What do all of these people have in common? They all had a pretty rough past that seem to relate back to education. However, the results were great because they all became successful. These stories would be considered "real world" stories because it is something that we, the audience, can relate to. When we hear about these kind of people, we tend to think that we, too, have the potential to be as great as them because we all came from a similar background as them. For example, we have all had our ups and downs when it comes to school. I think that's why we become intrigued into these kinds of stories. We believe that we also have the potential to achieve success just as much as Steve Jobs, Michael Oher, or even Albert Einstein.
The stories that we typically don't hear about are the ones where someone became successful as a result of living in an enriched childhood. These kind of people are so common, we don't regard it as a "stand-out."
The real difference between these two stories may be the amount of work the person put in to reaching their goal. For those with a rougher past, the audience feels more sympathy towards them because they have to go the extra mile to match up to the rest of the people. Whereas the people who achieve success with a pretty stable past don't have to exert as much work because they are already a step ahead of the others.
Great comments here, Lalita: "The stories that we typically don't hear about are the ones where someone became successful as a result of living in an enriched childhood. These kind of people are so common, we don't regard it as a "stand-out."
ReplyDeleteOne area that also supports your theory is presidents and political leaders. Many leaders who rise to power come from privilege, but in some cases they even try to hide it so they come across as a success story along the lines of your examples.
This is like the rags to riches concept. I mean, let's be honest, who actually cares about Paris Hilton? She is an heiress. She never did anything special. She isn't talented. She was born into her life. The 99% (sorry i couldn't help it) cannot relate to that! One type of good documentary is something that inspires the audience because they can relate to it. Watching a documentary about the success of the Kardashians would bore me to tears because they never had to overcome challenges to get where they are today. I'd much rather watch a documentary about an underdog who overcame a world of struggles to get where they are at. More people can relate to that, and therefore we are more interested in it. I mean, I wouldn't want to watch a documentary about something that I cannot even connect with. This was a great post!
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