THE POWER OF DUMBASSERY

Recently, I re-watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001) and my main takeaway this time, all I could think about throughout, was:

“Harry’s a dumbass”.

Imagine, you’re 11 years old, you’ve just been told “you’re a wizard, Harry”, and the most powerful evil one of all murdered your parents, tried to kill you as a baby and now wants revenge for you thwarting him. Would you then proceed to essentially, and intentionally, do it again and take your new friends along for the journey? (The Hero’s Journey, if you will…) Hell no! You’re not a dumbass. But Harry Potter is.

In The Philosopher’s Stone, Harry goes along with everything far too easily considering he’s just entered a mysterious new world and blunders into situations with some serious guts and no magical training whatsoever.

This is the same boy who actually says-

- two movies along, and then does exactly that, and always that.

Harry is a prime example of what I, and the internet, affectionately refer to as a “dumbass”, or someone radiating “dumbass energy”. These are usually male characters who regularly make a fool of themselves by saying or doing something stupid that either puts them in jepoardy or is just straight-up cringeworthy.

And I realised my favourite heroes/the protagonists I relate to most are, unsurprisingly, not only white men (because I am one and they are the default) but share this trait of dumbassery.

In this essay TED talk I will be defending said adorable dumbasses as I believe they make the best heroes and might one of the answers to keeping the Hero myth alive...

Before we begin though, I guess I better give you some-

Examples of dumbassery

Harry Potter

Let’s start with the Boy Wizard himself. Although this a triumphant moment, it isn’t really heroic, but I couldn’t not use what is easily Harry’s defining dumbass moment in The Philosopher’s Stone. When he stands on a frickin’ broomstick mid-air - right after it’s tried to throw him off! - and almost swallows the Snitch by catching it in his gob and face-planting the field, all so his team can win. What a legend.

Peter Parker

Specifically, Tom Holland. He seems to have imbued his incarnation of the iconic character with his own dumbass energy. Like how Tom is infamous for spoiling his own movies, Peter has a bad habit of revealing his identity to everyone and that’s not even the half of his dorkish misdemeanours.

My example though is from Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). On his superhero rounds in Queens, Peter attacks a guy he thinks is breaking into a car...but turns out it’s his car *face-palm*. I guess the Webhead really is the menace J Jonah Jameson calls him.

Scott Pilgrim

Oh, Scott. The ultimate dumbass. Awkward as fuck, he might not know “bread makes you fat” or the L word (“lesbians?”) but he’s always prepared to fight. For his love, Ramona, for her honour (unless it means fighting a girl) and eventually, for himself, to earn self-respect.

One of Scott’s best dumbass moments is right at the start of his Hero’s Journey in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) when he has no idea who he’s meant to be fighting or why.

“Didn’t you get my e-mail explaining the situation?”

“I skimmed it.”

Typical dumbass behaviour.

Marty McFly

The dumbass McFly in its natural habit.

Now, you might not immediately think of Marty McFly when it comes to dumbasses but let me remind you, in Back to the Future (1985) the boy almost erases himself from existence by *deep breath*-

1. Accidentally going back in time by driving the DeLorean at 88mph despite just being told that’s how it works.
2. Pushing his father out of the way of a car even though he knows he got hit and was fine because that’s how he met his mother.
3. Playing along and being too awkward to reject his MOTHER’s advances.

Not as cool as you thought, hey, McFly!

Luke Skywalker

I mean, the meme says it all but it’s easy to forget Luke Skywalker wasn’t always the cool, collected Jedi who sacrificed himself in the last Star Wars. Once a whiny farmboy, Luke deliberately seeks out the Tusken Raiders early in Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) and has to be saved by Ben Kenobi.

I guess if he hadn’t been so stupid, they never would’ve met and “meeting the mentor” is an integral part of the Hero’s Journey, but we’ll get back to that…

Last but not least -

Archie Andrews

Okay, I know this isn’t from a movie but I couldn’t resist. Archie from Riverdale (2017-present) - oh my god, the options are limitless. How about when he starved himself for a week and fought two boxing matches in a day? Or every time he chased a serial killer, a hitman or anyone with a gun in season two only equipped with a baseball bat or his fists? A true American hero dumbass.

So, what makes these dumbasses so heroic?

