"Syndrome" Syndrome: or the Fallacy of "Special"

Intense_Interest · Jun 25, 2008

Lately, I have noticed that the talking-point criticism of the 4E system has been a co-opted quote from the movie The Incredibles, in that "When everyone is special, no one will be."

Lets ignore the fact that the source of the quote is a deranged maniac; the quote itself, when applied as it has been here, is completely dismantled by the actions of the movie.

Within the movie, you have the super-family Parr (a Captain Ersatz version of the Fantastic 4) that is, ostensibly, no less powerful than one another. One person's Super Speed doesn't take up more time or succeed greater than another's Invisibility/Forcefields: one character's Super Strength is proven to be as useful or better than another's Elastic Limbs.

Yet it is in the full amalgamation of the Five Man Band (The Incredibles plus Frozone) in which the team itself is "special". The climax of the movie is that the Team completed the mission together.

Therefore, I don't see how someone can use the Syndrome quote honestly and without irony when comparing it to 4E: The 4 Roles (plus Frozone!) creates mutually-"special" characters that divorced from the world around them does special things.

pawsplay · Jun 25, 2008

I think the message of the movie is that everyone is special, and that what makes people exceptional is the courage to use their gifts to their fullest and be honest about their frailties.

Cadfan · Jun 25, 2008

The other weird thing about how that quote is used in the movie is that no one in the movie "earned" their powers. They just got them for free.

Its basically an argument justifying inherited privilege and the denigration of anyone who starts out with little but works hard for more.

But that's completely irrelevant to the 4e analogy. People who use that quote seem to never quite know what they mean by it, which makes it awfully hard to answer.

mmu1 · Jun 25, 2008

Huh? In the movie, superheroes get driven underground by an unappreciative, sheep-like public that can't handle the fact that some people are special.

If the ending proves anything, it's the idiocy of stifling ability for the sake of conformity and not hurting anyone's feelings.

(And it's also a celebration of noblesse oblige, and all sorts of bad, elitist stuff, etc., etc. But it sure as hell doesn't show everyone really is special in their own way.)

pawsplay · Jun 25, 2008

Cadfan said:
Its basically an argument justifying inherited privilege and the denigration of anyone who starts out with little but works hard for more.

No, it's saying that when we have power, we have a mandate to use it for the good of all. Mr. Impossible gets into a lot of trouble by acting selfishly. And Syndrome was not a "by his bootstraps" folk hero, he was a manipulator who used others thoughtlessly, and oh yeah, a genius who built his own rocket boots at age 12. Being a natural genius is not "hard work." Syndrome could have made the world a much better place, but instead he became a weapons dealer and a fake super hero.

What the movie showed is that Mr. Impossible's desire to be "special" was partially motivated by selfishness. But it was also a frustration at the way society squanders people's potential. Look at the way he handled the old lady's insurance claim. That was an injustice. At the end, the Parr family don't inherit "privilege;" no, despite being rejected and treated unfairly by society, they fought against a dangerous foe with no likely reward of any kind. And far from being a lark for Robert like fighting robots and playing super agent, it was a terrifying experience to see his family on the line.

The message was that no one is entitled to special privileges. Syndrome sought adulation and destroyed himself. The Parrs united for the greater good. Their special reward was to have the family's infant child kidnapped by a sociopath.

Fifth Element · Jun 25, 2008

Intense_Interest said:
Lets ignore the fact that the source of the quote is a deranged maniac

Let's not. Let's remember this every time we see that quote.

Whizbang Dustyboots · Jun 25, 2008

pawsplay said:
I think the message of the movie is that everyone is special, and that what makes people exceptional is the courage to use their gifts to their fullest and be honest about their frailties.

I think it's exactly the opposite: That some people are special and that it's OK to be better or whatever. It doesn't entitle you to be a bad person, but it's also fine to let your freak flag fly.

FireLance · Jun 25, 2008

Yeah, using that quote in that context annoys me, too.

This is partly because I think that the statement is only true if everyone was special in the same way, and partly because it implies to me that the world should be divided into "special" and "non-special" people, and that the "special" people should somehow be more important. Whether or not this is true, I find it to be a dangerous line of thought.

I thought the real message of The Incredibles (one of my favorite movies, by the way) was that you should not be content with mediocrity or with being something less than you potentially could be, but that you should find your talent, your gift, or whatever makes you special, and offer it to the world.

So, in my view, settling for mediocrity is bad. However, simply telling people that they're special isn't a good idea, either. To me, that's only half the job. The other half is finding out what their talents (or at least, their comparative advantages) are, and helping them to become useful people who actually have a reason to feel at least slightly special.

blargney the second · Jun 25, 2008

Thank you! I couldn't remember where that quote came from, and it's been driving me nuts.

I totally agree that fallacious logic is running rampant on the internet.
-blarg

pawsplay · Jun 25, 2008

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
I think it's exactly the opposite: That some people are special and that it's OK to be better or whatever. It doesn't entitle you to be a bad person, but it's also fine to let your freak flag fly.

My view is it's saying that it's okay to have superior abilities, but that does not give you superior worth as a human being. Probably the most heroic thing Bob does in the movie is help people with insurance claims, a noble calling which earns him nothing but misery and subjection to hatred. As a superhero, he is in his element. Being a nobody was hard but it didn't bend his moral resolve.