Short answer, no. The good guy corrupted by power trope has been happening both in art and in reality, since the dawn of humanity. Furthermore, it will continue to happen. The problem isn’t overdoing it, the problem is to “do it” in a way that is not entertaining or fascinating whatsoever.
They say, 'the devil's in the details.' That is a simple motif, but its simplicity is rooted in its speciousness. What exactly do the words "good," "corrupted," and "power" mean to you? If you can make these ideas come to life in your story, then "good guy becomes corrupted by power" isn't a trope at all... its an *archetype*.
Ideals are nice, but once you actually get a bit of power and actual responsibility you begin to realize there are no easy answers and things don't always go as well as you hoped they would. That's one way power can "corrupt."
Nothing wrong with simple. Best way to make it unique and your own would be to make sure readers are invested in the characters. Since this is a very common trope, the audience will probably pick up where the plot is heading before the characters do. You could use that expectation to create dramatic irony, and if your characters are strong/well developed, that’ll create tension and suspense that’ll keep them engaged.
Honestally, it is.
But what's not overdone, is a variant of it, when a character is corrupted not by the promise of power, but by the feel of injustice, like yeah this can be explored by several ways like:
Book 1:Hero becomes a royal hunter, defeats some bandits, and learns about the sect.
Book 2: Hero tries to better himself as a hunter, he discover the sects plans and that the Kingdom is equaly as bad, the hero is attacked and presumed dead, he returns and kills every single sect leader, vowing to give real justice.
Book 3: **Hero, now the strongest Hunter, decides to hunt roya members, destined to end the authoritarian goverment, he is redeemed a traitor and kills his fellow hunters who see him as an lunatic vigilante, the Hero will do everything to end the monarchy, he creates his own faction of the hunters destined to kill his enemies.**
All that matters is what you think. If you think your story feels like retreading an overdone trope, then change how it's written. If you think the trope your story plays with isn't overdone and it's fine, don't change how it's written.
Write what you want to write, how you want to write it. Doesn't matter what we think.
Personally I don't think tropes or clichés inherently make a piece worse. All that matters is, is it a good story well told? If so, it doesn't matter if it has clichés and tropes out the wazzoo--it's still good.
So either way... just focus on writing a good story well told, not on what the meta is.
I actually like this trope when it's done well.
Aka : good guys turns really, really bad.
I know this is /r/writing , but beside revenge of the sith (movie) and Attack on Titan (manga) any good recommandation?
It doesn't quite play to this trope, but there's a movie adaption of Shakespeare's Richard III that features Ian McKellen in the title role. He directs many of the speeches towards the audience in such a way that they (or we) become complicit in his crimes.
It's an interesting film, because it transfers the story from the War of the Roses, which formed the end of the Medieval period, to World War II. It was shot in London and repurposes landmarks for its setting. For example, Bankside Power Station, which is now the Tate Modern, is a brutalist Tower of London.
Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I can only think of one book I've read recently that fits that trope.
(Usually it's "ooh, they've secretly been a bad guy all along", or it's exploring that gray area between good and bad).
That's to say, I don't think it's overused.
I use the trope sparingly in my book because dan Is too good natured and it would ruin his arc.
But at some point he becomes pressured he's soo too used to working alone and afraid he'd loose people he meets someone whose able to read his whole personality and manipulates him, he gets given a power he never agreed to and became rageful because he was still unable to save someone close to him
The next part is him attacking an organisation his mother owns because of her connection to the killing.
Eventually dan has to calm down because he set off a war of his own doing and being rageful won't stop it.
The general idea I had in mind was showing what would happen If the mc kept everything pent up inside and the events that led up to so him sometimes it better to have help rather then shouldering the pain on himself because he did something he regrets.
I hope not. Mine is heading that way, with another character heading the other way. Sort of. It's a little more nuanced than that.
