I'm sorry it's been so long. I attribute the delay to three main factors:
1. I didn't have any ideas lined up (help me!)
2. Winter is here, and with it is the Thanksgiving to Christmas "month of lethargy"
3. I started playing an old Sega Genesis video game, and it proved to be more addicting than anticipated
But somehow I overcame the many obstacles and made it back to blogging. And so...
Come back, Store Ease
That is, comeback stories. I'm so sorry for that.
I have a very short list of topics that have been suggested for the blog, and one item on the list reads "World Series / comeback stories." The problem is, I don't know anything about this past Series... I think it was Rangers vs. Cardinals? Don't quote me on that.
But as I think about comeback stories in general, I have to wonder why?? Why do comeback/underdog stories, of all stories, seem to speak to us the most? Here are a few thoughts:
One pastor at my church loves the idea of Story and has often preached that the three elements in any great story are a worthy cause, formidable opposition, and a dramatic resolution. And if you think about it, I bet you'll agree -- the greatest movies you've seen and books you've read were probably those with the grandest missions, most daunting setbacks, and most thrilling moments of crescendo.
The stories with the highest ratings in the "formidable opposition" category are those that stack up so much opposition that there is a moment of apparent defeat, a point at which you think victory just can't be possible. These plots stack the odds so much against the hero that they can only be called "underdog" or "comeback" stories.
That might explain why comeback tales make the best stories given our paradigm of cause/conflict/resolution, but why is that our story paradigm??
I don't know. Your answer will probably depend on your worldview. As a Christian, I tend to think that this is the framework of God's redemptive story found in the Bible -- the cause of restoring creation to Himself, the opposition of the sinfulness of man and the evil of Satan's forces, and the dramatic moment of Christ on the cross.
This might not register as an underdog story, as the Hero is omnipotent, but enter Christmas-- the Protagonist arrives not in splendor or power, but as a baby in a manger. There were elements of opposition from day 1 -- no room at the inn and a power-hungry murderous king, to name two.
How a naturalist might explain the draw of this paradigm (or specifically a comeback story) I don't know; maybe he would see it as a symbol of mankind's struggle to survive in a harsh dog-eat-dog world. I can't read shis hypothetical mind.
Underdogs, unite
People used to put "Dyslexics of the world, UNTIE!!" in their AIM profiles, but I never thought it was funny
What's your favorite underdog story?
Jon
This blog post reminds me of "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and because I plug Donald Miller whenever I can, I'm mentioning it here. If you haven't read it, stop whatever you're doing (reading my comment) and go read his books....all of them
ReplyDeleteAnyway, favorite underdog story...hmmmm...As a nerd, I'll always tend to relate to the "nice/nerdy/unexpected guy gets the girl" story paradigm. Two of my favorite TV shows have focused on it: Chuck in Chuck, Leonard in The Big Bang Theory. Zombieland, Spider-Man, and to a lesser extent, but because 'tis the season, Elf all fit the bill. I can't think of any books that I've read with this story model, but I'm sure there are plenty out there.
...and of course, Jesus's story, but you already mentioned that.