Naomi Lin - Week 4 - Power in Stories
Power in Stories
Something that has been pretty popular lately is isekai manhwas. Isekai webtoons are essentially comics about someone who died and was reborn. When they are reborn, they get reborn into a new life, a novel character, or earlier in their life (usually when they were treated badly so they can have a second chance and get revenge). The most common isekai storyline follows someone who gets reincarnated into a novel character, set in old Europe, and is trying hard to stay alive, so they find a strong husband of high standing to protect them.
Power dynamics are extremely prominent in such webtoons, because of the class systems from olden times. When they seek someone for help, they always look for a high ranking noble like a duke or marquess, because they are the only ones who can protect them from whatever troubles they may have. In addition, in most cases, the female leads only marry people in higher classes. A very popular scenario is when the female lead is treated badly at first because she is in a low class, but gets treated very well later after marrying a duke. In these stories, class is a deciding factor in everything.
Stories where weak female leads get saved by powerful male leads have been popular for ages. All of the classical fairy tales where the poor girl gets married to a powerful, rich prince revolve around the same idea, because isn’t the prospect that your sad life can be changed overnight such an alluring idea? Even nowadays, marrying a rich person is a common life goal. With money, you have the power to do the things you want without having to worry. In a sense, the people who want money want power because they want what money can give them, which is power.
The idea of wanting to be rich and have a lot of power is very shallow, but it would be hypocritical for me to say that I do not want it, and most people would enjoy having the privilege. If you were in an isekai webtoon, how would you try to gain power?
Comments
I enjoyed reading your post, especially since this is a topic that I don’t have a lot of knowledge on. I think it is interesting to see how books and stories show what society defines power as and how society thinks power can be used to have a more luxurious life. To answer your question, if I were in an isekai webtoon, I think I would try to get power by becoming more knowledgeable. I could use the knowledge that I already know from my previous world, which others wouldn't know, and then add onto this knowledge. I would advertise the knowledge and skills that I have so people would come to me if they need something done, and I could also use it to advance my career.
Woooo! I love some isekai content here! Sometimes, I occasionally find the one obscure isekai manga such as one about a person who reincarnates into a vending machine and goes on a bunch of adventures with others. Honestly, the whole genre of isekai is a really interesting take and personally, I would like to be reincarnated into a smartphone that can yell at people! Though I am like 99.99% sure that exists out there already.
I very much appreciate your inclusion of this topic! As you know, I adore reading webcomics, especially of the romance or isekai genre. The power dynamic of “male lead helps a damsel in distress” is one that is common, perhaps overused, but it can be cute sometimes. I personally have a liking towards webcomics that have a powerful female lead as it can be very refreshing when done well. It challenges the stereotypes of the “olden times” where class was much more distinctly separated. However, I think if I were isekai’d, I would opt to be a simple commoner because I think it's too much trouble dealing with the main story.
-Angel
Reading webtoons and various genres of manhwa are one of my biggest guilty pleasures. The first isekai manhwa I read was revolutionary to me. I found the concept of transmigrating into a different timeline/reality so fascinating that I told my sister all about it, to which she replied, “Oh yeah, that’s a super popular genre in Japanese stories.” You could probably imagine the bewildered reaction that I had in response to that. Despite the commonality of this genre in manhwas, I still vastly enjoy the prospect of the plot that an isekai story entails. What is your favorite isekai manhwa?
I found your observation and analysis of webtoons really interesting! I’ve never really particularly looked into webtoons but most webtoons have stories along that line of “marrying the rich” plot. I never realized how this kind of idea has existed for ages, and even till this day. Although the idea of marrying someone rich is an easy way to gain power and respect from others, being independent is a more realistic factor that comes into our everyday lives. When we grow up and go to college, (not me sounding like a parent) we need to learn to rely on ourselves and keep ourselves accountable for the actions and decisions we make. If I was in an isekai webtoon, I wouldn’t try to gain power the easy way because I want to prove people who think the concept of marrying rich for a girl is the only way for a girl to be successful.
Sincerely,
Faith Tong
Thanks for talking about this topic about isekai genre, something I really had no clue of or never heard before. It is really fascinating how they can get reincarnated and live a new life taking different paths. This is like those storyline games where there are many scenarios and different ways you can advance onto life. To answer your question, I will definitely gain knowledge when reincarnated or become a scholar. Knowledge I think is well as important in being in a higher class as people would look up to you to solve problems.
I really liked how you gave us background on the information you were going to touch base on. I'd also like to add how the storyline you mentioned is pretty common for Bollywood movies as well because people love to watch the drama that comes with the stories. I feel that these story plots are used to depict how some people actually live and outline their life.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee Sama