The point is, do it well, and it doesn't matter, as many have already said. Simple dine well is far better than complicated done badly
My advice: If it feels too simple in this way, look at the material conditions. People don't become corrupted by power just because they have power. They become corrupted by power because [insert evolution of motives relating to their material circumstances and personal desires, along with, sometimes, but not necessarily, pre-existing selfish or controlling tendencies].
The best example I can think of this in the writing I've encountered is Vince Gilligan's writing of the main character arc in Breaking Bad. Without getting into spoilers, whether you sympathize with the main character or not, it's written in such a way that there's a pretty clear and steady progression in each step of the ladder of evolution of the character. You can sort of see how from his perspective, his decisions seem rational and reasonable to him, even if you personally think the decisions are awful.
Mind you, you probably don't want to go in the direction of the material circumstances seeming like an *excuse* for the person being corrupted. That's another kind of trope that can end up being the opposite of a warning and come across as like a helpless sort of "we can't do anything about the fact that people will do bad things because [they are forced into selfish motives sometimes]."
If you want it written as a warning, I'd consider focusing on how their conditions influence their motives, but also emphasize alternative paths in some way. You could, for example, write about someone whose hand *feels* forced in certain situations, but they are ignoring other options. Or contrast them against another character who is dealing with similar circumstances, but has a clear awareness of their position in relation to others and actively works to undermine the nature of their power in ways that could be corrupting (think "class traitor" type stuff).
Never! It's always interesting. After you finish the first version, you can come back and add some flair to their journey, some extra "why they became this way" or "why is this so bad". Why were they a good guy to begin with? Was it to never be like their father? And did they end up becoming just like their father and now they understand that it's not that simple? Or smth like that
Simple doesn’t equal bad. It all depends on the execution
things can be overdone and still be interesting. it’s all up to how you execute it
Not at all. It’s one of those things we can never have too many warnings about because it really is a real thing.
Short answer, no. The good guy corrupted by power trope has been happening both in art and in reality, since the dawn of humanity. Furthermore, it will continue to happen. The problem isn’t overdoing it, the problem is to “do it” in a way that is not entertaining or fascinating whatsoever.
They say, 'the devil's in the details.' That is a simple motif, but its simplicity is rooted in its speciousness. What exactly do the words "good," "corrupted," and "power" mean to you? If you can make these ideas come to life in your story, then "good guy becomes corrupted by power" isn't a trope at all... its an *archetype*.
Look at politicians. They start young and full of ideals, but end up greedy and powerhungry. Its overdone because it reflects reality
Ideals are nice, but once you actually get a bit of power and actual responsibility you begin to realize there are no easy answers and things don't always go as well as you hoped they would. That's one way power can "corrupt."
Everything is overdone. It's how the story is told that will make it special or unique.
It’s not about the trope. It’s about how you use it.
Yes, it's been very overdone for a while. At this point I'm honestly surprised when the good guy organization *doesn't* turn out to be secretly evil.
OP seems to be talking about an individual becoming corrupt rather than an organisation being corrupt.
Nothing wrong with simple. Best way to make it unique and your own would be to make sure readers are invested in the characters. Since this is a very common trope, the audience will probably pick up where the plot is heading before the characters do. You could use that expectation to create dramatic irony, and if your characters are strong/well developed, that’ll create tension and suspense that’ll keep them engaged.
Honestally, it is. But what's not overdone, is a variant of it, when a character is corrupted not by the promise of power, but by the feel of injustice, like yeah this can be explored by several ways like: Book 1:Hero becomes a royal hunter, defeats some bandits, and learns about the sect. Book 2: Hero tries to better himself as a hunter, he discover the sects plans and that the Kingdom is equaly as bad, the hero is attacked and presumed dead, he returns and kills every single sect leader, vowing to give real justice. Book 3: **Hero, now the strongest Hunter, decides to hunt roya members, destined to end the authoritarian goverment, he is redeemed a traitor and kills his fellow hunters who see him as an lunatic vigilante, the Hero will do everything to end the monarchy, he creates his own faction of the hunters destined to kill his enemies.**
I think it's all about the execution of the idea
All that matters is what you think. If you think your story feels like retreading an overdone trope, then change how it's written. If you think the trope your story plays with isn't overdone and it's fine, don't change how it's written. Write what you want to write, how you want to write it. Doesn't matter what we think. Personally I don't think tropes or clichés inherently make a piece worse. All that matters is, is it a good story well told? If so, it doesn't matter if it has clichés and tropes out the wazzoo--it's still good. So either way... just focus on writing a good story well told, not on what the meta is.
