Who doesn’t love a good prophecy?
Wouldn’t you be thrilled to discover that your tedious life has all been a nefarious ruse, and your true lineage has been hidden from you? And now you must fulfill your destiny to save the world, vanquish evil, and most likely, get laid?
Yes, it’s a beautiful story. Even if it is a common trope, a sad source of wish fulfillment, and a bit racist.
OK, I may need to explain that last one. You see, the “literary canon is lousy with Chosen Ones” because there is “always an ancient riddle to live up to, a monstrosity to depose, and a balance to be restored.” But as you may have noticed, the hero is usually a “straight white boy anointed the arbiter of balance.”
Think about it. What do Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Jack from Lost, and Neo from the Matrix have in common?
No, the prophecy never seems to foretell the arrival of a Latino lesbian or a short Black guy who is there to save the world. We continue to gravitate toward stories where white men are not just natural leaders, but divinely ordained messiahs with powers far beyond the rest of us.
Taken to extremes, this is the kind of thinking that leads millions of Americans to look at a bellicose blowhard who is the most obese man to be chief executive since William Howard Taft and think “He’s the most manly man ever!”
Another issue is that these types of stories imply that “a flawed system can be repaired by simply trading out or removing a few bad pieces,” usually in one quick stroke or massive blast from the sacred object or a shouting of the sacred incantation. I mean, it’s cool as hell, but also more than a little simplistic.
Again, taken to extremes, you have a situation where “Americans decided that since we elected President Obama, that meant racism was over and everything was fine.” I’m pretty sure it didn’t turn out that way.
Now, I’m not saying we should boycott these stories, or reject tales where white guys save the day.
But we need to stop buying into the idea of a godly master plan that focuses on one man who can fix everything.
That shit never happens.
But who knows, maybe the next prophecy will be the one that sticks.
