WHY PEOPLE LIKE LOKI--SIBLING RIVALRY--ENVY--FEELING CAST-AWAY--YOU MATTER SO MUCH--MY OPINION
Yeah, I changed my username for this, mostly to avoid controversy with my previous username. But wait, isn't this controversial? Lol. But this isn't funny tho. It isn't. It's dead serious. DISCLAIMER: IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO FAMILY DYNAMIC, YOU FEEL UNWANTED OR DEPRESSED, YOU ARE A YOUNGEST CHILD, OR YOU ARE ADOPTED, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. THIS GETS HEAVY. ALSO SPOILERS FOR THOR MOVIES, DUH.
I had a pretty good childhood. I'm an only child, so I was (not so thankfully) spoiled, and always given ULTIMATE ATTENTION from my parents. Well, that got epic. But anyway. Why does everyone like the villain and not the hero? Why is there no Thor love? Not that I particularly love Thor anyway, but I'm making a point. Most people who like a franchise (well, before Kylo Ren happened) usually like the good guys and hate the bad guys. That's usually how stuff works.
I think the main reason, people like Loki, is because he is relatable and (ironically) human. And Thor is, well, to put it quite simply, completely and utterly ridiculous. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me talk about the family dynamic.
First of all, I'll get this out there: I'm taking Hela out of the equation. No, not because she's not important, but because she seems much older and not involved in Thor and Loki's childhood. For this exercise, Thor is basically the oldest child (well he is the Heir, so it works here.) Anyway, we're going to talk about oldest children. It's a hard job. The oldest child has to carry the responsibility of inheritance, of being a role model for their younger sibling(s) and being the good one who can't get into trouble. It isn't easy being the oldest child, but most oldest children also share a special bond with their parents, having an uninterrupted time with their parents before their sibling(s) are born, forming a special bond. (Yes, Thor is technically a middle child, but I don't think Odin would consider Hela family at this point.) Whatever. You get the point. Thor is the token oldest kid, who has a good relationship with his parents, has pressure to succeed, and is heir to the throne. But is he really? How many oldest kids actually have great relationships with their parents? Seems like more of them run away at fifteen from the pressure and die at the age of forty from a heroin overdose. Seriously though, most people aren't perfect, aren't confident, and don't have nearly flawless relationships with their parents after the age of ten.
Being an only child, I can both understand being the oldest and youngest child. My dad is an oldest child, and my mom was a youngest child, so that explains a lot, too. Anyway, being the oldest child isn't easy. Neither is being the youngest child. Arguably, being the middle child is the hardest. But, obviously being King of Asgard isn't easy. Thor says to Hela in Ragnarok that he would love for someone else to rule, but it can't be her (for obvious reasons.) The point is being King is a pressuring job, and I am certain that Thor is jealous of Loki's freedom at times. It's important for the younger children to remember that the jealousy goes both ways. But here's the thing: Loki is free of responsibility, free of parental pressure, and loved by his parents, so why should he be the one who turns sour? The answer is that youngest (or only kids) are usually the last out of the house, usually the baby, usually have a parental dependency that goes both ways, as their parents don't want to let their youngest child go, so to put it plainly, they are spoiled compared to their older children, My mom was explaining how her parents had drastically relaxed the rules they held her older siblings to, by the time she was a teenager. (She turned out fine, btw.) Anyway, this isn't always a bad thing, as the youngest child also has a special bond with the parents in a lot of cases, but it can be harmful.
Let me tell you a brief story about my mom when she was a young kid, and her sister was in middle school. She said that her sister would constantly hang out with her best friend and not let my mom come along, and she explained how she constantly wanted to go everywhere they went, follow them, and try to be cool like them. I know I had similar experiences with older girls in my church; it's just true. Loki doesn't hate Thor. Loki idolizes Thor to death, because Thor is just so perfect, so great, and clearly the favorite, from Loki's point of view. Loki loves Thor, but he hates himself. He wants to be like Thor, because Thor is everything that Loki isn't: strong, loyal, important, and loved. This illustrates the sad fact that a lot of people can't recognize their own potential, and get stuck trying to be like their parents, their best friend, their favorite celebrity....