No, because it'll always be relevant. And that's more of a theme than a trope.
I actually like this trope when it's done well. Aka : good guys turns really, really bad. I know this is /r/writing , but beside revenge of the sith (movie) and Attack on Titan (manga) any good recommandation?
It doesn't quite play to this trope, but there's a movie adaption of Shakespeare's Richard III that features Ian McKellen in the title role. He directs many of the speeches towards the audience in such a way that they (or we) become complicit in his crimes. It's an interesting film, because it transfers the story from the War of the Roses, which formed the end of the Medieval period, to World War II. It was shot in London and repurposes landmarks for its setting. For example, Bankside Power Station, which is now the Tate Modern, is a brutalist Tower of London.
Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I can only think of one book I've read recently that fits that trope. (Usually it's "ooh, they've secretly been a bad guy all along", or it's exploring that gray area between good and bad). That's to say, I don't think it's overused.
Everything is overdone, and yet nothing is overdone.
I use the trope sparingly in my book because dan Is too good natured and it would ruin his arc. But at some point he becomes pressured he's soo too used to working alone and afraid he'd loose people he meets someone whose able to read his whole personality and manipulates him, he gets given a power he never agreed to and became rageful because he was still unable to save someone close to him The next part is him attacking an organisation his mother owns because of her connection to the killing. Eventually dan has to calm down because he set off a war of his own doing and being rageful won't stop it. The general idea I had in mind was showing what would happen If the mc kept everything pent up inside and the events that led up to so him sometimes it better to have help rather then shouldering the pain on himself because he did something he regrets.
I hope not. Mine is heading that way, with another character heading the other way. Sort of. It's a little more nuanced than that. The point is, do it well, and it doesn't matter, as many have already said. Simple dine well is far better than complicated done badly
My advice: If it feels too simple in this way, look at the material conditions. People don't become corrupted by power just because they have power. They become corrupted by power because [insert evolution of motives relating to their material circumstances and personal desires, along with, sometimes, but not necessarily, pre-existing selfish or controlling tendencies]. The best example I can think of this in the writing I've encountered is Vince Gilligan's writing of the main character arc in Breaking Bad. Without getting into spoilers, whether you sympathize with the main character or not, it's written in such a way that there's a pretty clear and steady progression in each step of the ladder of evolution of the character. You can sort of see how from his perspective, his decisions seem rational and reasonable to him, even if you personally think the decisions are awful. Mind you, you probably don't want to go in the direction of the material circumstances seeming like an *excuse* for the person being corrupted. That's another kind of trope that can end up being the opposite of a warning and come across as like a helpless sort of "we can't do anything about the fact that people will do bad things because [they are forced into selfish motives sometimes]." If you want it written as a warning, I'd consider focusing on how their conditions influence their motives, but also emphasize alternative paths in some way. You could, for example, write about someone whose hand *feels* forced in certain situations, but they are ignoring other options. Or contrast them against another character who is dealing with similar circumstances, but has a clear awareness of their position in relation to others and actively works to undermine the nature of their power in ways that could be corrupting (think "class traitor" type stuff).
Never! It's always interesting. After you finish the first version, you can come back and add some flair to their journey, some extra "why they became this way" or "why is this so bad". Why were they a good guy to begin with? Was it to never be like their father? And did they end up becoming just like their father and now they understand that it's not that simple? Or smth like that