“Write your story” is the text at the beginning of writing a post here. We all write a story. We are all part of other people’s stories. We are all a bad guy in someone’s story, and good in others, and sometimes we are a small non speaking role; a customer in a “Friends” coffee shop background.
“Friends” was mentioned on Russian television as a story of the moral fall of the USA. Because of two fictional lesbians apparently. Other stories intertwine with Russia. “Lord of the Rings” is a story that is set on a war between West and East. “Harry Potter” is the story of a group of young friends who contest an old murderer who uses fear, and who fears death.
What sort of archetype is Putin though? The temptation is to cast him as Sauron, or as Voldemort. But is he that strong a bad guy? And is seeing people as “strong” really a good thing to do. They have to demonstrate that “strength” against others, and is that wise?
We see various narratives that pick out Russians as “orcs”, and that’s sometimes argued against as dehumanizing Russians. The term orcs defines a type of corrupt behavior. Just like in the movies we can see the behavior of Russians. I have no bones about anyone calling such behavior orcish. “Orcs” is a term that has nothing to do with how someone looks, but how they behave.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov is an easy pick for the Mouth of Sauron. There is even a visual similarity. But let’s not make fun of his hangdog looks, otherwise we will confuse him with Droopy, and Droopy is a good guy.
Putin’s oligarchs are his Nazgul. Bound to him until death, unable to do anything without his approval.
But Putin. Hmm. He is no Sauron, because he is dying. But I can try to tie some strings together. Zelensky performed comedy for Putin in the past. I liken that to Sauron seeing Pippin in the Palantir. Putin saw Zelensky on TV. Sauron would have thought he knew Pippin inside and out. The same way Putin cannot fathom a comedian he watched on a stage demolishing him at war. So Putin will continue his disastrous war until the death of Russia. Because of willful self pride.
I could see Putin as Gollum, or maybe the Sackville Baggins, so envious of their neighbor's wealth. Like Russians envying the growing prosperity of Ukraine next to them.
Perhaps in the world of Harry Potter there is more similarity to Putin.
I can see Putin as Dolores Umbridge. All poisonous malice, and legal rules that lead to suffering and death, with cute pictures of kittens and a smiling face. And a photo of Putin behind the mobilization officer.
Or Putin as Voldemort because of his great fear of death. Of Voldemort’s use of horcruxes to prevent death, as Putin uses body doubles. Who knows. Putin could be dead now, and his doubles are running the show until a true successor is found.
I guess the archetype evil guys are never pure evil, even if it is only their type of evil varies, much like Putin is an amalgam of various evils. Underlying it all though, is that desire to dominate. Their purest desire to win, will dominate them, and they become evil as a result of what they have to do to win.
How does our story end? Do we all go into the great fire of Mount Doom? Or does all Putin’s desire to dominate, perish in fire instead? Others will say that the stories will resurface, the evil archetype will re-emerge, so what is the point of removing Putin, especially when he is making all the right mistakes.
Death of the foe is the necessary beginning of the ending for the stories of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.
Maybe we should take those stories as a cue for what we need to do.
The happy ending is not the death of the foe, but the promise of regrowth.
The hope of happiness is our happy ending.
I hope the story of Ukraine has a happy ending.