That would be reason enough for relating to Loki, the human nature of idolizing our betters and not realizing our own potential, but that isn't all. If he already felt cast aside and unwanted as not being the true heir, then he has the ball dropped. I know what it's like to have the ball dropped, and it isn't fun. (It's honestly too personal of a story to share here, and I still haven't gotten past it. (Loki, I can relate.) No, I'm not secretly adopted.) Iv'e known a number of adopted kids, as well as adoptive families. Many of them have mental health issues from past trauma, including attachment disorder, but even without that, feeling second to your parent's other, biological children has to be a burden. Oftentimes, adoptive parents will actually give their children extra special attention. Not only does the youngest child already get treated specially as the baby of the family, the adopted child gets treated extra specially. The parents will reinforce, time and time again, that the child is important, that they are loved, that they are just as important as their siblings, until they become empty words, with no reason to be believed. The child will feel unwanted, with their older siblings getting more immediate attention regarding college tours, job searching, and the dreaded homework, or feeling unwanted in the first place in the case of adoption. May I note that being adopted at all, typically means that one is especially wanted and chosen, even more so than many biological children, but many fail to see that significance. I understand it sucks to be ditched in the first place. I get it. Bu the act of being taken in by someone who has no legal obligation to take care of you means that you are very, very, special. In fact, everyone is, regardless of their background.
I may not be adopted, but I get the feeling of being unwanted, even though I know that deep-down it's not true, that my parents DID want me desperately, that I AM loved and appreciated, but the guilt of knowing that my existence was dependent on a miscarriage, I feel almost like my sibling was shoved aside somehow, like God just wanted to make room for me....It sometimes feels like my existence is purely accidental, and that my having to exist is responsible for a person's death. That is not true, and I know it, but it was hard to get my head around at 13. I even feel shoved aside by siblings I never had. Trust me, I get it.
Bottom line: people prefer Loki to Thor because they ARE Loki, they can FEEL Loki's very human emotions of feeling cast aside and unwanted, even when it is 100% NOT TRUE. Regardless, you should not let the opinions and decisions of others--even your family derail you from who YOU want to be. Loki should stop trying to be Thor and find himself. And so should you. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, AND EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL. Remember, if you follow your heart and reach YOUR best potential (please don't kill anyone in the process.) it's likely that you will make your parents and siblings proud without even trying. Stay strong, fellow Lokis, and rise above your destructive tendencies and past trauma. YOU CAN DO IT.
(End note: sorry if that got depressing, but I needed to vent, as seeing Thor:Ragnarok recently got me questioning why I would like a somewhat devious and evil character, and I realized just how insanely relatable that the neutral/bad characters really are as opposed to the good ones. Have a nice day :).)
I had a pretty good childhood. I'm an only child, so I was (not so thankfully) spoiled, and always given ULTIMATE ATTENTION from my parents. Well, that got epic. But anyway. Why does everyone like the villain and not the hero? Why is there no Thor love? Not that I particularly love Thor anyway, but I'm making a point. Most people who like a franchise (well, before Kylo Ren happened) usually like the good guys and hate the bad guys. That's usually how stuff works.
I think the main reason, people like Loki, is because he is relatable and (ironically) human. And Thor is, well, to put it quite simply, completely and utterly ridiculous. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me talk about the family dynamic.
First of all, I'll get this out there: I'm taking Hela out of the equation. No, not because she's not important, but because she seems much older and not involved in Thor and Loki's childhood. For this exercise, Thor is basically the oldest child (well he is the Heir, so it works here.) Anyway, we're going to talk about oldest children. It's a hard job. The oldest child has to carry the responsibility of inheritance, of being a role model for their younger sibling(s) and being the good one who can't get into trouble. It isn't easy being the oldest child, but most oldest children also share a special bond with their parents, having an uninterrupted time with their parents before their sibling(s) are born, forming a special bond. (Yes, Thor is technically a middle child, but I don't think Odin would consider Hela family at this point.) Whatever. You get the point. Thor is the token oldest kid, who has a good relationship with his parents, has pressure to succeed, and is heir to the throne. But is he really? How many oldest kids actually have great relationships with their parents? Seems like more of them run away at fifteen from the pressure and die at the age of forty from a heroin overdose. Seriously though, most people aren't perfect, aren't confident, and don't have nearly flawless relationships with their parents after the age of ten.
