get better.
So I think it’s time to start talking about hope, and aiming toward the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time for redemption and reconciliation stories.
Last year, a fantasy novel came out called Shadow of the Conqueror. The main character is Daylen, an old man who was once an evil dictator who took over the world. He was a despot, a mass-murderer, and a rapist. Through a twist of fate, he finds himself young once again. With deep regret and sorrow for the life he led, he sets out with his curse of youth to do as much good as he can, struggling with the demons of his past life all the while. The implicit question is, can someone who is so evil be redeemed? The book leaves the answer up to the reader, a pivotal choice by the author.
Stories have many interpretive lenses, and Shadow of the Conqueror is no exception. One interpretation of Daylen is a stand-in for Western imperialism. The powers of Europe and its offshoots did a lot of conquering back in the day, a lot of oppression. Daylen reborn represents the white social majority of today, after most of the institutional sources of that oppression have been amended or dismantled, but its systemic aftershocks are still strong.
Daylen is the same person before and after his transformation, whereas white people today are, of course, different people from the conquerors of the past. But in this comparison, Daylen stands for the collective force of imperialism and its legacy, not individual people.
The definition of social majorities and minorities is that injustices happen more often to minorities than majorities. This should not be confused with numerical majorities and minorities, which are a measure of numbers, and which are unrelated. As a social majority citizen, it can be easy to believe that the modern social narratives work and are fair, since we are not the recipients of injustice in most cases.
Many of us have faith in modern social narratives, some willingly, some because we were brought up not knowing any differently. This is compounded for those of us who grew up in the Cold War era, when the fervor for American narratives and paranoia of alternatives was exceptionally high. When we hear of patterns of injustice upon members of groups inside our own society, poking holes in these narratives, we often react in confusion, fear, or in the worst case hostility. Zealous proponents of social justice interpret these reactions as signs of prejudice, which exacerbates the discomfort.
It’s time for a change.
The question of whether Daylen can be redeemed or not is never resolved. However, something far more important happens: he commits to wrestling with the consequences of his past actions, and doing what he can to clean it up. The question we should be asking about our own society is not whether the collective legacy of white imperialism should be blamed or forgiven, but how we can face the scars and open wounds handed down to us, and work together to heal them and find a way forward.
We need more characters like Daylen. We need more characters who go through transformations and pick up the hard task of making amends. They can’t simply be stories of forgiveness; that would put the burden of responsibility on those who have been wronged. These characters must contend with the consequences of their actions, and through sincere struggle come to a mutual respect with those whose lives were negatively impacted by their actions.
If you are reading this, and you are confused or frightened about the way current social and political trends are going, I don’t judge or blame you. Instead, I hold out my hand to you. I hold out my hand to those who are victims of indoctrination and propaganda. And even more than that, I hold out my hand to the good people of the future. I hold out my hand to future former racists, and future former imperialists. You are welcome in the making of a better, fairer society for all.
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