In all of these instances, the hero has gone head-first into a dangerous situation (or what they mistakenly think is one) without thinking, often inexperienced, under-prepared and outgunned. Why? Because they think what they’re doing is noble and they want to take all the credit? No, they’re just doing what they think is the right thing, usually to save others at the expense of their own safety.

Archie protects his dad, Harry protects his friends, Peter protects his neighbourhood, Luke goes on to protect the universe. Scott and Marty are protecting themselves but also, Scott thinks he’s protecting Ramona even though she can look after herself and Marty is ensuring the space-time continuum doesn’t collapse on itself.

So, yeah, they’re a selfless bunch but they’re also reckless, and that recklessness, that knack for getting themselves into trouble way over their heads, is what makes them the best in my opinion. What makes us want to root for them. Their dumbassery is endearing and underpins their brand of heroism.

But is also (obviously) their flaw too.

If you’ve read any screenwriting manual you know those guys are keen to remind you your characters should have flaws, or a fatal flaw they must overcome to achieve their goals thus, completing their arc. I’d say John Yorke probably does this best in his book Into The Woods (2013) - I recommend it even though like Scott Pilgrim I’ve just skimmed it.

WITH GREAT STUPIDITY COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

Anyway, I’m not saying these heroes just being dumbasses makes them flawed. I’m saying their dumbassery often has consequences, implications that make it a flaw.

For instance, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter interrupts a deal between criminals on a public ferry because he thinks Tony Stark isn’t listening and taking him seriously so, he has to do it himself. Yet, in doing so, he ruins an FBI sting set up Stark and causes the ferry to literally SPLIT IN HALF, endangering the lives of MANY citizens.

This is probably the most extreme example and not entirely Peter’s fault but the facts still stand, his foolhardy decision to go it alone, time and time again, doesn’t just nearly cost him his life, but that of others too.

Ironically, when these dumbasses try to do right by others, they often end up having the opposite effect because they’ve not thought it through properly. They think they can do it on their own, think they have to, because, again, ironically, they don’t want anyone else to get hurt and they think it’s their duty.

Or, as the old proverb goes -

With great power, comes great responsibility.

Following these words from his late uncle, Peter Parker believes he has to be Spider-Man because he got bit by a spider. Harry Potter believes it’s up to him to stop Voldemort because he’s the Chosen One. Luke Skywalker believes he has to bring down the Empire, to stop Vader and the Emperor and bring balance to the force for a similar reason.

But I can hear you saying, “Josh, Marty McFly doesn’t have powers (other than good luck, good looks and a good right hook)”. And “Scott Pilgrim has powers but he uses them irresponsibly, for self-preservation and personal gain”.

Firstly, I know it’s weird I can read your exact thoughts (you’re impressively eloquent, by the way). Secondly, I’d argue Marty McFly’s super-power is time-travel and like Scott, he abuses it for personal gain in all three BTTF movies by improving his life (and the lives of his family, I guess, but that’s more incidental).

In fact, Marty is more selfish than Scott and therefore, the most selfish of all my dumbass protagonists. Remember he buys the Sports Almanac to make a “few bucks on the side and when he (and Doc) fail to dispose of it properly, it leads to Biff’s Trump-like dystopia, which makes Peter’s ferry fiasco look quaint in comparison. Talk about a dumbass move.

Anyhow, I wasn’t saying the responsibility proverb is what all these heroes have in common because evidently, it isn’t applicable to all of them.

What they do all have in common is selfishness - hear me out! - and a reluctance to live up to their responsibilities. They’re grudgingly obligated to fight, to be heroes.

I mean, Scott Pilgrim is too lazy at first; Spider-Man just wants to be a regular kid, to go to school and go out with Mary Jane; I’m sure Harry Potter just wants a normal life and wishes ol’ Voldy had picked Neville instead, and Luke Skywalker...well-

At first, none of these boys want to step up to the plate and continue to debate whether they should after the fact. I mean, there’s a whole movie where Peter Parker - albeit Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 2 (2004) - literally bins his alter-ego to put himself first and get his life back on track.

Eventually though, these characters embrace their roles, and that initial reluctance is just part of...

The Hero’s Journey

Now, you’re thinking, “Josh, what has any of this got to do with The Hero’s Journey? And what even is The Hero’s Journey anyway?”

Well, The Hero’s Journey is a storytelling template. Not only is it a neat way to structure your screenplay, but a ready-made arc for your hero.

