For a few years, I had been looking for a way to tell a story that would value the collective rather than the hero, a way to subvert the hero's journey. I found this quite complicated because I would either deviate from the narrative structure of the Hero's Journey or follow it. Until one day, the pigeons came to my rescue, and I found a theme that fit my idea.
One of the problems I have with superhero movies is how they portray the collective, the people, the audience – us, everyday folks – always as idiots who, without the help of the Status Quo, would be killing each other. This isn't true; it's "propaganda" that weakens collective strength in favor of heroism or rather, individualization. In the book "In A Paradise Built in Hell" by author Rebecca Solnit, she recounts how communities struck by unimaginable tragedies came together for the common good and help each other. Of course, the dominant capitalist system doesn't want you to organize and fight against oppression, hence the devaluation of the collective and the exaltation of the hero.
Acts of heroism are real and happen every day, but only a collective organization can change the world. This is the theme of the Pigeon Revolution, an animated series originally conceived and written in Portuguese, aiming to tell the story of some pigeons who organize themselves and fight against predators and their natural order of predator vs. prey, the so-called law of the strongest, but nothing is stronger than the collective." Here is the Logline. https://www.stage32.com/loglines/55384
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Sounds like a wonder-filled and quite important project. Wishing you much success with it.
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Thank you Pamela
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Love your POV, Luciano Mello. And what a symbolic bird to carry your message/theme. What are your next steps with the script?
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Thanks, Ty, The First Episode is written, and the Animation Bible is ready, The next step is to get funds (probably gov. grants here in Brazil) to produce at least the Pilot, make a partnership with an animation studio, and work to make it happen.
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I've noticed some Superhero movies portray minor characters and background characters as idiots and helpless, Luciano Mello. It gets annoying, and it makes you think "Do studios and companies think of us like that?" I'm about to check out your logline.
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War movies like The Dam Busters and The Cruel Sea I guess would be some of the closest examples of how movies moved away from individual hero worship, as the characters see themselves as part of a collective that is taking part in a shared suffering. The last lines of both of these send this message home, particularly in The Cruel Sea when one person points out that the bedraggled and defeated sailors they capture look no different to themselves. But these movies were released very close to the end of the war where most of the audience would have partaken in their share of the mutual suffering depicted, which audiences today wouldn't be able (thankfully) to understand in the same way.
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Love your POV, Luciano, and your adaptation using the pigeons. I look forward to reading about your success!
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Thanks, Maurice for the comment. I'm not sure if they think this way about us. I believe they know it because history has already proven the power of the collective. However, they want us to believe that the collective has no strength, and for this reason, they promote this hero culture. It makes it easier for an executive to evaluate a script based on pre-established norms. Of course, there are films that deviate from the Hero's Journey, usually emerging outside the mainstream of major studios. Some even win Oscars. I've written about this and cited some examples by comparing various films. You can read more about it here: https://lucianomello11.medium.com/the-heros-journey-is-not-universal-de5....
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Thanks, Ewan Dunbar for the comment and for pointing out those films I will check soon, War films indeed provide an excellent way to explore the power of a well-organized collective when facing a common enemy. They highlight how individuals can come together for a greater purpose and confront extraordinary challenges together. And you're right; it was after this time, I think more in the late 1950s and 1960s, that war hero films prevailed, creating an idealized image that led thousands of young Americans to enlist in the military. However, when they encounter a cruel reality and face a collective force, as in the case of the Vietnam War, we know the tragic outcome of that. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it was precisely in the late '60s and early '70s that the anti-hero figure gained strength on screen I guess.
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Thank you Marian Betts!
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Liked it! What if the pidgeons were Italians willing to have some good time in Copacabana's beach? :D
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I just remembered the latest work from one of my favorite filmmakers, Boots Riley: "I'm a Virgo," which is available on Amazon Prime. In this series, Riley explores the same themes and ideas about heroes in contrast with the collective using superhero tropes as a narrative device in a funny and creative way. I highly recommend it; it's truly an amazing show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSyKhFwEo7c
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This is what every movie based on 9/11 should've strived for: collective heroism instead of showing only individual POV's.