Being an only child, I can both understand being the oldest and youngest child. My dad is an oldest child, and my mom was a youngest child, so that explains a lot, too. Anyway, being the oldest child isn't easy. Neither is being the youngest child. Arguably, being the middle child is the hardest. But, obviously being King of Asgard isn't easy. Thor says to Hela in Ragnarok that he would love for someone else to rule, but it can't be her (for obvious reasons.) The point is being King is a pressuring job, and I am certain that Thor is jealous of Loki's freedom at times. It's important for the younger children to remember that the jealousy goes both ways. But here's the thing: Loki is free of responsibility, free of parental pressure, and loved by his parents, so why should he be the one who turns sour? The answer is that youngest (or only kids) are usually the last out of the house, usually the baby, usually have a parental dependency that goes both ways, as their parents don't want to let their youngest child go, so to put it plainly, they are spoiled compared to their older children, My mom was explaining how her parents had drastically relaxed the rules they held her older siblings to, by the time she was a teenager. (She turned out fine, btw.) Anyway, this isn't always a bad thing, as the youngest child also has a special bond with the parents in a lot of cases, but it can be harmful.
Let me tell you a brief story about my mom when she was a young kid, and her sister was in middle school. She said that her sister would constantly hang out with her best friend and not let my mom come along, and she explained how she constantly wanted to go everywhere they went, follow them, and try to be cool like them. I know I had similar experiences with older girls in my church; it's just true. Loki doesn't hate Thor. Loki idolizes Thor to death, because Thor is just so perfect, so great, and clearly the favorite, from Loki's point of view. Loki loves Thor, but he hates himself. He wants to be like Thor, because Thor is everything that Loki isn't: strong, loyal, important, and loved. This illustrates the sad fact that a lot of people can't recognize their own potential, and get stuck trying to be like their parents, their best friend, their favorite celebrity....
That would be reason enough for relating to Loki, the human nature of idolizing our betters and not realizing our own potential, but that isn't all. If he already felt cast aside and unwanted as not being the true heir, then he has the ball dropped. I know what it's like to have the ball dropped, and it isn't fun. (It's honestly too personal of a story to share here, and I still haven't gotten past it. (Loki, I can relate.) No, I'm not secretly adopted.) Iv'e known a number of adopted kids, as well as adoptive families. Many of them have mental health issues from past trauma, including attachment disorder, but even without that, feeling second to your parent's other, biological children has to be a burden. Oftentimes, adoptive parents will actually give their children extra special attention. Not only does the youngest child already get treated specially as the baby of the family, the adopted child gets treated extra specially. The parents will reinforce, time and time again, that the child is important, that they are loved, that they are just as important as their siblings, until they become empty words, with no reason to be believed. The child will feel unwanted, with their older siblings getting more immediate attention regarding college tours, job searching, and the dreaded homework, or feeling unwanted in the first place in the case of adoption. May I note that being adopted at all, typically means that one is especially wanted and chosen, even more so than many biological children, but many fail to see that significance. I understand it sucks to be ditched in the first place. I get it. Bu the act of being taken in by someone who has no legal obligation to take care of you means that you are very, very, special. In fact, everyone is, regardless of their background.
I may not be adopted, but I get the feeling of being unwanted, even though I know that deep-down it's not true, that my parents DID want me desperately, that I AM loved and appreciated, but the guilt of knowing that my existence was dependent on a miscarriage, I feel almost like my sibling was shoved aside somehow, like God just wanted to make room for me....It sometimes feels like my existence is purely accidental, and that my having to exist is responsible for a person's death. That is not true, and I know it, but it was hard to get my head around at 13. I even feel shoved aside by siblings I never had. Trust me, I get it.
Bottom line: people prefer Loki to Thor because they ARE Loki, they can FEEL Loki's very human emotions of feeling cast aside and unwanted, even when it is 100% NOT TRUE. Regardless, you should not let the opinions and decisions of others--even your family derail you from who YOU want to be. Loki should stop trying to be Thor and find himself. And so should you. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, AND EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL. Remember, if you follow your heart and reach YOUR best potential (please don't kill anyone in the process.) it's likely that you will make your parents and siblings proud without even trying. Stay strong, fellow Lokis, and rise above your destructive tendencies and past trauma. YOU CAN DO IT.
(End note: sorry if that got depressing, but I needed to vent, as seeing Thor:Ragnarok recently got me questioning why I would like a somewhat devious and evil character, and I realized just how insanely relatable that the neutral/bad characters really are as opposed to the good ones. Have a nice day :).)
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