The study of hero myth narratives started in 1871 with anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor, who observed common patterns in plots of heroes' journeys. Eventually, this study was consolidated and popularised by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), who summarised it like so:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Now, Mr. Campbell listed 17 stages in the Hero’s Journey but those are quite vague and outdated and more suited to fantasy/folklore tales so, we’re gonna go with Christopher Vogler’s aptly named Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces:

Act I

1. Ordinary world

2. Call to adventure

3. Refusal of the call

4. Meeting with the mentor

5. Crossing the first threshold

Act II

6. Tests, allies & enemies

7. Approach to the innermost cave

8. The ordeal

9. Reward

Act III

10. The road back

11. The resurrection

12. Return with the elixir

If you want a more in-depth explanation of what these stages actually mean, I’d recommend researching yourself and finding one that suits you. Start off from the Wikipedia or TV Tropes page if you have to, there’s no shame in it! (I’m saying that more for myself)

Anyway, as you can see, the Hero’s Journey follows the traditional three-act structure which is present in every pretty much in every story ever told whether it was intended to or not because it’s ingrained in us. Same goes for the Hero’s Journey.

The Hero’s Journey is a go-to for any epic story. For instance, when George Lucas was writing Star Wars, he started researching mythology and discovered he was “following classical motifs” - the Hero’s Journey - without even realising it (and before becoming obsessed with Campbell’s work and intentionally, shaping the rest of the Star Wars saga after it).

But like three-act-structure, simply following the Hero’s Journey does not guarantee your story will be any good. You see, the Hero’s Journey is universal and therefore, generic. Following it might guarantee structure and an arc for your protagonist, but it can also be like painting by numbers and you risk making your stories predictable and your characters boring. The only way to make them resonate with an audience is if both are unique.

Having your hero be a dumbass is one way that has proven successful, but it's not the only way.

IDENTIFYING WITH YOUR IDIOT

I mean, if your hero is going to be a white man, he might as well stand out from the crowd of stoic macho types and offer an alternative, more healthy representation of masculinity like my boys. They might be dumbasses but they’re also sensitive and kind and vulnerable and don’t fight to prove they’re manly, but because they don’t have any other choice.

Marty McFly might punch every generation of Tannen if they call him chicken because he’s insecure but it’s the only way to get on the idiot’s level, and he’ll do it even if he’s literally not. I’m saying he’s short and that’s rare for a male hero (so many male actors insist on being taller than their women co-stars - Robert Downey Jr, Tom Cruise!). As is is such insecurity.

It is facets of their personality like this, that are historically perceived as weaknesses in men, which make my dumbasses likeable, relatable and progressive alternatives to the traditional hero.

Peter Parker is a nerd who cries at every chance he gets. Harry Potter is often vulnerable and relies on his female best-friend to save his ass regularly and gives her all the credit. Scott Pilgrim is effectively clueless and useless and very camp. And Luke Skywalker is a religious man who practices what he preaches and sacrifices himself in non-violent protest.

These characters are not just dumbasses, but great examples of how the Hero’s Journey, and heroes in general, can be made unique and offer alternate depictions of men that counter a history dominated by toxic masculinity in mainstream media.

CHANGING THE SPOTLIGHT

However, as I said, this isn’t the only route to take. It might sound obvious but your heroes don’t have to be straight white men! Hell, most of the protagonists in my work aren’t even men at all!

Slowly but surely, representation is changing and improving, there are more heroines and heroes of colour and hopefully, gay and disabled ones are on the way too. But the only way we’re going to see these different faces is if we the writers write them!

Don’t give me that bullshit about leaving it up to casting or writers with better knowledge of other genders, races and sexualities, just write them! Specify, do your research, talk to people! Unless you write those characters and actively make the change, casting directors will continue to wrongly assume the default is white and the heroes will continue to mainly be so.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Basically, I’m saying don’t just follow the “rules”. 3-act structure and the Hero’s Journey come naturally, don’t worry about replicating those exactly. Do worry about making your stories and characters stand out from the rest, make them unique and compelling!

The only way to save the Hero’s Journey is if the heroes doing the saving reflect the “Ordinary World” they supposedly leave behind.

So, write dumbasses! Dumbass women and gays and disabled dumbasses and dumbasses of colour. And they don’t even have to be dumbasses, just protagonists that aren’t always cishet white men. Not only will this result in better representation, but these different takes on the Hero’s Journey will stop it going stale. The Hero with a Thousand Faces will stop being a myth and become a revitalised reality.