There is a tendency in media and fiction literature, especially fantasy, where a main character is extremely powerful, as if gaining supernatural abilities was something they easily accumulated, like age. In some, such as the popular fantasy series Frieren, it is taken for granted that as people age they have a greater ability, as if power were simply (natural talent * age).
While this seems harmless in itself, I think that it breeds a real dissatisfaction in people, since this fiction does not line up with our natural abilities. First, we obviously do not have magical abilities. Second, the abilities that we do have will greatly wane and decay if they are not practiced carefully and repeatedly, such as memory, or skill in playing an instrument. Third, these things do not increase like y=x, where we experience constant improvement, but there is usually a huge plateau of visible improvement before certain abilities are finally realized. For example, in language learning, it will take a lot of time before someone is conversationally fluent, or can read at a strong pace, and before they are able to do that, they will feel greatly inadequate compared to the existing men already fluent in these things.
Who Cares?
It is often overlooked that the regular consumption of media places in us desires, whether we realize it or not. When we frequently watch or read fantasy, we begin to confront reality and hold it to the standard of the things that we have read. If all you watch is Harry Potter, you’re going to wonder why people in the real world aren’t just pointing their fingers and making things work. But more subtly, the things that were mentioned above will quietly weigh down your conscience. When you are used to seeing consistent improvement, perfect memory and a straightforward approach to problem solving in fiction, when you don’t see this happening in reality, it makes someone frustrated. The same might also be said about constant consumption of comedy, where the real world is a lot more depressing, and all of your actions have consequences.
Escapism
A common response to this disillusion with the real world beyond regular frustration, is that we begin to prefer images and graphics to the real world, and become those people who Socrates compares to men who descend from the sunlight and into a cave, to watch puppeteered images dance as shadows along the wall. If this seems extreme, I will jog your memory with digital girlfriends. Even before large language models, which we now call AI, many individuals would, and still do look upon animated women as actual objects for their affections and desires, and lauding them as greater than the real thing. Obviously this is not a healthy way to live, for these desires will never reach fulfillment, and usually lead to sexual deviancy and obsessions in the most disturbing ways that you could think of.
While this is an extreme example, I don’t believe that you could find such an extreme example without there first being a seed of this dissatisfaction already existing within a huge mass of people.
I suppose a fourth issue with this kind of media is that it usually solves a plot issue by simply throwing more power at it. Can’t defeat the villian? We need more people, or stronger onces, or ones with counteracting natural talent, etc. While people have been trying to solve issues by throwing more crap at them for a long time, this further cements the mindset. In contrast, history constantly gives victory to the innovators, who are willing to think outside of the “I guess we just need to try harder at what we’re doing” box.
Much more can be said about this topic and the many which are related, but fiction with this kind of “power creep” has been dear to me through my mid-teens, which is why I chose to single out this aspect as opposed to many others. Perhaps I will amend this article as time goes on.
As a final note, this same kind of logical error begins to apply to the people who are crafting the media in which it is present. Many who create action movies or fantasy book series create nearly identical things, where the only real distinction is in the weapons or abilities wielded by the characters, or the location in which these things happen.