This got me thinking; does understanding a backstory equate to having to accept their actions? And in our own lives, where we usually cast ourselves in the role of the hero, are we actually the villain? In an article published by Entertainment Weekly (https://ew.com/books/2020/01/21/hunger-games-prequel-exclusive-excerpt/) it was revealed that the new protagonist for the Hunger Games prequel is a younger version of the antagonist from the existing novels, which are set 64 years later. Many fans were upset by the decision to centre the prequel around this character rather one of the many other supporting characters from the existing books. And, whilst it's certainly true that stories about the backstories to many of these characters would be make for interesting reading, this only serves to make it a yet more bold move to choose this character to write about, but perhaps it's the story that needs telling today. In fiction we like to see characters as basically good or bad. Yes, in many of the more interesting books out there most characters are generally a mix of the two, but one side normally provides their overarching alignment to either the cause of good or of evil. Increasingly in everyday life and the life of the wider world people are cast irretrievably into one of these roles, it keeps life simpler. However in more recent film we have seen characters who are a little more nuanced, where the lines are blurred. Maleficent, Deadpool and even Elsa in Frozen all blur the line between good and bad. There is some debate, particularly around the former two, about where they fit, our neat boxes don’t work very well anymore. Therefore when a character who has thus far been portrayed as evil, who fits nicely into that box, suddenly becomes more nuanced, is shown to have also belonged to the realm of good it is perhaps a little unsettling, especially when their arc doesn't lead them from evil to good but rather the opposite. Many of the complaints about the choice to make Snow the hero of the new book centre around a fear that it will be an attempt to redeem him, to explain that his actions later down the line are the result of what he has been through, of the circumstances of his life, and that we should therefore cut him some slack and perhaps forgive him for what he goes on to do. The former part will almost certainly be the case, much like the Star Wars prequels documenting the downfall of Anakin to the dark side, it will no doubt explore how the hero became the villain, a story genre which always fascinates me. However the latter part, that our new understanding should cause us to judge his later actions less harshly, simply does not follow. Yes, the events of his life lead him down a dark path, but it's not an inevitable end, other characters faced with the same circumstances would make different decisions which would lead them to a different place. A fall from grace isn't the inevitable result of those circumstances. So to argue that we should judge him less harshly as he is a product of circumstance is to overlook his own actions in choosing his path and how those actions resulted in new circumstances which either pushed him further towards the dark or provided an opportunity to revert to the light. The unsettling thing about these stories is that they serve as a reminder that no-one is born a murderous dictator or sith lord. Instead it is the course of their lives and the decisions they make which lead them to those darker places. Which means any of us could go down that path, but on the flip side also reminds us that there are none so corrupt or damaged that there is no good in them, that they didn't once have a very different path ahead of them. However none of these facts will redeem them. Snow will not be redeemed by his backstory just as the backstories of iconic villains such as Darth Vader or the Joker redeem them. Past merit does not excuse later crimes. I think the reason we are made uneasy by attempts to redeem villains, by knowing and understanding their backstory, is that it serves as an uncomfortable reminder that perhaps they are not so different than us. In our own lives we automatically cast ourselves in the role of the hero, of the protagonist of our own story. But what if we're the villain? If we open the Bible and read for more than a few chapters we will soon discover that humanity isn't the hero, we are the villains of the piece. God in His role as protagonist creates a wonderful world and gifts it to us to care for, 5 minutes later we've gone rogue, 5 minutes after that there's blood on the ground. Time and time again humanity turns to destruction and chaos, dragging the world further and further from the light. Often there are glimmers of hope, chances to return to the light, but they're often missed, or if taken, are later undone. The backstory of humanity is of a species who's head is easily turned by darker motives. And does knowing that backstory somehow redeem us? Are our present actions saved because of our circumstances? By no means. Despite our predisposition to sin our actions are still our own, the direction of our lives still directed by the choices we make. We may try to make the good choices, but we all know we make dozens of tiny selfish choices every day that others may not notice. Left to our own devices we all know the darkness the lurks beneath the surface, beckoning to us. Will future merit somehow fix what has gone before, undo our many past failures? Can we sway the balance of good and bad to somehow rejoin the side of the light? Is there any hope to redeem the villain? It's at this point that the Bible gives a fascinating answer. We're too far gone to be redeemed, there's nothing we can do to get back to realm of the good. But the hero can save us. Have you ever read a story where the hero dies to save the villain? Not one where the villain sees the light and turns back to it, and in a selfless act the hero sacrifices themselves so that the redeemed villain can go on to do good, but one in which the villain shows no signs whatsoever of turning back to the light but the hero dies for them anyway. Paul writing to the Romans puts it like this 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us' (Ch5v8). Not only does the hero die for the villain, the hero loves the villain. We're the ones who keep trying to frustrate God's good actions, the ones who keep getting in the way, and yet He not only loves us, but dies for us. This is how a villain is redeemed, not through the actions of the villain, but through the actions of the hero. God wipes away our record of wrongs and casts us in the new role of companion, we're still not the hero, instead we work alongside God in bringing the light back into our fallen world. Neither Snow nor us can be redeemed by trying to tip the balance of good deeds and bad deeds in favour of the latter, nor can our actions be excused by our life's circumstances, only the actions of the hero, only God's radical grace can recast us in a new role. Through Christ we are no longer the villains, but companions of the one who's story it truly is.
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AuthorI was raised in an Anglican Church, went to a Youth Club run by an Evangelical Church and attended a Baptist Church while at Uni and as such my faith has been influenced by these traditions into what I hope is a more rounded viewpoint. Categories
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