The Boys: Rescuing Us From Superhero Stories

this video is sponsored by audible click the link in the description to start your free trial and get your free book [Applause] [Music] lift the plane Wow stand on its [ __ ] ass what would superheroes really be like in our world with the most rigorous application of reality this is the question that showrunner Eric Kripke saw at the centre of the boys of course this was not the first time that an exploration of this question has been put to the screen a film that comes to mind that attempted to rigorously apply reality to a super-powered individual is Hancock admittedly a very guilty pleasure of mine Will Smith playing the titular character of Hancock has all the powers of your prototypical hero he's nyan vincible super-strong can fly the whole nine yards at the same time though he is a rude careless drunkard who has a really strange anal fixation I swear to Christ your head is going up the drivers ass his head is gonna be your ass au judas short stick because your head is going up my ass Hancock is no doubt a far cry from the perfect Caped Crusader in spandex tights and more realistically depicted than a superhero like Booster Gold could ever be energized but just because subversive narratives like Hancock and others already exist doesn't mean the boys has nothing new or interesting to offer in fact I think the show has a lot to offer to both aspiring and seasoned writers who appreciate and want to learn about the craft even though other fictions have worked with the concept of a rigorously applying reality to superheroes I don't think any of them hit home quite as hard as the boys in my humble assessment I see three main reasons for this and I'd love to break them down for any of you interested in writing similar stuff yourself so the first aspect I wanted to address is the timing of the narrative now I feel this might not seem connected to the actual writing at all but just hear me out we live in a day and age that is largely dominated by superhero narratives in the last two decades there have been literally dozens of superhero movies Marvel being the largest contributor to the batch by producing 23 such films since 2008 alone while it's true that each movie has different characters in different circumstances each of the film's essentially tells the same narrative the character master is either extremely powerful physiological magic or technological powers to defeat a villain and cement themselves as a hero and a force of objective good there is such a ubiquitous hard and fast formula for these movies that a compilation of all their blue sky beams exist but when certain storytelling elements are paired frequently enough they start to pervade the genre therein and become a narrative default romantic comedies are plagued by boy meets girl boy loses girl boy gets girl back plot lines and superhero movies are quickly catching up with predictable formulaic narratives this recent flood of superhero movies has created a mythos of its own a narrative mythos based around the idea that once a person defeats the villain and overcomes their personal character flaw they are cemented as a paragon of virtue that will benevolently use their powers time and time again I am Iron Man the boy showrunner Eric Kripke talks about this very myth when concerning Marvel movies he says I do think that we're reaching an interesting stage where people are starting to analyze and deconstruct that myth which is what I think we're doing for the record I'm a fan of those movies but they speak to a myth that's not particularly honest that's someone with that type of power would only be benevolent that's just not true the boys is a deconstruction of the superhero narrative that rigorously looks at the reality of being a superhero every day all day not just when there is a villain or a threat meeting the bad guy in saving lives is easy living responsibly and benevolently but the power you wield is an entirely different much more realistic challenge after the fantasy genre endlessly replicated the paradigm that Tolkien's said decades ago with Lord of the Rings George RR Martin's stepped in to subvert and deconstruct that genre listen to what he says concerning a rigorous application of reality books and it's easy to type you know you rule wisely it well but then you start asking yourself what what does that wisely and well what was his tax policy how did the economy function you know the orcs there are still tens thousands of works left over at the end of voted rings that he pursue a policy of genocide toward them what did he reach out to try to entertain or bring them into the mainstream and civilize them we never get answers to any of these questions we just get heroes wisely and well the boys isn't concerned at all with the concept of just becoming a hero just like how George our Martin was fascinated with what happened to Aragorn after he became King the boys is concerned with what happens after you become a hero queen Maeve's entire character is based around a depiction of how her position as a major hero has turned her from a person that would risk her own limbs to save a bus full of children into someone who covers up murders and allows the death of hundreds with the current narrative landscape filled with a copycat superhero movies that while undoubtedly entertaining playing with the same premise the boys has come in at a perfect time to deliver a fresh twist on a well-known template Garth and his creator of the boys original comic series certainly thinks this gia said the time for the boys is right it's very possible had a show or movie like this being attempted say ten years ago when the comic was coming out that would have fallen flat because the mainstream audience wasn't ready yet whether it be done by a single person or a large group any creative effort should be conscious of what narratives the world is hungry for or better yet what narratives the world is in need of Deadpool found success because it was irreverent in its determination to piss into the vast ocean of superhero movies that existed when writing always take stock of how your unique skills could meet the narrative needs of those hungry for fiction but just striking the iron while it's hot really isn't enough surprise surprise you actually also have to write a well-crafted narrative to capitalize on the opportunity and that leads me into the second topic I want to talk about the world of the boys I believe it's be incredibly unique even among other films that realistically look at superheroes and their lives let's take P Incredibles for instance I think everyone can agree it's a phenomenal movie and it not only shows superheroes dealing with villains but the struggles of identity depression marital conflict and so much more but it does all this in the 60s and mainly on a remote jungle island housing a clandestine weapons factory hidden underneath an active volcano now don't get me wrong that all still works and The Incredibles is definitely still a deconstruction of the superhero narrative genre but the setting in which it delivers its message is so far removed from the audience that is still undoubtedly feels fictionalized where the boys succeeds in creating its world is using a genuine depiction of modern everyday society with all the hardships and struggles that come with it and the best thing about using a world that mirrors our so closely is that the boys didn't have to create a hypothetical version of how a society would