Why fictional characters aren't role models.

So, what is a fictional character? We all should know this one. A fictional character is a character made in a fictional universe. Some fictional characters were made to make people laugh, others to bring a punch, and some strike fear into those who see them, but they are all fictional and that's what matters.

Fiction means "a work of imagination", and a fictional character is a product of imagination, although they can be either very human, or not, depending on what the fictional character is. But all fictional characters have one thing in common, (other than that they are fictional) and that's that they aren't role models.

What is a role model? A role model is a person, who others look up to. Now, are fictional characters real people? No, and they shouldn't be.

I've always thought that Disneyland was questionable, not only because I haven't been there, but because it's the "happiest place on Earth", and that they actually bring characters into life. I have to question that because, well, fiction isn't supposed to be real. It is only supposed to be you know... Fiction!

But at the same time, morals in fiction I have a pretty unsure stance on. I like it when something fictional is made to teach people about something, but I don't like it if fiction is "shoehorned" with these morals. (Lookin' at you, Barney and Friends.)

Look at VeggieTales. I really enjoy it because of its ability to entertain with humor inspired off Monty Python, which is a writing inspiration for one of our favorite shows, South Park. In fact, I'd call VeggieTales a Christian version of South Park, because it has a lot of jokes that most Christian cartoons wouldn't do. Granted, Bob and Larry aren't role-models, nor any of the other VeggieTales characters. Not only because they are fictional, but because I've watched a few episodes, and I can confirm that they get angry too often, which is something that I believe more people should be able to control. But, that doesn't mean that fictional characters can be positive influences. Bob and Larry help kids understand G-d, and that I also believe is very important, which is why our other 2 YouTube channels are about biblical content. 

As stated before, fictional characters can be positive influences, and I can tell you why. A lot of fictional characters I like do things that I don't agree with, but do you think that stops me from liking these characters? No! It doesn't. I think more people should get that fiction can be whatever it wants to be, because we were given free will, and we should be able to make funny characters. To me, very raunchy or villainous fictional characters are positive influences, because they are anti-role models, and they can teach us what not to do in our own lives. For instance, Yusuke Kitagawa might love art and understand the supernatural, but he doesn't forgive people. The latter thing we can learn from. Another instance is Eric Cartman, he's really funny because he does all of the wrong things, and because of this, we can learn from his mistakes, and we can learn about how to improve our own lives naturally.

My point is, that fictional characters need to be purely fictional, and they do not need to be viewed as role models. They are not natural or even supernatural, and when we look up to something that isn't any one of those things, we become disconnected from reality. 

!הרבה אהבה וברכות