Comments on “Specialness”

Add new comment

Comments are for the page: Specialness

Reminds me of the ‘Chosen One’ trope
Deepti 2022-04-11

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheChosenOne

Harry Potter as our favorite Special guy
Harry T 2023-01-09

I liked this part of a Scott Alexander piece on Harry Potter and specialness:

Harry [Potter] isn’t the smartest or hardest-working person in the school - that’s Hermione. He’s not the most ambitious/decisive/strategic/active person - that’s Lord Voldemort, which automatically codes him as a villain. So why is Harry the main character and the hero? Because a prophecy placed the burden of specialness on him, without him asking; it was forced upon him by an omnipotent entity, no action required. Harry Potter is wish-fulfillment; the modern person wants to be special not because they accomplished great stuff but because special-ness is just who they are. Brands tell them that this is true, and in exchange they buy the brands. [Brand]: Because You Deserve It.

Add new comment:

You can use some Markdown and/or HTML formatting here.

Optional, but required if you want follow-up notifications. Used to show your Gravatar if you have one. Address will not be shown publicly.

If you check this box, you will get an email whenever there’s a new comment on this page. The emails include a link to unsubscribe.