deal with superheroes like The Incredibles did the creative team for the boys just use the world we live in Fiat and the Justice League hope that future generations learn from a very young age the importance of traveling safely you know Marvel's Captain America Civil War collectible lunchbox would you by selected ladies choice sandwich bread available in leading supermarkets nationwide you can have the power of the Fantastic Four for a job that's been beaten thin hands of us waiting moon shaken powerful thing you can be yours instead of showing us realistic depictions of superheroes in a different time period or without their powers the boy shows us a world that we've already shown ourselves the commercialization in fakeness of the seven feels real and gross and grounded and unnerving because we know it's already happening starlight and the other members can even speak publicly if it isn't scripted at least not without fear of being punished by their parent company afterwards and if that sounds familiar it's because our biggest athletes the closest things we have to super humans are already in that position I'm just here so I won't get fined hey I'm just here so I won't get fined I'm just here so I won't get fined I'm just here so I won't get fined the conflicts depicted in the boys isn't imp asteroid falling from the sky it's workplace sexual misconduct the characters don't contest against an interdimensional monster but the loss of loved ones the world of the show can sometimes feel darker than even a place like Mordor because how close it keeps to the bleakness of our own world the world and setting of the boys allows for a rigorous application of reality because at its core it focuses on events that an average person could experience on any given day just with the exception that the people who are struggling or anything but average and that leads me into the third aspect of the boys that I love is adherence to character complexity to make the most out of the created world the writers of the boys made the difficult decision to depart from the original comic many of the changes happened in an effort to make the characters more complex and to make the struggles they go through more serious showrunner Eric Kripke has said this because we're a superhero show it doesn't mean that we shouldn't talk about the difficult things in fact we should use it to talk about the difficult things because genre is not just for escapism and like easy conversation all good genre going back to Rod Serling is used to tackle the really difficult hard to talk about issues we felt that we had a responsibility to do that to be good and smart and get it out there and Eric Kripke followed through on that responsibility he felt she created shockwave a trains rival speedster so that a trains character could become an exploration into the insecurities that enveloped athlete was desperate to maintain his position at the top the deeps entire storyline from the comics is set aside so that the show can depict a celebrity at rock-bottom dealing with the consequences of their actions Anthony star set aside the loudmouth hot-tempered home Lander of the comics and is admitted that his approach to the show's home Lander was to portray him as someone who considers himself as a father figure to the other members of the seven seeing them as children who requires his firm guidance and discipline when you realize that homeland himself had no father figure to rely on and believed that he couldn't have children it makes this parental outlook of his almost sad and his scenes that much more complex in fact home Landers entire storyline in season 1 of the show is a departure from the source material because in the comics there was no Madeline Stillwell only James Stilwell whom Hollander has no affection for at all Madeline Stillwell her baby and her relationship with homeland err were all created to deepen the complexity of homelands character and journey within the season Eric Kripke and the rest of the creative team knew that this rigorously realistic complex world would only be justified by equally realistic complex struggle for the characters within and the combination of a genuine setting and genuine hardships allowed the boys the perfect opportunity to explore the real repercussions of what a world with superheroes would look like so often we as the audience are shown abject chaos in disruption caused by superheroes yet we brush it off as meaningless collateral damage because nothing more ever comes of it but the boys makes us put meaning to that damage that's what Robin was collateral damage we watched the bubble of Huey's life burst before his eyes we watch his struggle with PTSD all because of the reckless actions of one superhero the boys makes us realize there are people in these cars husbands and wives who are never going to make it home to their families the second Avengers movie tried to touch on this subject with the sokovia accords but the boys tackles it at full force we don't just have the crumbling of nondescript buildings or the general shouting of off-screen civilians the boys makes us pilant Lee aware of the concept associated with the reality filled with superheroes it presents us genuine circumstances that are legitimately hard to watch ones that we have willfully ignored another superhero narratives the setting and characters of the boys is just as important as any of the plot points that occurred during the narrative the rigorous application of reality allows for an honest look at the worst parts of society and the struggles to overcome them and through that honesty the show is then able to deliver a message that points inwards at the deepest and most vulnerable parts of ourselves Eric Kripke has said Hughie's on a revenge arc he's able to finally fight back and there is a wish fulfillment in that but when you see the whole season you'll see that it's toxic - it's a disease revenge will ultimately do more damage to the person seeking it and it will kill you he needs to choose love and loyalty and the people around him or the single-minded vengeance that in many ways butcher represents I'll end on this note the rigorous application of reality that Eric Kripke saw at the center of the boys was all built around making the intended message a truthful and candid as possible to make your audience really think about the reality and truth behind your message your message needs to come from a place of reality and truth first thank you all so much for watching as I said at the beginning of the video the channel has recently partnered with audible if you've been eyeing a particular book or wanted to try out audible today is your lucky day click the link in the description to receive a free book when you start a free audible trial and don't worry there are no strings attached you can cancel your free trial at any time with no money down the more people that click the link to support audible the more support that this channel receives meaning I can keep bringing you guys content as always it was a pleasure and I will talk to you all again soon

Channel: Savage Books

Views: 594,581

Rating: 4.9368234 out of 5

Keywords: the boys homelander, iron man, the deep, amazon, savage books, video essay, the boys homelander kills, the boys homelander and stillwell, writing breakdown, superheroes, comic books, the avengers, marvel, translucent, starlight

Id: 57T_3_AhukA

Length: 14min 57sec (897 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 11 2019