Has Political Correctness Killed the SideKick?
The impending release of the Lone ranger 2013 movie spurred some thoughts today.
Archie had Jughead, Batman had Robin, Captain America had Bucky, Yogi had Boo Boo, The Bandit had Smokey, Sherlock had Watson and the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
Now of course there were also several pairings that were equals. Laurel and Hardy, Bo and Luke Duke, Ponch and Jon, Kitt and Michael Knight. The sidekick however is disappearing.
Modern thought, modern ideas, seem to shun the idea of the sidekick. How dare we think that someone else is lesser than our hero? Everyone must be equal.
The idea of the sidekick is essential. The hero is bolstered by it, not emotionally but his status certainly is. Sherlock is smarter than Watson, Batman is more powerful than Robin. That dichotomy, that difference, makes the hero all the bigger, all the more. The sidekick is used as a valuable comparison tool. The sidekick also, is smarter , more powerful, and just a step above us, the normal but impressive in our own right, viewer or reader. After all we may not have anything to offer Wonder Woman but Wonder Girl did at least maybe in the past, and where would Blue Falcon be without Dino Mutt? Granted an animal or robot (Twiggy) sidekick is a completely different thing.
The sidekick was also a humorous element, take Plastic Man and Hula Hula. The sidekick in some cases was better than the hero, take Baba Looey and Quick Draw McGraw. The sidekick was not always less intelligent or less powerful. There are cases of course where the sidekick is so ridiculously menial to the hero that we are able to see ourselves replacing them as certainly we are more powerful and smarter etc. than that person
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In today’s modern world and thought process and the political correctness that has become the norm, the sidekick has seemingly been deemed wrong. It does not matter that a sidekick is not only natural but very realistic. It has become unthinkable or offensive to portray someone as lesser than the hero, they have to be equals. Despite the fact that not everyone is given the same education. Not everyone inherits the wealth of a Wayne. That dare I say it, not everyone is capable of the same things another person is capable of. If they were sports would certainly be very boring.
There are people smarter than I and less intelligent than I, stronger than I, and weaker than I. That is a simple fact of life best illustrated by a quote from Star Wars the Phantom Menace
“ There is always a bigger fish.”
Was the Joker doing more than he thought when he killed Robin? Did he start something?
What or where is the sidekick’s place in modern times? Is it really such a bad thing that in a work of fiction one person be portrayed as lesser than another? Must Tonto now be as badass as the Lone Ranger? In the Incredibles, we see a young boy whose biggest aspiration is to be a sidekick, it is all he wants in life. To become Incrediboy. Even the French villain laughs at the idea. When that plan failed he became the villain. When it comes down to brass tacks, he was still just Incrediboy. He was no stronger, no smarter, no more powerful, than Mr Incredible. Sure he had an army and a cool machine, but no real powers.
What happens when we remove that balance, that realistic view? Is the modern version of Sherlock Holmes with its female, equal Watson, better or worse or just different than the old stodgy men who sat smoking their pipes and solving mysteries? Lone Ranger and Tonto in the past, was a stereotype, might even be considered racist by some. However if you really look at it, Tonto was certainly a hero in his own right, and for the times, against convention. The story started in 1933 and depicted a Native American as a hero, albeit a sidekick but a hero nonetheless. This in a time filled with movies and shows depicting Native Americans as the villains.
Tonto was groundbreaking in his own right. Tonto was the Lone Ranger’s blood brother, something I am betting that is left out of the new movie, even though it would certainly bring him to near equal status. Can't have people running around and cutting themselves and mixing their blood. I asked my best friend to do that as a kid. He of course asked his parents and needless to say, it never happened.
Has Political Correctness interevened and made the sidekick somehow wrong? Does everyone, as delusional a concept as it is, have to be equal? The sidekick can be lesser than the hero and still be admired. Where is the place for the beloved, highly adored for who they are, friend and companion of the hero in today’s storytelling?
