They count on us dragging each other down, because they want to believe we’re all as greedy and sociopathic as they are. It helps them hurt us guilt free to believe that.
That’s what McCarthyism was all about, attacking, shaming, and scarlet lettering Americans who did the unthinkable and empathized and encouraged …gasp… cooperation with others rather than gleefully competing against them.
The funny thing about the Incredibles movies (both of them) is that the villains were right. It’s just too bad their methods were bad.
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Syndrome’s goal was egalitarianism and empowerment of everyone via technology.
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The Screen Slaver wanted people to become more self-sufficient and fill their lives with experiences, instead of wasting them idolizing heroes on TV.
(The conspiracy theorist in me can’t help but notice that Disney has a vested interest in discrediting those ideas, especially the latter.)
I think this is what makes for an interesting villain in general though across all media. That uncomfortable feeling of relating to them or seeing they have a point even though their actions are clearly reprehensible
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