not to be melodramatic but i think we've been deeply failed by our stories in a really fundamental way. hardly any stories explore what to me are the real sources of conflict. almost nothing gets past "identify and beat up the bad guy" as the primary conflict resolution strategy
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Is this bait for recommendations or
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i genuinely was not intending it to be but i'm happy to take recommendations!
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I gotta say I'm a bit baffled by the ending claim then because I can think of three modern television shows off the top of my head that easily get past identifying bad guy and beating up (the one's that came to mind were The Young Pope, ATLA, and the Last Kingdom)
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not familiar with the third and third. A:TLA has good dynamics between the protagonists (and i like zuko's arc) but it also has very clear and obvious antagonists like sozin. my dream would be a really popular thing with no antagonists whatsoever
Does The Good Place have antagonists? I would say only in a very temporary sense, cause we quickly shift perspectives.
Plus, it's about moral philosophy!
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The Good Place has Shawn! admittedly i haven't finished it, don't tell me if Shawn secretly ends up switching sides too or some crazy shit
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It'd make for a boring action-adventure so you're better off looking for drama - HBO has more of this I'm sure.
Have you ever seen Stupid, Crazy, Love? One of my favorite Rom Coms with this in mind
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i have not but sounds cute from the wikipedia summary lol
dramas make more sense as a place to look for this yeah
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seems hard to eliminate antagonists entirely, because persons are always driving forces in narratives. the closest that come to mind is "humanity struggling against existential threats" narratives, which brings to mind Interstellar or The Expanse for example
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actually I think the queen's gambit might fit your bill but maybe not the best execution
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I watched The Queen's Gambit and it was good, if in a painting-by-numbers kind of way
but... I can't have been the only one thrown off by the show's almost complete lack of antagonist presence
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