You have to laugh at The Boys. What the writers think the conservative movement is says more about them than it does about the world.
The right-wing-coded groups are all male, all white and all pasty. None hunt or go to the gym – you can tell that at a glance.
(I wrote that before seeing s4e3, where they show a woman and a black man in the crowd of hundreds. But they all still look feeble, sad and angry – and it’s still overwhelmingly white men.)
Nothing any of these right-coded characters say rings True. They sound like what the woke think conservatives say, andit all comes out as alien gibberish.
I’ve seen some bonkers stuff in right-wing social media. None of that made it to the screen. If the writers knew what some conservatives actually thought and said, they could score some devastating blows by mocking that.
Instead, they mock strawmen and their own hallucinations. It’s hard to land a blow while punching at vapor.
Then there’s Firecracker – an angry right-wing personality who spouts accusations at random, and is only popular because she’s (a) attractive and (b) part of an industry that typically leans the other way.
Again, she’s a strawman. She’s not a parody of the more popular conservative influencers – which would be so easy – but of mentally ill fools with 43 followers.
Her entire character is a lie. Her superpowers are the most realistic thing about her.
And somehow, when asked about what she sells to her audience, the writers answer with the Truth:
“Purpose. I sell purpose. These people got nothing. Maybe they lost a job or a house or a kid to oxy. Politicians don’t give a shit, mainstream media tells them to be ashamed of their skin colour, so, well, I bring ’em together, tell them a story, give them a purpose. Which would you rather believe? That you belong to a community of warriors battling a secret evil, or that you’re a lonely, inconsequential nobody that no one will ever remember?”
I was impressed. In a sea of surreal lies and mental distortions, a character actually said something real.
The problem is one of symmetry.
This script says this about the right-coded community in the show. They don’t say it about the left-coded community, even though it applies just as well.
Maybe even better.
Which of these secret evils is more likely:
(a) The rich and powerful don’t care about the common man. In fact, they view them with contempt. So while our leaders might say they fight for us, they’re really lining their own pockets and toying with everyone.
(b) Only white men are racist and sexist. The patriarchy is real. Ignore how white folks gave others equal rights and how men reworked labour laws so women could work as equals. Ignore how society follows female leaders and supports ethnic politicians. Those are ruses or something. White men have secret power so even homeless drug addicts can oppress CEOs and presidents through, I don’t know, magic or something.
Conservatives lean towards (a), while the woke lean towards (b).
And (b) is an obvious, observable lie created by the rich and powerful. Yet the woke believe it because they have nothing else. They’re miserable, empty, hollow and without direction. If that were you, what would you rather believe? That you belong to a community of warriors battling a secret evil or…
Well, you remember the quote.
Oh well, I guess I’ll have to look outside a superhero show for guidance.
The best place is the Holy Bible.
With you here right now, the second best place is this: