GeniesLoki

And if you're a man who has some or all of these traits - even if it's entirely reasonable doses - and are looking for representation... these terrible characters are kinda the only place you have to look, because the healthier versions are not represented on screen anywhere.

To clarify, you're not just talking about being very confident in your abilities, you're talking about overestimating your abilities and having that be a good thing?

Hmm. A little? Overestimating your abilities isn't ideal, but overestimating your chances of success can be a good thing. I was thinking more of the sort of arrogance you get with "I'm great and I know it" which is a little independent of how accurate the "I'm great" part is.

Yeah, good example.

And I guess although I said it's independent... it's probably only good to have if you're *actually* great. Like being pleased with your abilities is good at every level, but "I'm great and I know it" stops you from becoming great if you're not already.

I think in the media there's a "cocky vs confident" distinction (Han Solo is a little on the cocky side which is why I gave him as an example) I've seen many action heroes celebrated for their confidence, when they don't overestimate themselves or underestimate their team

I think it's a bit less common in intellectual characters though? Maybe that's the appeal of Rick