By Renato Andrade
It’s no secret that today’s audience, especially Generation Y, have more sympathy for villains than heroes. Brazilian actors, after coming to this realization, are now delighted in portraying malicious characters, especially in Brazilian soap operas, in which the positive repercussion seems to be even greater.
Why are villains considered to be more charismatic than today’s heroes? Has it always been this way? Haven’t past generations usually embraced the good guy rather than the bad guy?
I did a bit of research to try to understand this. The following idea really caught my attention: villains aim to do what they desire. They are strong. They fight for their beliefs and ideals, even if that means they will have to suffer the consequences.
Does this mean that this generation will pursue individual success at whatever cost? Don’t we need characters representing good personality traits?
I came up with the idea for this post when I heard that Mickey Mouse was going to be adapted for Disney. His girlfriend, Minnie lost her sweet, loyal, companion, who nowadays appears as a selfish rat in a bad mood. This new version of Mickey will appear in the video game for Nintendo Wii called “Epic Mickey,” which will be launched in 2010.
This is just the beginning of tactics used by Disney to attract a new generation of consumers to one of its biggest icons, who is losing his charisma and current appeal, when it comes to new generations.
“Epic Mickey” is a story about all the forgotten Disney characters that have had less than 15 minutes of fame. When nobody cares about them anymore, they are taken to a dark world, with broken and strange machines. (Who knew that Disney could be so cruel?)
The game, produced by Warren Spector, one of the masterminds behind RPG, keeps Mickey at the center of the universe. He paints scenes of a post-apocalyptic world. Images of a devastated beach, with black and white characters, and machines that look like the faces of the seven dwarfs in Snow White…
For those who don’t remember, the seven dwarfs were loyal, hardworking, and great friends. In the game, Goofy is depicted as a sort of zombie.
Compare this crazy fantasy world to the corporate world. If business professionals don’t have charisma and aren’t in touch with today’s world, they get left out of the corporate world all together. In the end, is the competition for fame and glory, all that’s left? Are the lack of idols and heroes, what makes Gen Y thrive on the bad guys?
