Xuen Tey Week #10 - Superpowers
Every kid has dreamed about having superpowers.
Wishing for a supernatural ability might as well be a rite of passage for all children with how common it is. Whether it was the ability of flight or invisibility or super-strength or teleportation, superpowers were always something that children yearned for. But, if superpowers were indeed real, how would our lives change?
I’ve read lots of series that explore worlds where people have superpowers, one of which was the infamous My Hero Academia (MHA). In My Hero, almost everyone in the world is born with a superpower, but contrary to what people may think would occur, the series explores the negative effects of this change. Discrimination against people with “villainous” or “freaky” superpowers is highlighted, as well as how the rare few without superpowers are treated by society. In fact, a large part of the later storyline revolves around how their society’s system of superheroes and villains caused people to become villains due to the various social stigmas that resulted because of this system.
Another, albeit lesser-known series that discusses a world with special abilities is Renegades, which has a similar system of superheroes and villains, but has a different system for how their powers are gained. As opposed to MHA, where people are born with superpowers, in Renegades, there are two methods of gaining an ability—being born with one, or they can manifest one in times of desperate need. For example, one of the characters has the power to produce and control smoke, and he gained this power when he narrowly escaped a burning building as a child.
I’m rather fond of reading series with this kind of storyline because I enjoy seeing how people think that worlds where people have special abilities would be like, and I love exploring the nitty-gritty details of how superpowers would affect society and how it would impact the people who wield them. Would people embrace or fear these powers? What would the public feel about random people having these abilities? How would the government approach this issue?
What do you think would change if one day superpowers were real?
Hi Xuen!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed the question you introduced with your blog this week! I, for one, would love to have telekinetic abilities or mind control. I would mostly use these powers to grab things when I am in my bed or get certain stuff for free. I also enjoy media that touches on the subject of people getting special abilities.
I recently started watching Teen Wolf over winter break, and I spent an embarrassing amount of time in my bed over those two weeks binge-watching the show. It is about a ‘teenage’ boy getting bitten by a werewolf and learning how to deal with the consequences of this bite, hence the name. I put the word teenager in quotation marks since none of these actors look like teens. But I still think the show (no matter how ridiculous the plot sometimes is) is extremely introspective when it comes to the question of how people would go about their lives if they had powers.
Another show that I really enjoy is The Boys, which follows a plot more similar to Renegade. The individuals with special abilities are given something that leads to them gaining superpowers, but they are portrayed as politicians who are only interested in fulfilling their own agendas. The main antagonist of the series is a Super-man variant who goes by the name of Homelander. This show definitely delves into the more dark and gritty aspects of the question but it is eerily similar to real life. Homelander was based off of Trump and in the season four finale (which aired before the election) it showed Homelander in office trying to fulfill his agenda on killing everybody who does not possess powers. Definitely darker than Teen Wolf or anything you mentioned.
Hi, Xuen. I was so excited to read your blog this week based off the first sentence. Personally (and a little embarrassingly), as a small kid, I was obsessed with trying to lucid dream. Lucid dreaming is when you become aware that you’re dreaming and are able to control your dream. I thought that was the most magical thing in the world and was genuinely ecstatic upon hearing it was a scientifically proven phenomenon. While I, unfortunately, was never successful, I still agree that it’s one of the closest things humans have to magic. I too like exploring how superpowers would affect society, and I have a hunch that it would be much more destructive than we think. Mind reading, X-ray vision, invisibility, and telekinesis are some examples of superpowers that could very easily become destructive. And while something like a healing superpower could seem harmless too, once again, it could easily become destructive if misused. It’s easy to romanticize these types of powers through Marvel or anime shows, but I think, as a society, we should be very glad superpowers don’t exist. Especially if only a select few got them. I’ve seen this meme online a couple times but can you imagine walking to the parking garage after work just to find that Hulk decided to smash your car in a fit of rage. Sure, Hulk, thanks for saving me I guess but wtf. And on top of that, I doubt there’s some sort of special superhero induced casualty insurance, so you're forced to bask in Hulk’s glory, despite the totaled car. So, I think it’s safe to say superpowers could and would be very detrimental to humankind.
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