We Are All Traumatized Now

To generalize wildly, the form of classical drama handed down from the Greeks establishes some fairly clear rules for character development and storytelling. The most general tenet of this tradition is that drama requires conflict—or rather that drama is conflict. In hero myths in general, it is the struggle to overcome external obstacles and become battle-hardened that creates the hero’s journey, that growth which the hero undergoes in order to move from the first (and unsuccessful) encounter with his enemy to the final battle where the hero emerges victorious. In other words, the creators of older dramatic forms understood intuitively that, without real danger, real courage is impossible; without real conflict and obstacles to overcome, there can be no development of character. 
We might call this very general approach to drama “agonism”, from the Greek idea of the agon, a struggle that gives life meaning. In this worldview, an adversary is necessary for us to realize our potential and struggle is thus a central—and potentially positive—part of the human experience.
Contemporary popular culture takes a markedly different approach to conflict and struggle. Within the seemingly all-consuming world of fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero films, there is the phenomenon of the “Mary Sue”. This is a character for whom difficulty and struggle are impossible because there is essentially no room for improvement. For these characters, there is nothing that cannot be done or achieved at the first attempt. Usually the character is a young woman, such as recently Captain Marvel (2019) or Mu...