The_Numerator wrote...
Wait, what's her problem that's in conflict with her character concept?
Her character concept includes something like "physical perfection". Whichever definition of that you're using, it would most notably include the most basic faculty of any functional lifeform: being able to reproduce.
Ieldra2 wrote...
[...] the more basic one is that some people can't stand characters who are especially gifted, unless their problems are so big that they cancel out the gifts completely, making them "one of the crowd" again, to echo something Mondo47 said a few pages back. It's as if there is a need to look down on people, either from pity or from hate, it doesn't matter. Me, I'd rather look up, I don't want Miranda to be "one of the crowd", I want her to be one who pulls the rest of humanity along, by her example and by passing on her gifts.
Very good. So is this the crux of it then? A sort of obscured jealousy or insecurity on the part of the peasantry? "If they can't bring their betters down to their level, will seek to get at them any other way they can"? In this case, by denying them the dignities expected to be afforded to any human being?
If this is so, then you've answered your own question, "why does that make people more sympathetic to Jack"? Because she's "one of them".}
I wouldn't use the "aristocrats" analogy. After all, the classic aristocrats were resented because they thought they were entitled to their privileges without actually being any better than most others. Miranda is different. She doesn't have that sense of entitlement but a sense of obligation instead, and to top that, she actually *is* better than others in some aspects.
But basically, yes, that need to pull others down to below one's own level is what I see at work here. Just look at the tabloids anywhere in the world, the glee with which the scandals of the privileged are displayed for the masses to consume, and you'll see how widespread that is. And if there is no scandal to hang resentment on (btw, see how accusations Miranda is a sl*t fit into this pattern), belittling their problems as insignifant and resorting to hate may do.
Granted, Miranda's affiliation with Cerberus doesn't help and can be a legitimate reason to dislike her, but the the full-blown hate we sometimes see, that's a result of that visceral resentment. To make it worse, she refuses to stroke the player's ego at the first meeting, and to make it infinitely worse, she refuses to be dishonestly modest about being especially gifted and has the gall to actually appreciate her own improved traits as valuable for a job that has become her calling, even though it doesn't give her real self-esteem. Some people don't forgive her that. I admire her for it.
Edit:
It's interesting how Grunt can get away with saying "I'm pure krogan, you should be in awe", but Miranda is hated for an "arrogance" she doesn't have. Likely a human man wouldn't cause such a reaction as well. Damn double standard.
Modifié par Ieldra2, 11 novembre 2010 - 10:09 .
Retour en haut
but at the end of the day you're still RPing a hero, so i don't worry about the reactions of others.
